Back At Home: Tom Jones, Diner Extraordinare

In my neck of the woods, we have an excellent 24-hour diner in the trashy New Jersey tradition called Tom Jones. They proudly display an article explaining how Tom Jones the singer sued them, and they won. Anyway, TJ’s is the diner to end all diners, with giant (but ineffectual) smoke-eaters, ugly orange seats, and crappy food at cheap prices. It’s perfect, but you really have to wear clothes you don’t intend to wear again anytime soon.

Of course there are plenty of crazy-sounding things on the menu like the “Jobo,” but the main fare is the Blue Ribbon Special. Behold the beautiful spectacle up close:

The Blue Ribbon comes with two eggs, two pancakes, two sausage, two bacon strips, two pieces of toast, juice, and coffee. How much? $2.99. Can you even believe it?! No! I’ve seen the price rise from $2.39, to $2.79, to the current price, which is still ridiculously cheap. Sometimes, shitty food, late at night, is just what you need.