Some New Jersey diners have modernized menus but still hold places for classic dishes like Yankee pot roast and calf's liver.

Diners are also good bets for retro cocktails like the pina colada, Bahama mama and mudslide.

These comfort classics are part and parcel of the diner's overall appeal: familiar, consistent and comforting.

Nostalgia — along with convenience, familiarity and affordability — is part of the allure of the classic New Jersey diner. The aesthetic hallmarks of many diners, from neon lights to chrome edifices, upholstered stools, checkerboard floors and more, recall a time long past. But they’re not the only retro flourishes to be found and cherished in a diner.

Take a look through the (often) expansive menu of your local diner and you’re liable to come across food items

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