Last week I finally had the chance to visit the 1950's American Diner here in Prato. As you can guess from the outrageously creative name, the restaurant recreates an American diner circa 1950s complete with neon clocks, elvis music, and old cars out front. I went with a few of my friends here in Prato. They have been telling me about this diner since I arrived and new that I had to visit it at some point to test it's authenticity. We started with some fried appetizers, popcorn chicken and fried mozzarella sticks, both of which were decent, likely straight from the frozen box and into the fryer. Maybe not 1950s era food but who doesn't love fried food. The rest of the menu was very stereotypical American with ribs, a tex-mex burrito, and lots and lots of different types of burgers. I pointed out to my Italian companions that in the 50s there only would have been 2 options, a hamburger and a cheeseburger and that the menu was missing that essential diner item, chicken-fried steak. Even after explaining what it is, I'm not sure they understood why anyone would ever want to eat that. I decided that I had to try their "American Ribs". Unfortunately, they were very un-American. This cut of ribs had no meat on the bones, only meat between the ribs, and were grilled quickly, not barbecued slowly, leaving them very tough. And, no BBQ sauce on the ribs, just on the side. They still tasted okay, but certainly not a good representation of American BBQ ribs. Though the 1950's American diner puts up a good facade, I have to say their food does not do the American diner justice. I hear there is another American style diner in Florence, hopefully they have better diner food.
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| They got the beer right, Budweiser |
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Tex-Mex Burrito - not bad for a burrito in Italy,
ranch dressing on top was odd |
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| My "American Ribs" |
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| It was absolutely packed! They are making a killing just serving hamburgers and frying frozen food. |
Last week I finally had the chance to visit the 1950's American Diner here in Prato. As you can guess from the outrageously creative name, the restaurant recreates an American diner circa 1950s complete with neon clocks, elvis music, and old cars out front. I went with a few of my friends here in Prato. They have been telling me about this diner since I arrived and new that I had to visit it at some point to test it's authenticity. We started with some fried appetizers, popcorn chicken and fried mozzarella sticks, both of which were decent, likely straight from the frozen box and into the fryer. Maybe not 1950s era food but who doesn't love fried food. The rest of the menu was very stereotypical American with ribs, a tex-mex burrito, and lots and lots of different types of burgers. I pointed out to my Italian companions that in the 50s there only would have been 2 options, a hamburger and a cheeseburger and that the menu was missing that essential diner item, chicken-fried steak. Even after explaining what it is, I'm not sure they understood why anyone would ever want to eat that. I decided that I had to try their "American Ribs". Unfortunately, they were very un-American. This cut of ribs had no meat on the bones, only meat between the ribs, and were grilled quickly, not barbecued slowly, leaving them very tough. And, no BBQ sauce on the ribs, just on the side. They still tasted okay, but certainly not a good representation of American BBQ ribs. Though the 1950's American diner puts up a good facade, I have to say their food does not do the American diner justice. I hear there is another American style diner in Florence, hopefully they have better diner food. 
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