Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The Demise of the Tunnel Diner**



I first ate here somewhere around 1948. My grandfather was a retired railroad cop; he was working a job as a night watchman on the Hoboken docks, and this was his favorite stop for breakfast after work.
   Here's where I learned about basted eggs, Adam and Eve on a raft (poached eggs on toast) and why a good short-order cook was more valuable to society than an investment banker.
   In the six-degrees-of-separation game, the Tunnel Diner connects me to John Cusack, who made a movie here, and 90 percent of the Jersey City police.
   On the ride home, I learned more about the Pulaski Skyway than just about anyone. Chief engineer on the construction? Enoch Needles! (Doesn't everyone know that?)
   It's closed, and the property's for sale. I hold out faint hope for its revival; my guess is a Taco Bell.

R.I.P.

**Previously published, 5/1/08
Still a visible scar on the drive home.

2 comments:

  1. Now that's a property I'd like to own. Although as I remember it, I usually waited in the car for a bottle of water or a lemonade...

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  2. Soooo gutted it has closed - lived nearby from '97-'98 and visited very often, then always went back every time I visited (I live in the UK) so was very upset to see it closed last time in 2008 but really hoped it was for refurbishment - sadly it seems it's permanent, such a shame ;o(

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