50s style restaurants

Are there any surviving 50s-style diners/restaurants in the area? I tried calling Juke Box today in the Knobs and the number was disconnected, so I am assuming they have closed.

I don't know if I'd call it a 50s ( more like 70s)diner , but the Goosecreek Diner on Goosecreek and Westport on the East end is the closest thing to a true east coast Diner that I know of around here.
http://www.gcdiner.com

Deb

I just say a place today that I was curious about. Whitneys Diner in McMann Plaza on Hikes Lane. Anyone know anything about it?

If it is still there - Ranch House on Charlestown Road in New Albany.

We drive by Whitney's all the time, but have never been in. If anyone has any thoughts about the food, I'd love to hear them. It's close to my house, and cheap!

Whitney's is a totally "out of the box" kind of place. Nice enough people, but don't expect anything special. We go for breakfast when everywhere else is full and we need to eat quick. Along the line of Barbara Lee's without the diner attitude.

Haven't eaten there is a while, but try the Nalley House Restaurant on 3rd street just north of Kentucky. It at least used to be a "real" diner, with blue plate lunches, home-made pies for dessert (great pies!), old-time waitresses, et al. When I went it had a different name (maybe "Yale"?), but I think it's the same place.

AnneMarie, I believe the place you're talking about was Bobby Soxers on the corner of Frankfort Ave. and Vernon. I worked there ever so briefly, about 12 years ago. And yes, I wore a poodle skirt.

I can't say for sure; I was only there a few months. I think they lasted for a few years though.
They had the greatest malts and milkshakes. Oh, and french fries too.

Oh, I totally remember that place and forgot all about it! I loved it! It was where Osaka is now, right?

I second Goose Creek in some ways. It's a little romper room, though. Short booth and lots of primary colors. Can't think of anything else apart from Twig and leaf as a diner (haven't been in awhile, so I don't know if it still has the same antique flare). I'll take this opportunity to woe the demise of Ehrmann's Bakery in the Mid City Mall, where they had the old fashioned soda fountain where they pumped the syrup and poured the soda separately, homemade ice cream that they blended into the best malts I've ever had. And caramel Ice Cream that was the subject of a discussion on here long ago about the chunky bits being actually lumps of fat. Mmm... And the prices were definitely outdated, too.

I hate to hear about Juke Box.
How about Twig & Leaf? Someone may advise, I think they date from that era or very close to it without getting into all the self-conscious Grease / American Graffiti stuff. Not slamming places that take a '50s theme, just drawing a distinction between them and the few that have held on. Seems like the kind of diner type places our family ate at sometimes when I was little in the early '60s.

The food at the Twig & Leaf is god-awful. I hate to be so hyperbolic, but it really is bad. Maybe it's just nostalgia, but I remember the food being good there when I was a teenager (esp. grilled cheese sandwiches and waffle fries),but not too long after I moved back I had breakfast there and it was pitiful. Quite possibly the worst biscuits and gravy I've ever had, anywhere (and that includes bad Yankee versions I've had in the Northeast). And while it's an old place, sure, the "50s decor" there isn't authentic or from the era, but cheesy repros and whatnot.

I'm not sure that Louisville has an authentically 1950s (or earlier) style diner. I guess I was spoiled by going to school so close to this place: http://www.historic-village-diner.com/ (terrible website, but a beautiful 1920s-era diner with great food).

[Robin Garr]

I'm not sure that Louisville has an authentically 1950s (or earlier) style diner. I guess I was spoiled by going to school so close to this place: http://www.historic-village-diner.com/ (terrible website, but a beautiful 1920s-era diner with great food).

Diners are really a Northeastern phenomenon, and Louisville is a little too far Midwestern/Southern to support a strong diner culture. But that said, a few places not mentioned that I'd offer as our regional equivalent: Mr. Z's at Third and Breckenridge; Kaelin's, and Cottage Inn.

Two years ago I would have suggested a drive east on 64 to Ashland, where you could have experienced the The Bluegrass, but they unfortunately closed after many many years. I spent a good part of my childhood at the Bluegrass, enjoying their Flying Saucer burger, the great bisquits and gravy, only offered twice a week, and terrible coffee.

Diners are really a Northeastern phenomenon, and Louisville is a little too far Midwestern/Southern to support a strong diner culture. But that said, a few places not mentioned that I'd offer as our regional equivalent: Mr. Z's at Third and Breckenridge; Kaelin's, and Cottage Inn.

I went to Mr. Z's a few months ago for the first time and loved it! That is probably the closest equivalent to a Northeast-style diner (at least in terms of food) that I can think of in Louisville. What ethnicity is Mr. Z, btw? Not that it matters but I'm convinced that part of the lack of diners in Louisville probably stems from not having many fantastic Greeks here. In the Northeast, Greeks have the diner biz on lockdown (as you probably know from living in Astoria, Robin).

It's not a diner per se, but has anyone been to the Smokey Valley Truck Stop in Olive Hill, which was on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?" I have to admit that show is a guilty pleasure, and the few places I've been to that have been featured on it have been fantastic (esp. the Joint in New Orleans).