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Eileen's Cheesecake is amazing!!

Thanks! This sounds great. I like the additional ingredients that you added in.

@nataliepo, mmm that does sound wonderful. Thanks for the recommendation! I'll remember that.

However, I think I should clarify. I'm looking to buy an entire cheesecake for a friend's birthday dinner. So i'm looking for a bakery rather than a restaurant.

There's still tons of diners around here (Central NJ), at least a dozen within a 15 min. drive of my home.
The Skylark Diner on Rte. 1 in Edison is pretty good, however, I never drink diner coffee, so I can't speak to that.
Does anyone here know of Gilley's Lunch Wagon, Portsmouth, NH? An obscure reference, no doubt, but the best night owl diner of all time.

Wonderful recipe! I made this for dinner tonight, and it was quick, easy, and delicious--perfect for chilly fall nights. I also added a dash of cinnamon at the end and it added nice spice notes.

The best diner in New Jersey is the Americana in East Windsor, although it has gone sufficiently upscale that it's almost no longer a diner. Almost, but not quite. However, I cannot comment on its coffee, since I'm not a coffee drinker. My girlfriend seems to like it, however.

One of my favorite childhood food memories is when my parents would pour diner coffee over my scoop of vanilla ice cream. And I'm embarrassed to admit, my nostalgic dish to go with diner coffee is french fries and Camel Lights.

my old go-to diner in park slope served their coffee in these annoying little orange plastic half-mugs lined with paper cones. i swear they held about 3 tablespoons of coffee. gosh, i miss that place!!!!

The first time I had coffee was in a cheesy hotel room with my parents. It was instant coffee. I tried it, and it was groooooooss. Almost as gross as beer.

And yet, here we are.

Great post. I'm from Arizona and the place for under-21-year-old nightowls to socialize was Denny's. So many coffee refills. So many "Eggs Over My Hammy" platters.

Another great greasy-spoon spot for the black stuff is Bonbonniere in the West Village.

Side note, here are my favorite Jersey diners.. in case anyone wants to reminisce and get a little bit more Jersey with me.

Broadway Diner, Red Bank
Broadway Diner, Bayonne
Edison Diner
Crystal Diner, Lawrenceville
Mastoris Diner, Bordentown
Princess Maria Diner, Wall Township

I'm so glad to hear about all these diners in NYC that I had no idea about!

great piece..i grew up in jersey....the Edison Diner was my #1 go to then...now its the UWS so i go to the Key West..it definitely meets all the criteria

i've been a black coffee drinker since i was 6 years old.
(i had asthma & it would help stave off an attack.)
i love it in all forms-and diner coffee definitely resonates with me.
(my fave is tom's diner in the dormont section of pittsburgh.)

Do you think using butternut squash chunks, maybe 1 or 2 cups PLUS I cup canned pumpkin for thickening would be ok? I like the idea of 2 betacarotene sources but I don't want to over-thicken this chili. The picture makes me hungry!