Hollywood Diner

Last night, Monday, January 17, 2011, my husband and I showed up at the Hollywood Diner, one of our favorite eating places, only to find that it had closed its doors on January 11. There were signs on all the windows saying that the enterprise had been «manipulated» by its landlords and vowing to open at some other location on the Rockville Pike. There was no indication of exactly when that might happen.

We had just come from dinner with my parents… which if you knew my family, you would understand that it was an epic 17 course meal that lasted close to 3 hours.
Yet…yet I was still… peckish.
Yes, I’m a fatty.
My husband was also a little peckish… but then, he putzed out on the gorging at the 75 minute mark, and spent the last hour and 45 minutes watching us eat with the voracity of a pack of T-​Rexes. We were driving home when we passed by Hollywood Diner, and after a dint of whining, he pulled into the parking lot so I could order some Challah bread French toast, and so he could get a slice of cake.
The service was fast, and the food was pretty decent. The portions were pretty big… there was still one slice of the super thick and fluffy French toast left on my plate that I really just couldn’t finish (OK, I could have, but my husband was staring at me like I was Joey Chestnut *AND* Kobyashi combined… so I sheepishly left the last delicious slice on my plate).
Definitely one of the nicer diners in the area — I think I still love Tastee Diner in Bethesda for it’s crankiness, Nick’s in Silver Spring for it’s greasiness, and Village Green in Germantown for it’s sheer yumminess… but compared to these three, Hollywood is definitely cleaner, prettier, bigger and has a much larger menu.

Best sausage in town. They overcook eggs if ordered over easy. Solid breakfast.
CLOSED NOW

The Hollywood Diner has closed as of January 13, 2011. Sign on locked door blames landlord for raising rent.

Forget Silver Dinner. Hollywood Dinner has all the food you can think of and its open 24/​7-​I believe. I love love love their Gyro platter. I also like their breakfast sandwiches, burgers, omelettes and their salads.
If you are sick of Ihop and Silver Dinner, this is the best place to visit.

This place straight up sucks. It was better when it was the Broadway Diner, with the previous management.
The wings are skimpy, as are the milkshakes. The service is pretty crappy.

Stop and take a look at their dessert display when you walk in. There are enough cakes and cookies to satisfy any sweet tooth in one sitting… maybe even two! The dessert here is not amazing but they’re great for late night sugar cravings. I liked the black forest cake… its primarily whipped cream on chocolate cake with a bit or a jelly center.
The food here is also ok. I really recommend the omlettes, french toast, and the baby lamb chop special if they have it. Portions are big so consider your self warned :). My friend ordered a veal parmesian and had two massive plates of food; one plate was dedicated to pasta only…
This is fairly pricey for a diner. For regular diner foods; it’s not so bad… but for entrees; you can easily get into the 15 dollar range.
Service is also hit or miss depending on who’s working and what the time is. It truely is a coin flip so you really gotta try your luck whenever you come.
On a side note; I’ve attached picturs of my blackforest cake and my baby lamb chops… and yes, that is a cup of green jello…=D

Before I say anything about the Diner and it’s food. Make sure you DEMAND Mae as your waitress! She is just the most absolutely amazing, sweetest, hilarious little Asian woman. She was also just on top of everything, she gave us the best services you could ask for at 2 in the morning. She was cracking jokes and givin us pounds, we are hanging out with her when she gets of work forreal!
Okay okay, the restaurant. The food is great and the atmosphere is interesting after midnight. It so random and the fact that this DINER serves alcoholic beverages is outrageous! That’s the only way I can really explain it. There’s about 12 pages of menu options (no exaggeration) and you get large portions and the prices are decent. You also get a discount if you are a college/​high school student.
Ps. Raspberry Ice Tea w/​Lemonade. Mae makes that drink taste like heaven!

Horrible!
I have never experienced such terrible customer service before!
That is all I will even say about this one star, wish I could give less, review. Do yourself a favor and head to Tastee Diner or Silver Diner, where they will at least treat you with respect, and the food is way better.

This is my go-​to place for late night food. Grant it, it’s one of the only places that stays open super late (especially after a night out in DC…).
Recently, I have become obsessed with their chicken salad club. My only gripe with club sammiches is that with the 3^rd layer of bread, it is really hard to bite, especially when they cut them into tiny quarters. Ughh. So, everytime I order, I make sure to tell them to only cut it in half. And so the world turns again.
Their pancakes are good, too. Big and fluffy. Bacon is like… hardcore. Not the cheapy thin ones you get at iHop.
Service is pretty good for what it is. And it’s usually pretty clean.

Four stars for messing up my order, but making it right in the end!
I was recently in town for business and my flight was delayed and I arrived in town much later than I thought (1:15 am), and I was quite hungry was expecting little to no options in the area.
Imagine my surprise when I was told that there was an area diner that would deliver to my hotel until TWO AM!!! Whooooooo!!!
It was with great anticpation that I ordered a Veggie Burger with Avacado, and a Veggie Quesadilla. The person taking my order commented on my Veggie Burger and double confirmed that i wanted a Veggie Burger.
When my food arrived a little while later I was starving and ready to dive in. I opened up the containers and was shocked to find some sort of meat based hamburger (Turkey) instead of my veggie burger!!!
I called back up and the person who took my order answered the phone, and when I told him I had a problem with my order, he stated that I was the one who ordered the Vegge Burger, Right? (Yes, thats me)
I explained that I dont eat meat, and I don’t want a Turkey Burger. There was a few minutes of back and forth, and I was then put on the phone with the owner who explained that the kitchen was closed (it as a few minutes to 2am) and there was no one who could deliver my order and he was upfront in offering credits for future meals, and etc due to the timing.
I explained that I had traveled all day, was hungry had my order confirmed multiple times and it was a mistake on the resturant’s part, not mine. I explained I wouldnt be here tomorrow for a discount/​credit and I simply wanted to eat what I had ordered.
The owner then agreed to have someone deliver me my correct order (I suggested the person who messed up the order) and all was right with the world.
I REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE THEM GOING THE EXTRA YARD TO DO THE RIGHT THING BY THE CUSTOMER. ANYONE CAN MAKE A MISTAKE, BUT FEW ARE HONORABLE ENOUGH TO FIX IT.
WELL DONE.

I come here for one thing. The L.E.O Omlette. Its a huge platter of eggs, onions, and salmon plus delicious hash brown and toast, or grits, or something else. And it costs $ 9. Two people could eat it.
It’s always good. But what I really like about the diner– is that all kinds of tastes can be satisfied! Even though I always get the same thing, my husband can eat greek, or burgers, or seafood, or pasta, or whatever, even ribs, and its all pretty decent (based on my samplings.)
I have never had problems with service and I go probably once every 2 months.

This place gets a bad wrap. Under the new ownership it has gotten better… much better. And in fact, if you order correctly, not only is this place «decent» it’s acutally pretty freakin good.
Rule #1: If you stick with any of the offerings in the Greek Corner, you will be happy. The new owner is Greek and I was tipped off to the food here by one of my Greek friends (thanks Peggy!). The Gyro platter is very good, I love the fries, the meat has a nice crispiness to it, the salad and dressing are great and the pita is average. Definitely a go to order.
Rule #2: As dumb as it sounds, they have good omelets here and when you ask for turkey, ham or any other meat in the omelet, they definitely don’t skimp. The only thing I don’t like is when I get my egg white omelet with turkey and american cheese it is a bit pricier than I like
Those are really the only rules I have… heh. My friend is a self professed french toast fiend and he doesnt like it here, so id order something else. Also, I like the scrapple here. It’s not great but it gets the job done and they give you two heaping servings of it.
There’s probably some other hidden gems on the menu that I’ve yet to discover, and if nothing else the portions are tremendous so you won’t leave hungry. I’d really like to talk to someone in the kitchen to see if any of the stuff they make is from scratch a la Diners, Drive-​ins and Dives.

When people think breakfast food, there’s a few places that people think of in Rockville
1) Original Pancake House — For your breakfast snobs who think they’re pancakes are better than everyone else’s. Too bad they’re only open until 2−3pm. That’s stupid. I would like this place more if they were open during dinner time too.
2) IHOP — Standard go-​to. I love their pancakes. It’s the benchmark for me. They’re only open late night on the weekends.
3) Silver Diner — supposedly open late night (maybe 24 hours) every day. Full fledged blue plate special menus. But I think their food is a little too greasy for me (I know, I didn’t think I would have said that either)
And last but not least, their is Hollywood Diner. Phi N got the history right. It used to be Broadway Diner, but I banned Broadway Diner because I remembered they tried to charge a $ 3 «sitting fee» for people who did not order anything. We just got up and left. They didn’t deserve our business.
But with the name change, I think their may have been an change in owner as well. I came here on a random Monday night and we stayed here until 2pm. At our table we had the:
–Spinach Artichoke Dip — not too shabby, plenty of cheese, not enough chips to cover the dip.
–Pastrami Reuben — piled high with a side of fries (fries are kind of meh for me. I prefer the straight cut fries that you can get at IHOP)
–Chicken Parmasean Sandwich — For $ 8, you get a huge open faced sandwich that is just as big as the entrée and with a side of fries. Definitely a best bang for the buck type of dish
–Strawberry Milkshakes — Not too shabby at all. Not too shabby.
I would recommend Hollywood Diner as your «mix it up» diner. If you’re just sick of IHOP and you’re just not feeling Silver Diner, then give this place a shot. And who knows, if you just need a place to go to at 1AM on a Tuesday night, this will probably one of the few places that are open.

Some people love diners. My husband for instance, grew up in Long Island, where diners are on every other street corner. He has emotional ties of sharing many a meal at the local diner with his late father. When he goes home to visit, he picks up his grandparents who are in their late 80’s, and they have dinner at the diner. Grandpa can order his gin and tonic, salad, entrée and dessert, and they don’t break the bank.
I remember one of the first times he brought me home to meet his family in NY. We’re driving around, and I’m on the verge of turning into a monster (ie, low blood sugar… need to eat ASAP!!), and he suggests going to a diner. I think I looked at him as if he offered me a dirty dish rag. Lets just say my response did not go over well, as he was clearly insulted by my reaction. (Fortunately for me he did not drop me like a dirty dish rag right then and there.)
Fast forward many years later, and the Hollywood Diner sits a mere stones throw from where we live. Well, perhaps a stones throw when I used to play softball in high school. Now I’d probably have to swing a bat… but regardless…
So I’ve gotten over my issue with eating at the diner, but just barely. I think its the idea that one place can serve so many food items and make them appear in less than 10 minutes that just makes my skin crawl. Coming from someone who enjoys cooking, and knows what type of preparation is involved with certain meals, I just imagine shelves and shelves piled high with canned, processed, boxed and outdated food items.
My other concern is that there are so many food items that I’ve never even HEARD of that are listed on the menu. Not that I can even remember their names, but my southern born-​and-​bred friends were able to shed some light for me. I certainly do not claim to have grown up in a globally food savvy neighborhood of the USA, but I do think I’ve been exposed to many culinary delights. Perhaps not as many as I thought. Perhaps I’d rather be left in the dark.
Perhaps I will refrain from the only place open in suburbia when I arrive home after a late cross country flight which forced me to miss dinner. Perhaps I will just stick to the chicken fingers and fries next time we’re hanging out with Gram and Gramps.

I still have no idea what the hours of operations for this location is… sometimes I go and they tell me they’re 24 hours, but I’ve been there before when they were closed… I was all sad. Then again, I’ve also been to three 24 hour mcdonalds and a 24 hour shoppers and they were closed too. So who knows???
Anyway, the food here isn’t very great. The restaurant just got a name change; it used to be broadway diner. The food is pretty much the same though. I don’t really recommend any of the entrees other than the gyro. It’s hard to mess up a gyro. Breakfast food is good here too, but then again, it’s hard to mess up breakfast food… I’ve ordered a bunch other items in the past, and now I’ve learned. Those are the only dishes I’ll come and order. haha. and if it’s cold out like tonight, get hot chocolate!

I used to come here when I lived in Maryland and it’s been very respectable every time. I don’t think I’ve had a single bad meal here over the years.
Recently had a late night Greek omlette and it was quite good. Everything was top quality, served fast, and came at a very fair price.
Definitely a good stop for late night eats in Rockville, since after 10pm everything seems to batten down the hatches ’till morning.

I go here regularly with my family. We all have different dietary requirements/​preferences. Hollywood diner offers a wide variety of options and everyone in my party can find something.
The size of the menu is a little daunting… but isn’t that why people go to a DINER? No matter what I feel like eating, they have it and it is pretty good.
The salad selection is nice and you can pick your protein (chicken, salmon among other options). The salads are huge and fresh. The salads usually make another meal or two later.
I usually have a sandwich or wrap. The ingredients always taste fresh and the portions are generous. I have not been disappointed with the breakfast options.
The service is usually pretty good… especially since the new owners have taken over.
There is a full bar.

He said, «Well this is the first place we reviewed without actually eating there. We went inside and I felt like we were at a nursing home. It was oddly quiet with the occassional clanging of dishes and glass in the background. We sat down and started looking through our book, I mean menu. The menu was like 10 pages long and felt like a childrens book. My experience says that any menu longer than three pages the food isn’t going to be good. There is no way one place can make that much food and have it all taste good. Sad to say we got up and left without eating.»
She said, «So we walk in and there are old people at every table, literally. There was absoultely no noise in this place expect for the seniors chewing their food slowly and the door opening and closing from the kitchen. I felt like everyone was staring at us. There was no music or any kind of comotion going on at this place. so we akwardly sit down at our table and read through the menu that was 10 pages long front and back. I mean no place can be good when they have crab cakes, philly cheesesteaks, fish, steak and breakfast. I mean they have every kind of food you can think of. So we got up and ate next door at chipolte which was much better and cheaper.»

This place replaced Broadway Diner and it looks like they just replaced the name of the place because I’m sure a lot of people don’t realize they had a name change until they looked at the menu.
Speaking of the menu, it was expansive and had everything from pancakes to chinese to liver. It’s a giant tomb of things to order, a little too much for my tastes but smart if you have a party with picky tastes.
I ended up getting the Texas Burger because I’m always intrigued by eggs in burgers and much like the menu it was huge. Large onion rings, large patty, two fat slices of tomato and a quarter of a head of lettuce. Oh and the obligatory egg sitting on top of the patty. I actually ended up destroying the top bun because I had to constantly wrestle with this thing to eat it. The patty was a little over cooked which was what I expected (I usually order Medium expecting Medium-​well) so I guess that was a good thing. Everything else was fresh and tasted great.
A better alternative to Silver Diner because of the choices and quality of the food. I also found it a couple of bucks cheaper, so a win win win.