On Friday evening and this place is off the hook!!
I don’t even know where to begin with this piece, especially since “Tops Diner” should be a restaurant instead of a diner, simply because I’ve never been to a diner where I witnessed a long wait just to be seated. We didn’t have that problem though, we were seated right away.
Their selections are plentiful and the food portions are enormous!! When the food comes out of the kitchen, it is bedecked on huge platters like it was pulled from a cuisine magazine.
I saw huge platters of fish and shrimp, chicken and waffles and the chicken, fish and shrimp pieces were so big, I had to ask our waitress Carmella if there was a hen-house out back or a fishing dock at the edge of their parking lot.
The “owner and chef” at Tops is not playing when it comes to the way his food is presented and served to his patrons.
My dinner companion had chicken and eggplant parmesan over a large bed of linguine, this pasta dish was so large it could feed a family of five. And with that dish came a nice size salad and soup, I had his soup along with a spinach salad, topped with grilled salmon and mushrooms, a chopped boiled egg and mozzarella cheese. (the food pictures here are not the real depiction of the restaurant’s dishes).
For dessert I had the red velvet cake and it was better than Sylvia’s; now you know…it had to be good! The cake was so light, it melted in my mouth.
My crony had the coconut pie that looked like a cake, was shaped like a big fat piece of corn bread and baked to perfection.
Again, I asked Carmella our waitress, if the owner’s grandmother was in the basement cranking out cakes. That’s when she informed me, there was indeed a bakery on site and yes in the basement.
The staff was courteous and professional…I liked because they were all wearing the same shirts and dark pants, they were all neat, clean and uniformed. The chefs were wearing dress pants and dress shirts, adorned with white aprons. Again, the look was clean-cut and professional.
A professional presentation in a business, equals a high degree of training, competence and skill.
Established in 1972, Tops Diner is located in East Newark or maybe even Harrison, New Jersey. It’s a popular spot for the students of Rutger’s University. So if you’re ever in the area, it’s so worth the trip and dining at the top!!
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