Like any dutiful American diner, Setauket Village Diner serves burgers and fries, coffee, and omelets as part of its vast nine-page menu, which could please every diner. But like any history book about empires, it also adds Greek and Italian to the mix. Steak gyros and kebabs that skewer chicken or salmon represent the former, whereas pasta such as linguine marinara and and shrimp scampi topped with feta and mozzarella are highlights of the latter.
Seated on red leather bar stools, guests at Silver Star Diner sip on fresh-brewed coffee and peruse a menu of comfort cuisine such as half-pound burgers, deli sandwiches, and breakfast skillets. In addition to hearty diner staples, guests can sample a rotating selection of pastries, which are baked on-site daily. Diners can order anything off the menu regardless of the time of day or lunar cycle.
The neon sign adorning Krish's entrance looks to be unchanged since the ice-cream parlor established itself in the area in 1955. The outdoor patio echoes this '50s feel with aqua-colored tables perched beneath matching umbrellas and nearby murals of ice cream, burgers, and fries that hint at the treasures in store. Inside, the staff concocts more than 35 housemade ice-cream flavors, ranging from chocolate chocolate chip and fluffernutter to peach and black raspberry. This delectable diversity helped earn Krisch's the title of Long Island Press's readers' pick for the Best Dessert Place from 2010 to 2012. Krisch's also transforms this creamy dessert into a variety of treats, adding dollops of it to sodas, whirling it into shakes, and topping it with housemade whipped cream for sundaes.
Krisch's dining room carries on its patio's decorative motifs, flaunting vibrant aqua shades and chrome accents typical of a mid-century diner or mermaid's classic Corvette. Once settled into four-tops or red booths, patrons order from a full menu of comfort fare such as hefty half-pound burgers, deli sandwiches, and homestyle entrees of meatloaf, roast beef, or southern fried chicken.
Former longtime waitress Brenda Tresk owns and operates Norm's, which serves a menu of delicious diner fare 24 hours a day. Breakfast maintains Most Important Meal and Best Smile titles with all-day dishes of kielbasa omelets ($9.49) and oven-cured biscuits draped in tasty sausage gravy ($4.89). Sweet servings of silver dollar pancakes ($3.11) or thick planks of texas french toast ($4.49) balance out savory plates, and lunches such as a pastrami Reuben sandwich with fries and coleslaw ($10.29) quell midday midsection rumbles. As guests dine on satisfying portions, Norm’s Americana-infused space, filled with art-deco chrome accents and a resident jukebox, evokes misty memories of a simpler time when everyone wore leather jackets and no one spoke Russian.