Skylark Diner - more than just a diner.

I've already said that one of the wonders of North American culture has to be the 'diner.' Affordable, freshly made food served with a lot more style than the fast-food farce that is MacDonalds.

Since moving to New Jersey, which has more diners than any other state in The Union, I've eaten at some great places - but one recently knocked my socks off and I think it's worth writing about here.

The Skylark Fine Diner & Lounge is everything great about American diners - except more so.

Random Discovery

We were driving up Route 1 to go shopping when Tina demanded we stop off and make up the lunch she'd skipped.

"Feed me!"

Skylark just happened to be the next restaurant we saw - a pretty art-deco style diner with a reassuring number of patrons parked outside. What was atypical was that rarest of rarities in New Jersey - a bar. That sealed-the-deal as far as I was concerned.

Most diners in Jersey can't be bothered to go through the strict regulations to get their liquor licence. Skylark was an exception and a welcome one at that.

Parking up, we discovered that the Skylark was fairly busy even at 4pm on a Saturday afternoon. That seemed to be a good sign - and despite the crowd, we didn't need to wait for a table. As we got led to our seats, two more things struck me:

First off, Skylark seemed just that bit cleaner and shinier than the average diner. Not spectacularly so - but enough to make you think: 'Hmmm. Nice place."

Secondly, everybody who worked there seemed to be universally young, slim and attractive. What with the small-town diner atmosphere and all the gleaming white teeth, I dizzily wondered for a second if we'd stepped out of New Jersey and straight into an episode of Smallville or One Tree Hill.

We sat down in a booth - normally I hate booths, but this one was a good balance of height and depth so I didn't need to squeeze in, but I also didn't feel too low down. (Why Tina, who is small enough to fit in a suitcase, loves sitting in a booth so much, I'll never understand.)

The menu seemed impressive. There was the typical diner-fare of burgers, sandwiches, breakfasts and wraps - but also a broad range of what the Americans call 'entrées' - restaurant style main courses like Chicken Française, grilled Lamb Chops and a wide range of seafood.

There were daily specials on the board and overall, the prices seemed to be only a couple of dollars above the average diner.

While we decided on what to eat, I was delivered a pint of ice-cold Bass - and I mean ice-cold. It had ice crystals slowly sliding down the outside of the glass. The beer was fresh and delicious - one of those perfectly-preserved pints that clings to the side of the glass as it goes down.

They certainly got a thumbs up in the beer stakes!

We also got complimentary fresh rolls delivered to our table - and our choice of three flavoured butters. Pesto, Jalapeno and Apricot. We tried them all and while the flavours clashed somewhat with the flavoured rolls, it was a pretty swanky touch and I was impressed by it.

Tina selected the Mediterranean Salad for $11.98, which was a mixed green salad with grilled chicken, topped with a mountain of mozzarella, olives, artichoke hearts, peppers, tomatoes, pine nuts and crumbled blue cheese.

I chose the less adventurous Kentucky Pulled Pork Sandwich at $8.95, which was pulled pork in a barbecue sauce, served on a kaiser roll with French fries.

The food arrived very quickly and was utterly delicious. The French fries (normally the acid test for a diner) were crisp and flavourful. Tina's salad was generously proportioned and while she thought the chicken was a bit bland, she enjoyed eating everything else.

She also enjoyed making a little pile of poultry in one corner of her plate.

My sandwich was immense. I had a tough time tackling it - ending up scooping the overflowing pork up with a knife and fork. It was lovely, though. The barbecue sauce was sweet and smoky.

Despite how nice it all tasted, in the end, we couldn't hope to finish it. We asked the waiter to have it 'bagged up' to take back home.

Our bill came to less than thirty five dollars (including two pints of Bass and a bottle of sparkling mineral water, but not including the tip) and in addition to our satisfied stomachs, we were both sorted for the next day's lunch thanks to our mountain of leftovers.

All in all, the Skylark Diner was a really great find. It delivered everything you'd expect from a typical American diner at competitive prices. Where it went above and beyond the norm was in the attention to detail.

The friendly staff. The flavoured butters. The home-baked rolls. All stuff that made you smile and think: 'Hey, that's a nice touch.'

For range of choice, quality of food and overall price, Skylark easily beats any typical TGI Friday or Applebees. And considering it's 'just a diner?' That's pretty impressive.

Skylark Fine Diner and Lounge is on the corner of Route 1 North and Wooding Avenue, in Edison, NJ. 1-732-777-7878. Visit www.skylarkdiner.com

Open 7am to 2am.

The Eurotrash Currency Game

“Bond had one million francs of private capital - Old Francs, of course - about seven hundred pounds' worth. He always reckoned his private funds in Old Francs. It made him feel so rich."

"On the other hand, he made out his official expenses in New Francs because that made them look smaller - but probably not to the Chief Accountant at Headquarters!”

Ian Fleming, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

Once you’ve lived and worked in a different country, it deeply effects the way you perceive and react to things.

I’ve lived and worked in Britain, France and America and lived my life in four different currencies – Pounds, Francs, Euros and Dollars.

Francs were just fun. I loved earning 6,000 francs a month working as an assistant in Saint Valery en Caux – it made me feel so rich, even though that was barely six hundred pounds.

But now I live with roughly interchangeable currencies. Walking into a supermarket in Britain, France or America, you’re presented with items that cost 3.99 (whether that’s $3.99, £3.99 or €3.99)

The disparity between the values can be considerable. After all, a British pound is worth roughly two American dollars. But unless you’re an accountant or carry a calculator, the mindset you approach your shopping with remains pretty much the same. Whatever country I’m in, for example, I think in pounds.

I think I’ve mentioned an example of this when shopping for wine. Going into Rutgers Liquor (my local wine store) I examine the wine on offer and balk at paying $7.99 for a bottle of Little Penguin Shiraz – since in my mind $7.99 seems SO MUCH more than the £4.99 I’d have paid in England for the exact same vino.

In actual fact, the wine turns out to be about a quid cheaper. But it doesn’t SEEM cheaper because I still think in pounds.

I stupidly expect things to cost the same amount of dollars in America as pounds in England. And the ridiculous thing? Generally I’m right.

As in, a week’s shopping in England would cost £70 from Sainsburys. It costs roughly $70 in America for the same amount of stuff.

Filling your car with petrol in England cost £40. Here in America it’s roughly $30. Bargain!

Basic living expenses always appear to my stubborn little brain as costing the same amount in America as they do in England. The great thing is that my salary doesn’t. Things cost the same but my pay is doubled by the delicious exchange rate. As long as I think in pounds, but buy in dollars, I’m always going to be better off this side of the Atlantic.

This disparity is only interesting because it reflects a state of affairs ignored by the ‘exchange rate.’ To a bank, a pound is worth 2.02 dollars. To a spendin’ man like me, however, you’ll always get more for your two dollars then you will for your quid. The exchange rate seems out of whack in comparison to the actual cost of living.

Exactly how out of whack it was? I never thought I’d be able to know – except then I remembered a cunning invention from The Economist magazine. My father had showed me Burgernomics, or what The Economist call: The Big Mac Index.

MacDonald's is such an enormous corporation, they’ve spanned the globe. The amazing this is that they sell the same product – the Big Mac – in dozens of countries. The price discrepancy between these burgers reveals an entirely different exchange rate than that decided by the banks. It actually reflects how much the local currency will buy you, instead of how much the local currency is worth.

Taking my thoughts about the cost of American living under consideration, I examined the Big Mac index and discovered that my theory is supported. While an American dollar is worth roughly half what the pound is according to the banks, the difference in ‘Big Mac’ money is much more modest 20%. That means the doubled dollar wages I earn in America make me 80% richer than I was in the UK.

Time to break out the Miller High Life? (the ‘champagne’ of beers, $3.92 for six)

Maybe not. But it does make me appreciate not only the situation I’m currently in, but also the situation I came from. As long as I keep thinking in pounds, I’m going to be spending thriftily in America and that’s going to be more responsible for making me richer in the long run than any complicated Burger Economics.

Eating in America

One of the most wonderful things about living in America is that Tina and I can afford to eat out. This follows on to one of the OTHER wonderful things about America - the fact that every type of food you could possibly imagine is right here, on your doorstep.

Just yesterday, in Princeton, I had one of the finest Croque Monsieurs I've ever had. It was DELICIOUS - and served in a bistro-cum-deli that also sold every French and English cheese you could possibly ask for. And the best bit? The Comte and Brie was cheaper here than from 'Monsieur Stinky le Cheese Man' - who sold his sweaty cheeses from the back of a Renault van on Middle Brook Street in Winchester.

Three thousand miles further for the cheese to go, but it still cost less and looked a darn sight more appetising.

Living in America, though, the best kind of food has to be American. The burger is one of the most amazing, delicious creations known to man and America is the birthplace of this culinary classic.

The burger is everywhere - not least of all because of the good work of Ronald McDonald and his Mickey D empire - ensuring that a Big Mac and fries is never more than a mile away from you.

But here's the crazy thing. If you're smart and you love burgers, you never need to eat at a McDonald's again.

What is this madness, you ask? Well, I'll tell you.

Here in New Jersey, there are more diners than in any other state in the union. New York, New Jersey and the rest of the northeastern USA has thousands of affordable, fantastic restaurants serving freshly prepared, delicious American classics and - here's the kicker - the food they serve costs what it does in McDonald's.

Let me break this down for you.

Pop into any McDonald's (there are two within walking distance of my house) and you can get a Big Mac, large fries and a drink for roughly $6 or $7 dollars. That's 1,400 calories wrapped in foil and polystyrene and ready to be enjoyed on the go, or sitting on a plastic chair in front of a dirty Formica table.

If you headed into local diner, like any of five within walking distance, you could sit at a corner booth - with proper cutlery, no less - and order a burger and fries from a pretty waitress (warning: attractiveness of your waitress may vary.)

This would be freshly prepared in the kitchen out back and delivered to your table on a proper china plate, steaming and delicious.

And the incredible thing?

That too would only cost $6 or $7 dollars. And might include onion rings, too.

Of course, you need to tip your waitress - so the price edges itself slightly above Chateau McDo unless you're a cheap so-and-so. But it's real food, served on real plates. It's better, plain and simple. I'm dismayed more Americans don't enjoy the wonders of an American Diner.

That's the rub, though. Despite serving better food and lower cost, American Diners are a dying breed. More at home in a nostalgic 'Americana' movie than in a busy American's modern life, these wonderful little restaurants are slowly ceasing to exist.

I think it's sad that a true American classic will soon be driven out of business and the only thing people will have to remind them of the Great American Burger will be the limp replicas McDonald's serve millions of every day.