Diners / anywhere USA

There is much to love about old-style diners—the look of them; the welcoming staff, many of whom have been there for decades; the vivid slang (make it moo, cluck and grunt, hot blond in sand, wet mystery); the generally down-to-earth customers; the prices; the predictable food and comfort; the nostalgia. You can sit swirly-seated by yourself at the counter nursing bad coffee and a worse mood. Or meet friends in a squeaky booth striped with duct-taped repairs to peck like greedy seagulls at the fries one caloric caution-to-the-wind diner ordered.