On a trip out to Hillsdale, I passed a diner along and made a mental note, ‘Oh, I can stop by and grab lunch at that trendy new/old diner’. I was thinking the West Taghkanic Diner. TrixiesList.com writer, Aaron Boisvert, wrote a review back in October. I wanted the pancakes, which I am STILL craving!
I was wrong. On my way out to Hillsdale, on Route 23, I passed the Martindale Chief Diner! Not the West Taghkanic Diner on 82.
The diners look similar – and there’s a reason. Reading the back of the menu of the Martindale Chief Diner, I learned that there are (were) actually FOUR diners, along the Taconic, all similar and built by the same company.
“The concept of The Great American Diner began as a simple lunch wagon created by Walter Scott in 1872, who served hot meals to late shift workers in Providence, Rhode Island.
The industry of building diners as prefabricated restaurants with counter for others to operate started in Worcester, Massachusetts. A decade later, eventually, northern New Jersey became the diner building epicenter and produced most of the stainless steel beauties still found on America’s roadsides.
The Chief Martindale Diner Silk City Diner was built by Paterson Vehicle Co. of Paterson, NJ in 1958. It is the second of four former Cheif Taghkanic Diner all owned and operated by Bert Cons and installed along successive exits along the Taconic Parkway. The first and third also remain on the parkway, while the fourth was moved to New Lebanon, New York and was remodeled in 1992.”
New England Clam Chowder 
Fish Filet
The things that you learn reading the back of a diner menu! Who knew?
Clean and classic, the Martindale Chief Diner offers you classic diner food. Since it’s Lent, I ordered the fish.
Next time, on your way out to Hillsdale, try the Martindale Chief Diner – just to keep these old-school (albeit politically incorrect) diners around. Made in northern New Jersey, where else?
My next trip is out to New Lebanon…of course!