Reverbiage: Stories from NPR tagged 'diner'

Suzanne Vega On Mountain Stage

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:41:00 EST

In a Mountain Stage set originally recorded in December 2007, Vega and her band perform selections from her latest CD, Beauty & Crime. She also performs a couple of the songs that brought her to the forefront of pop music in the late 1980s: the unlikely hits "Luka" and "Tom's Diner."

Stolen Eatery Dollars Used To Pay Court Fine

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 06:00:00 EDT

For more than 60 years, restaurant diners tacked dollars onto The Homestead's wood paneled walls. Each a signed memento of a special time. The restaurant, in a small town near California's Sierra Mountains, is for sale. And an especially clueless thief tried to spend what turned out to be an $8,000 theft of the marked money. Authorities say the man tried to use some of the cash to pay a court fine.

Reflecting On A Search For America's Leaders

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:47:00 EDT

During a two-week road trip, three NPR staffers traveled from Chicago to Phoenix in search of people who rallied their communities. From a diner owner in Chicago to an Arkansas fiddler, those who emerged as local leaders came from all walks of life.

Diner Owner Serves Up Stability With Soul Food

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Izola White runs a soul food diner on Chicago's South Side that's a famous gathering spot for the city's political movers and shakers. But White and her diner have also become a stabilizing force in an otherwise rough neighborhood.

Close to Home: Sing-Along

Mon, 19 May 2008 13:00:00 EDT

Poet Lewis MacAdams writes little tales about things he sees in his downtown Los Angeles neighborhood. In this one, he relates the joy he and his fellow diners feel when they all find themselves singing along to a song on the radio at Carmen's Cafe.

Sonoma Restaurants Seek Creative Fixes for Woes

Mon, 05 May 2008 17:58:00 EDT

Rising food prices and the sagging economy are a double whammy for restaurants in California's Sonoma County. In a place that sets the pace for fine cuisine, restaurant owners are under pressure to get creative as they face soaring costs and fewer diners.

Noisy Restaurants Draw Complaints from Diners

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:00:00 EDT

Complaints have been on the rise in recent years about the volume level in restaurants. Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema took a noise monitor to some of the hottest eateries in the nation's capital.

Food Is Morale Booster or Breaker in Antarctica

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 16:19:00 EDT

At the U.S. cafeteria in Antarctica, what's cooking in the kitchen can affect the morale of the 1,100 people who live and work at McMurdo Station during Antarctica's long summer. To keep diners happy, cooks think creatively and offer as much variety as they can.

Sandwich Shop Leaves Bill Up to Diners

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT

At a restaurant in Kirkland, Wash., dinners pay what they think the meal was worth. NPR's Susan Stamberg talks with the owner of the Terra Bite Lounge about his "pay what you want" coffee and sandwich shop.

A Victim Treats His Mugger Right

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:01:00 EDT

Julio Diaz ends his daily subway commute one stop early, just so he can eat at his favorite diner. One evening, his routine was broken when a teenage mugger took his wallet at knifepoint. But neither of them could have predicted what happened next.

Lunch Crowd Invests in Vermont Diner

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 06:00:00 EST

A while ago, tiny Morrisville, Vt., was in danger of losing one of its few restaurants. Sharon Deitz, the owner of the Bees Knees, was tired of using her apartment kitchen to cook. She was on the verge of calling it quits, but her patrons wouldn't let her. From Vermont Public Radio, Jane Lindholm reports

Guacamole Metaphors and Other Nevada Challenges

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:00:00 EST

Tight races on both the Democratic and Republican sides have made Nevada particularly crucial this year. In New Hampshire and Iowa, there are legendary diners where the candidates stump. In Nevada, it's more complicated.

Campaigns Shift from Small Towns to Big Cities

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:47:00 EST

The presidential campaigns are shifting from an early-state strategy to a national campaign. There is no more time for candidates to glad hand at diners and coffee shops. Super-duper Tuesday is just around the corner -- Feb. 5 -- and the candidates now have to campaign in many states and big metropolitan areas all at once.

Richardson Trails in New Hampshire Primary

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 09:51:00 EST

Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson gets just 13,000 votes in the New Hampshire primary. He finishes a distant fourth, but it wasn't for lack of trying. He observes that you could hardly sit down in a New Hampshire diner without a visit from a candidate.

Free Thanksgiving Meal Makes Airline Workers Sick

Sat, 24 Nov 2007 12:08:00 EST

United Airlines offered free turkey dinners to nearly 3,000 employees working the holiday at Chicago's O'Hare International this week. Unfortunately, many of the diners became sick.

New York Restaurant Attracts More than Attention

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 17:49:00 EST

Manhattan restaurant Serendipity 3 was first notable for the staggering $25,000 dessert it offers diners. But it was forced to close its doors temporarily last week after health inspectors found mice, flies, and cockroaches on the premises.

$25K Chocolate Dessert Sets Price Record

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 08:40:00 EST

The new Guinness record for most expensive dessert may seem like a good buy considering the price of gold. The frozen dessert offered by a New York restaurant is made from the world's best chocolate, cream and bits of gold. It costs $25,000, but diners keep the gold spoon.

Clinton Campaign Asserts Tipping Maid-Rite Waitress

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 06:00:00 EST

A waitress causes a stir on the political blogs. The waitress at a Maid-Rite restaurant in Iowa says she did not get a tip after serving presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton, a Democrat from New York. But the Clinton campaign says a $100 tip was left at the diner.

Couple Buys Wedding Photos 27 Years Later

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 06:00:00 EDT

Mark and Karen Cline got married in 1980. But in all the years since, they didn't have much to show when people asked to see pictures. They didn't have $150 to pay for their wedding album. Photographer Jim Wagner cast the photos aside. And then -- 27 years later -- he found them in a closet. He called Karen Cline, who works at a diner and now has the money. He brought over the pictures. She wrote him a check.

Gloucester's Inspiration for Artist Edward Hopper

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 16:48:00 EDT

Artist Edward Hopper is best known for provocative, shadowy oil paintings of people in urban settings -- diners, offices and bedrooms. But the work that put Hopper on the map is a watercolor of an elegant, light-drenched house in Gloucester, Mass. Houses inspired his work during the summers he spent in the seaside city in the 1920s.

Garlic Debate Raises Culinary Stink Among Italians

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 17:00:00 EDT

In Italy, a debate is raging among chefs and diners about eliminating a pungent staple of the Italian diet: garlic. Critics say the bulbous herb stinks and overwhelms more delicate flavors. Garlic aficionados say it enhances every dish it touches.

Colorado Pizza Joint Makes a Honey of a Pie

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 17:56:00 EST

Beau Jo's pizza chain in Colorado is known for baking honey into the crust of its pies. They even provide extra honey on the table for diners to spread on leftover crusts for dessert.

In D.C., Top Iranian Chef Hails From El Salvador

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 17:14:00 EST

Hispanic cooks can be found in many of America's restaurants. But it still surprises Washington, D.C., diners that the city's best chef for Iranian food is a Salvadoran. Juan, who goes by Johnny, says he worked his way up in the industry, learned a foreign cuisine and made it his own.

Government Joins Fight Against Trans Fats

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 00:00:00 EDT

Guests talk about the new proposal to ban most trans fats from restaurant menus in New York City. Healthy eaters are all for it, but some chefs want the city to stay out of their kitchens and let the diners decide.

Eating Cherry Pie on the Way to Sleeping Bear

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 11:52:00 EDT

Dan Collision and Elizabeth Meister spend every wedding anniversary indulging their passion for road trips and roadside diners. This year, they headed to Lake Michigan's Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore.