Dining Car   

If you were to build a diner with the tools from your Sims game, it would probably look like the Dining Car, a shiny silver-and-black box with big, frosted Art Deco windows and lots of red-glowing glass blocks. The inside of this Northeast Philadelphia landmark retains the same kitschy, retro feel, and it serves up a fairly standard diner menu. The spot attracts the gamut of locals, from families to teenagers on a date to, especially, empty-nesters enjoying some hard-earned couple time. The menu is a manageable size, offering sandwiches, cold platters and above-standard treatments of entrees such as hot turkey, baked ham and strip-steak platters. A favorite: the huge and incredibly rich and cheesy crock of French onion soup. The Dining Car also is known for its desserts, like apple-walnut pie, Jewish apple cake and -- get this -- two-layer chocolate-covered cheesecake (oh, my). Service is friendly and relaxed, and on weekend nights and Sunday mornings, expect to wait for a seat.