Being on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives once is a nice thing to have happen to a restaurant. Being asked back sixteen years later is a different kind of compliment, because it means the food held up. Here is what went on camera, and why we think those particular plates got picked.
2009: the first visit
The show came to Buffalo and found a 1952 dining car on Main Street doing its own baking and curing. That was the hook then and it is the hook now: a diner that makes the parts. The ham is cured in-house. The bread is baked before we open. The sausage is ours. That is what the segment was about, and the plates that made it on air were the ones that showed it off.
2025: the return, Season 51
Sixteen years on, the show came back for Season 51, Episode 10. The building had not changed. The philosophy had not changed. What had changed was the menu's plant-based side, which had grown from a couple of items into a real lineup built on seitan bacon we make ourselves, and that is what caught the crew's attention the second time around.
The Triple-D plates, and how to order them
- Guy's Favorite Ham & Red Eye Gravy. House-cured ham, two eggs, home fries, toast, and a red eye gravy made the old Southern way, with coffee. It is on the breakfast side of the menu with his name on it, and it is the single most-ordered thing by first-time visitors.
- Blueberry pancakes. The Classic Stack, from scratch, with blueberries, maple butter, and whipped cream. Simple, which is why it filmed well and why it still sells.
- Veggs Benedict. Tofu scramble, house seitan bacon, grilled tomato, spinach, cashew hollandaise, on a baguette we baked that morning. The vegan one. We wrote up the whole Benedict family, including this one.
- BBQ Meatloaf Bomber. Slow-cooked meatloaf, aged cheddar, fried onion, and house BBQ sauce on a garlic-toasted baguette. The lunch pick.
- Griddled mac & cheese. The classic, crisped on the flat-top so the outside has a crust. A side that behaves like a main.
What they have in common
Look at the list and you will notice every plate depends on something we make from scratch: the ham, the gravy, the pancake batter, the seitan, the meatloaf, the bread. None of it is complicated. All of it is work. That is the thing a television crew can film and a customer can taste, and it is why the show came back rather than moving on to the next place with neon.
Once is a nice thing to have happen. Twice means the food held up.
A note on the neon
People assume the show picked us for the building, and the building does not hurt. A 1952 Mountain View car looks good on camera. But the segments were about the kitchen, and we would rather you came for that too. The dining car will still be here after you have finished the pancakes.
Where to watch
The 2009 segment is on YouTube, and there is a link on our homepage. The 2025 episode is Season 51, Episode 10, wherever you watch Food Network. Watch either one, then come order the plate you saw. That is the whole idea.