60 newyork| february17–march1, 2020
S
ad but true: The diner isin
decline.Alsotrue:Thedineris onthe
rise.Howis thispossible? Well,toput
it plainly,asolddinersdisappear, new
onesemerge.Ofcourse,theUnderground
Gourmet lovesa burnished-in-amberhash
houseasmuchasthenextNewYorkfresser.
Andnostalgistswillrightlypointoutthat
shiny, newdinersare nothinglike their
fadedforebears.Butthesefolks
definethe genre toonarrowly.
Theoriginaldiner, afterall,wasa
horse-drawnchuckwagonofsorts,
andtheshapehasbeenshifting
eversince—intothestreamlined
stainless-steelbeautiesofthe’30s,
thepostwarbehemoths,thesplashy
space-agedesignsandColonialstylesofthe
’60s,andtheso-calledMediterranean-style
dinersofthe’70sthatconqueredQueens
andLongIsland(a.k.a.DinerIsland).
In 2020 NewYork,dinerdesignis sec-
ondary. Where thesepopulist eatingestab-
lishmentsoncedistinguishedthemselves
architecturally,nowthey dosoculinarily.
Wehavedinersthat specializeinvegan
comfortfood(ChampsDiner),Japanese
pubgrub(DinerbytheIzakayaat Nowa-
days),andpedigreedSpanishhomecook-
ing(JoséAndrés’sSpanishDiner),their
identitiesdictated lessbythe physical
structuresthey inhabitthanbythefamil-
iareverydaynessofwhat they serveand the
low-keycomfort inwhichthey doso.
Ifyouneedproofthatgreatdinersare
stillamongus,getouta mapofManhat-
tanandseeif youcanfindwhere Madi-
sonStreet meetsMarket.There,inthe
Chinatown-adjacent,East River–
fronting stretch knownasTwo
Bridges,iswhere a formerfine-
diningchefnamedSamYoohas
giventhecitya wonderfulgift called
theGoldenDiner. Yooopenedthe
restaurantinMarchwithoutthe
benefitof gas.Sixmonthslater,Con
EdisonworkedYoointoitsbusyschedule
andturnedonthejuice,andGoldenDiner
tookoff. Theneighborhood,whichhad
latelylost suchold-schoolstalwartsasCup
&SaucerandEverestDiner, couldn’t be
happieraboutit.
EquippedwithTiffany-stylelamps,swiv-
elingcounterstools,andpaper-hattedgrid-
dleNijinskysina seamlesschoreography
behinda Formicacounter, the28-seat room
is barelywiderthana diningcar. Asidefrom
thevisualcues,though,what reallymakes
GoldenDinera dineristhat intangible
spiritofegalitarianbonhomieyoulook
forina jointlikethis.It’sthat home-away-
from-homequality;evenif it’s yourfirst
timethere,youfeellike a regular.
Thenthere’sthefood.Yoo,a Queens-
bornKorean-American whospenthis
formativeyearsinthekitchensofTorrisi
ItalianSpecialtiesandMomofukuKo,calls
therestaurantanAsiandinerbecausethe
flavorsofJapan,China,andKoreapervade
much of a menuthatotherwiseidentifies
as archetypal NewYorkdiner—clubsand-
wiches, half-grapefruits, soups du jour, and
all. This is sacred territory for many, and
the chef has tiptoed into the arena, avoid-
ing kitsch and nostalgia while focusing on
what typically gets overlooked: the quality
and creativity of the food.
Much like the surrounding Lower East
Side and the city itself, Yoo’s kitchen oper-
ates as a microcosm of flavors and tech-
niques coexisting and transformed by
proximity, an approach that makes time-
worn classics taste both familiar and fresh.
Take, for example, extra-fluffy pancakes
thatweara quenelleof honey-maplebutter,
inspiredbya Koreanpotato-chipflavor.Or
the“Chinatownegg &cheesesando.” Two
things(besidessuperiorscramblingtech-
nique)distinguishthelatterfroma bodega
BEC:a super-crispyhash-brownslaband
thesquishysesame-scallionmilkbun.Yoo
honorstheLowerEast Side’s past witha
Talmudicmatzo-ballsoupandembraces
theplant-based presentwith a vegan
Caesarsalad.Still,youcan’t callyourselfa
diner—Asianornot—withoutacknowledg-
ingtheprimacyoftheburger.Combining
Golden Diner
food
Edited by
Rob Patronite and
Robin Raisfeld
IMPRE8 8SSIVE
GoldenDiner
123 MadisonSt.,
nr.MarketSt.
nophone
goldendinerny.com
key:Theratingscaleof0 to 100 reflectsoureditors’appraisalsofallthetangibleandintangiblefactorsthat make a restaurant or bar great—or terrible—regardless of price. PHOTOGRAPH: SCOTT HEINS FOR NEW YORK MAGAZINE
the underground gourmet
Diner Deluxe
Deliciousness is in the details at Sam Yoo’s casual
but accomplished Golden Diner.
by robin raisfeld and rob patronite
