I love promoting books written by friends, and this week’s blog post is about a cookbook that is exactly that. A long-time friend, Juli, has written The New American Diner Cookbook, The classic American diner is an institution unique to the Northeast, especially New Jersey (I may be a little biased). Growing up in the ’80’s, the diner was always a gathering space for everyone, old and young, families and friends, just to hang out. Endless cups of coffee, fountain drinks, and oh, those disco fries, kept us more than content sitting in a vinyl booth at a sticky formica table for hours. Menus at diners are epic. Page after page of omelets, pancakes, club sandwiches, Greek salads, meatloaf specials, and towering desserts. In her cookbook, Juli provides 75 recipes, including Belgian Waffles, French Dip Fake Out, and Brownie a la Mode, all with gorgeous color photos, as well as blurbs about diner lore. It’s a great read, and now some of those hundreds of dishes can be made at home, if your diner is closed for the day.