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breakfast, brunch, chuck wagon, chuck wagon diner, coffee, diner, dinner, Duanesburg, duanesburg ny, eat local, food blog, foodie, local, lunch, new york, restaurant, reviews, travel, traveling brunch, upstate new york, upstate ny
Today we traveled along the Western Turnpike to the land of horses and fields that go on forever. When Spotify started cutting out, we knew we were getting close to the Chuck Wagon Diner. We chose this place for its fabulous name and location — Duanesburg is a lovely country town with rolling hills and plenty of farms.
From the outside, it 100% looks like a true, old fashioned American diner should. We stepped inside and were happy to see that the decor honored the style of an old diner. There was a jukebox in the corner, a long counter with smaller jukeboxes on it, chrome accents on the ceiling and above the counter, and an extended dining room in the back. We got there around 11:30am, which seems to be the norm for our lazy Sundays, and the hostess sat us immediately at a booth in the dining room.
We were handed breakfast and lunch menus, which didn’t have a lot of options to choose from.
There was a nice little history about the Chuck Wagon Diner on the front of the menu, which was nice to read, as it’s definitely one of the best diner-looking diners we’ve been to in our travels. The prices on the menu were so low we started to question the quality, but we were in it to win it. Besides, we couldn’t have had a worse experience than yesterday’s go-round at the Country View Diner. While we perused the menu, we had the speediest delivery of coffee and water to date. Less than a minute from ordering to receiving–our waiter was great!
Unfortunately the coffee and water were not as great. The water tasted like it came out of old pipes, and we ended up rating it a 2 out of 5. The coffee was a 2 as well, since it tasted as old and burnt out as the transmission on an ’87 Corolla.
I ordered a mushroom and Swiss omelette, with an English muffin and plain home fried potatoes. I was assured by the waiter that the home fries had no seasonings on them, which (you can already tell from my tone) was completely wrong. Matt ordered a cheese omelette with home fries, a banana muffin, and a side of corned beef hash. It was nice to see the Chuck Wagon embraced cheeses of various nationalities — American, Swiss, Mozzarella, and Cheddar.
The food came out in a little over 10 minutes, which was nice to see since it wasn’t super busy. The omelettes were average, definitely a solid 3 out of 5. The home fried potatoes were very good even though they had some spices on them, and everything else was pretty average as well. Though the corned beef hash was saltier than your ex best friend, the banana muffin was good and the English muffin was perfectly toasted. We’re rating the food a 3 overall. The only thing that made me frown was the fact that there were a few caraway seeds in every food item that had been on the grill. Apparently rye bread had sent its minions out to infiltrate and flavor everything else just a tad. I see you, rye bread. Do NOT come for me.
The service was impeccable at the Chuck Wagon Diner; the waiter refilled our coffees as soon as we ran out and came back a few times throughout the meal to check on things, bringing us whatever we needed in record time. We rarely give a 5 for service, but the Chuck Wagon gets this perfect score. They treat their customers well and are quick to get you whatever you need.
We don’t usually comment on the bathrooms at diners we visit, but the Chuck Wagon deserves a special shoutout for being hilarious and thoughtful. In the women’s restroom, there was a legit changing table for infants with a padded top. Not one of those weird plastic ones that fold down from the wall. Above the restrooms was a sign reminding patrons, “Don’t squat with your spurs on,” and in the men’s bathroom was a custom toilet paper holder called the CrapMaster 3000.
At the counter were a group of individuals who appeared to be regulars, and one of the older men busted out a harmonica at one point to play “You Are My Sunshine.” It was lovely.
The humorous decor spilled over into the dining room, where a funny sign captured our attention before we noticed the babymakin’ pigs.
We were given a handwritten check, which really sealed the deal on our dinerness rating of 5.
Our experience at the Chuck Wagon Diner was pleasant and we would definitely stop there again. The service was excellent, the staff was friendly and welcoming, and the booths were clean. There’s ample parking in the front and back, with nice views of Duanesburg all around.