American Dream Diner
1933 Herr Street, Harrisburg
234-5840
West Shore Diner
1011 State Road, Lemoyne
763-0324
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Cheap Lunch w/ Betty
The American Dream Diner really is a dream for a penny pincher such as myself. It’s a
great place for a sit down lunch that includes great food, good portion sizes and great
prices, all in a traditional diner décor. Not only was I able to buy a full meal
(open-face meatloaf sandwich smothered with brown gravy and served with steak fries) for
under $5, but absolutely nothing on the menu was over $5. In fact, the highest price I saw
was $3.75 for the chicken Caesar salad.
The food was served within ten minutes, was hot and the meatloaf was some of the best
I’d ever had. Although I didn’t ask, the fries were served extra crisp, just
like I like them, and there was plenty of gravy spilling off my sandwich for dipping. The
price of my meal was $3.35 and .85 for a soda.
.jpg) My partner in meal deals also ordered a hot open-face sandwich, but opted for the turkey.
This was served, as it traditionally is, sliced thin and piled high, and dare I say it?
The mashed potatoes tasted real!
The American Dream Diner also features two daily specials for $3.50 each. One is almost
always a hot lunch, while the other is a sandwich served with one of two homemade soups or
fries. When I stopped in, the hot lunch was a ham slice, red beans and rice, collard
greens, and roll with butter (yep, just $3.50). The other feature was a boneless BBQ rib
sandwich.
Other lunch choices include salads ($1.35 - $3.75), sub sandwiches (all $3.25), hot
open-face sandwich with potato ($3.35), a huge selection of grilled and cold sandwiches
($1.60 - $3.50), and a standard selection of side dishes (.95 – $1.25). If you add a
drink for about a dollar, it’s more of a challenge creating a good meal for over $5
than under!
The American Dream Diner is opened 10:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. for the breakfast and lunch
crowd.
We’ve been getting our first seriously chilly fall weather lately, which means that I
get especially hungry, but that doesn’t mean that I want to spend any more money than
I usually do. Luckily, I didn’t have to. When I dined at West Shore Diner they had
seven lunch specials, all including vegetables, or fries, or both, all for under $5.
.jpg) There are several kinds of lunches offered for $5 or less. For starters, the sandwich menu
is huge. There are over a dozen hot sandwiches (burgers, chicken, fish, crab cake)
available ranging in price from $1.35 - $4.25. All the cold sandwiches are under $2, so
with the soup (.95 a cup or $1.25 a bowl - homemade too), or a side dish (fries $1, onion
rings $1.50) a decent lunch can be had with a five.
In addition to the sandwich and soup route, you can also get a number of hot meals with a
drink for under $5. For example, I got a huge mild sausage with mashed potatoes,
greenbeans, a roll and a Coke for $5 even. My guest got a 21-piece shrimp dinner with an
enormous side of fries, a roll, and coffee for $4.70.
Other meals such as spaghetti with meatballs and garlic bread; clam strips, two
vegetables, and a roll; and a fish basket with fries can all be had for $3.95. If I
hadn’t had such a hankering for something hot, I would have tried one of the salad
platters, which is served with chicken, egg, or ham salad and fries for between $3.25 and
$3.75, depending on your preference.
One of the best things about the West Shore Diner, besides two people eating for $9.70,
was the quick service. My guest and I arrived around 1:30 and were surprised at how busy
the little place still was. As it turned out the "little place" had a whole back
dinning room that I failed to notice, so there was plenty of seating. In 10 minutes from
the time we walked in the door, not from the time we ordered, we had our food in front of
us.
The West Shore Diner is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and is located on State
Street, near The West Shore Plaza.
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