“Family-friendly service and quality comfort food dished up with a side of nostalgic Americana. Diner classics and rotating seasonal specials spotlighting the region’s agricultural bounty, from a kitchen helmed by a veteran of fine dining.”

Arnold Bennett skillet with local scrambled eggs, chives, crème fraîche, and smoked trout; hot fried chicken sandwich with house-made bread, butter pickles, and buttermilk herb aïoli on a kaiser roll.

Often jokingly described as a Brooklyn restaurant in the Catskills, the Phoenicia Diner is what we wish more roadside diners could be: a friendly place where breakfast and local produce are on the tables from morning to close. Built in 1962, the current owner Michael Cioffi has breathed new life into the restaurant. The menu, which doubles as a placemat with illustrations, quirky facts about the Catskills, and suggestions of places to visit, toggles between diner classics like French toast and “eggs any way“ and more creative offerings like the butternut and polenta skillet made with spinach, Parmesan, and a poached local egg. Those refueling after a hike in the area will also find chicken and dumplings, and pan-fried trout. During the summer, a vintage trailer serves food outside.

“All the belly-warming comforts you'd expect – country-fried steak and eggs, skillets with pork belly or house-cured corn beef, burgers, BLTs, and tuna melts – done up with a modern chef’s precision and as many local ingredients as they can find.” Thrillist