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A greasy spoon is a small, cheap
restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...
typically specializing in short order fare. The term is also used in the UK–along with the informal term "caff" for café–to refer to a small privately-owned eatery that traditionally serves fry-ups and other quick meals.


Term

The term ''greasy spoon''—used to describe small and inexpensive
diner A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe and Australia. Diners offer a wide range of cuisine, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...
s and coffee shops—became popular in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
as early as the 1920s. Nicknaming cheap restaurants after an unwashed spoon dates back at least to 1848: The earliest appearance in print of the specific term "greasy spoon" was in 1906, in a story in Macmillan's Magazine, referring to an eatery in Paris frequented for a time by
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
:


Menu

Many typical American and Canadian greasy spoon
diner A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe and Australia. Diners offer a wide range of cuisine, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...
s focus on griddled, grilled, or fried food, such as hamburgers,
french fries French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are '' batonnet'' or '' julienne''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and f ...
, chili, eggs and
omelette An omelette (sometimes omelet in American English; see spelling differences) is a dish made from eggs (usually chicken eggs), fried with butter or oil in a frying pan. It is a common practice for an omelette to include fillings such as chiv ...
s,
bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...
,
sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders. ...
s,
pancake A pancake, also known as a hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack, is a flat type of batter bread like cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based Batter (cooking), batter that may contain eggs, milk, and butter, and then cooked on a ...
s,
waffle A waffle is a dish made from leavened Batter (cooking), batter or dough that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of waffle iron ...
s,
fried chicken Fried chicken, also called Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or ...
,
Spam Spam most often refers to: * Spam (food), a consumer brand product of canned processed pork of the Hormel Foods Corporation * Spamming, unsolicited or undesired electronic messages ** Email spam, unsolicited, undesired, or illegal email messages ...
, and
fish and chips Fish and chips is a hot dish consisting of batter (cooking), battered and fried fish, served with French fries, chips. Often considered the national dish of the United Kingdom, fish and chips originated in England in the 19th century. Today, ...
. Sandwiches are also popular, as are beef stew,
baked beans Baked beans is a Dish (food), dish traditionally containing white Phaseolus vulgaris, common beans that are parboiling, parboiled and then baking, baked in sauce at low temperature for a lengthy period. Canned baked beans are not baked, but ar ...
, and hearty
soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot – though it is sometimes served chilled – made by cooking or otherwise combining meat or vegetables with Stock (food), stock, milk, or water. According to ''The Oxford Compan ...
s. Regional fare is often served. Since the 1970s, many Greek immigrants have entered the business.
Coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
,
iced tea Iced tea (or ice tea) is a form of cold tea. Though it is usually served in a glass with ice, it can refer to any tea that has been chilled or cooled. It may be sweetened with sugar or syrup, or remain unsweetened. Iced tea is also a popular pac ...
, and
soft drinks A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) carbonated, and typically including added sweetener. Flavors used to be natural, but now can also be artificial. The sweet ...
are the typical beverages, as alcohol is usually not offered due to the prohibitive cost of a
liquor license A liquor license (or liquor licence in most forms of Commonwealth English) is a governmentally issued permit for businesses to sell, manufacture, store, or otherwise use alcoholic beverages. Canada In Canada, liquor licences are issued by the l ...
. Pie, savouries and
ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...
are popular snacks and desserts. A typical American greasy spoon or diner may offer a full meal for a special price, sometimes called a blue-plate special. A British or Irish cafe will typically offer a " full cooked breakfast" all day.


Popular culture

Although there are now far fewer establishments due to the dominance of corporate fast food restaurant chains, a certain nostalgia exists surrounding a greasy spoon. Evocative characteristics include "counter service", jukeboxes, and hearty comfort cuisine. The greasy spoon as a setting is a common trope in movies and TV shows. Restaurateur and television personality
Guy Fieri Guy Ramsay Fieri (, ; Ferry; born January 22, 1968) is an American restaurateur, author, and an Emmy Award winning television presenter. He co-owned three now-defunct restaurants in California. He licenses his name to restaurants in cities a ...
, on
Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...
's ''
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives ''Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives'' (often nicknamed ''Triple D'' and stylized as ''Diners, Drive-Ins, Dives'') is an American food reality television series that has aired on the Food Network since April 23, 2007. It is hosted by Guy Fieri, and in ...
'', pays homage to such eateries across the United States. Comic strips and humorous magazines have often lampooned the greasy spoon diner. '' The Better Half'' had Bert's Beanery, and
Dagwood Bumstead Dagwood Bumstead is a main character in cartoonist Chic Young's long-running comic strip ''Blondie (comic strip), Blondie''. He debuted in the first strip on September 8, 1930. He was originally heir to the Bumstead Locomotive fortune, but was dis ...
continues to eat at Lou's Diner in '' Blondie''. The kitchen and mess hall in ''
Beetle Bailey ''Beetle Bailey'' is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Mort Walker, published since September 4, 1950. It is set on a fictional United States Army post. In the years just before Walker's death in 2018 (at age 94), it was among the old ...
'' provide the military equivalent of a greasy spoon. Cooks featured in these tropes tend to be unkempt in some way – hirsute, unshaven, tattooed, wearing a stain-covered apron, or smoking a cigarette while working.


See also

*
Bar mleczny A ''bar mleczny'' (literally translated as "milk bar" from Polish language, Polish) is a Polish cafeteria which offers nutritious meals, usually traditional Polish cuisine at low cost. Although the idea of tis type of establishment has its begin ...
*
Cafe (British) In Britain, a cafe or café (), also known colloquially as a caff or greasy spoon, is a small eatery typically specialising in fried foods or home-cooked meals. Though it uses the same word origin as the term "café", it is distinct from t ...
*
Cha chaan teng ''Cha chaan teng'' ( zh, t=茶餐廳, cy=chàhchāantēng, l=tea restaurant), often called a Hong Kong-style cafe or diner in English, is a type of restaurant that originated in Hong Kong. ''Cha chaan tengs'' are commonly found in Hong Kong, Ma ...
, Hong-Kong style greasy spoon * Coney Island (restaurant) * Dhaba, an Indian diner * List of diners *
Lunch counter A lunch counter or luncheonette is a small restaurant, similar to a diner, where the patron sits on a stool on one side of the counter and the server serves food from the opposite side of the counter, where the kitchen or food preparation area ...
*
Mamak stall Mamak stalls are indoor and open-air food establishments found in Southeast Asia, especially in Malaysia and Singapore, that typically serve food derived from Indian cuisine, Indian Muslim and Pakistani cuisine, Pakistani cuisines, unique to t ...
*
Meat and three A meat and three meal is one where the customer picks one meat and three side dishes as a fixed-price offering. Meats commonly include fried chicken, country ham, beef, country-fried steak, meatloaf, or pork chop; and sides span from vegeta ...
* Mickey's Diner * Nick Tahou Hots * Pat's Hubba Hubba *
Public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
** List of public house topics * Salisbury House (restaurant) * Waffle House


References

{{reflist Hospitality industry in the United States Restaurants by type