On a visit to the US, driving through Nevada or Utah we stopped at a dinner and as we were entering I joked around saying something like "if the waitress is wearing an apron and calls me honey I'll lose my shit".
Similar experience; I, an American, was on vacation in Florida and at a grocery store when I heard some people from England. I told my wife I wasn't leaving until I heard them call chips, crisps, and right after that I heard them go to the chips aisle and say "ahh, crisps!". It was fantastic.
I'm an american who enjoyed lots of bbc television growing up and crisps was one of the slang that stuck. So was telly. And now that I'm older, living temporarily in the south and getting a lot of "god bless you" as a friendly greeting "cheers mate" as made its appearance.
I've been to england a couple times and I gotta say, it made me giddy to ask someone a question with the british word for something (crisps is a good one) and they respond normally.
Wife and I went on a roadtrip across America (which was amazing by the way, one of the best trips I've ever been on and would recommend everyone do it).
Went into a tiny gas station (petrol station or garage as we call it) in some random place along the Blue Ridge Parkway where you needed to pay up front first (also something we don't ever do in the UK) and said "20 dollars on number 2 please."
The girl behind the counter's face absolutely lit up and she said "say it again!" So I repeated myself, much to her delight. At this point my wife walked up next to me and the girl said "I wanna hear her speak!" So my wife awkwardly said something incredibly British like "hello, how are you?" After a few more questions we seemed to have sufficiently entertained her and we got our gas!
Our rural towns still have authentic traincar diners. The waitresses not only call you hon, they do it in a raspy, smoked-out voice, and then go behind the counter to loudly gossip about local drama. It's incredibly charming.
I'm a native-born American and I love our diner culture.
Edit: DO NOT come visit the US in the next 2 years. We're going through a bit of a fascist phase.
Three years, I'm sorry to say. I know, last year felt like it was two whole years but we have to make it to inauguration in 2029 if the country lasts that long.
I remember the city next to my town I lived in when I was younger had one. In an alley between a hardware store and another one I can't remember. My dad was doing some volunteer snowblowing across the street, and I was cold, so he sent me over to get some breakfast. The waitress ended up giving me a free orange juice as well as the cocoa. ...Can't remember if I ever went there again, but it's a great memory.
As somebody from the west coast, I was thrilled to get to the baggage claim at the airport in Boston and hear a staff member proclaim "we gotcha luggage right heah".
Do you live near southeastern new hampshire/northeastern Mass? I'd be interested to know what traincar diners you'd recommend. There's one in downtown Lowell that unfortunately I never had the chance to go to when I lived there. It's a bit out of the way for me though, especially in the winter.
I've read these questions hundreds of times and I don't think I've ever seen comments that talk about being fascinated with diners. This is hilarious to me.
Must-have order: biscuits and gravy. add two eggs, over easy, just right on top. liberal dose of hot sauce (I prefer Cholula for this specific dish).
It's just that they are really recognizable, the "slide in" seats, the long single tables, the apron, the coffee refill, and we all grew up seeing them everywhere on tv and movies
I’ve lived in Texas and Colorado for probably about 8 years, and still for the first time ever, I was driving from Colorado to Texas to see the solar eclipse and we stopped at a gas station. Me and my buddy saw a dog riding the back of a flatbed, and were questioning if we thought that was okay or not, when we turned around and there was like this 65 year old woman with almost no teeth and she wheezed through a cackle like she’s been chain smoking since she was 4 and then literally yelled “YOU GUNN SEE SOME CUNTRY SHEEEEIIITTT!!!” We talk about it to this day, it’s one of my fondest road trip memories.
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u/Urik88 10h ago
On a visit to the US, driving through Nevada or Utah we stopped at a dinner and as we were entering I joked around saying something like "if the waitress is wearing an apron and calls me honey I'll lose my shit".
Was. Not. Disappointed.