Many a New Yorker has heard of the infamous Ellen’s Stardust Diner. Located in the heart of Times Square, it’s not ideally situated for a seasoned New Yorker who tends to avoid the crowded hub, but that’s no reason to miss out on the musical fare that tourists flock to.
The retro 50’s themed diner attracts many out-of-towners to see their world famous singing waitstaff, also known at ‘Stardusters.’ The locale has launched many Broadway careers and once you hear some of these performers you’ll see why. Plus, with sky high rents in the city, it’s not often we have the dough to spend on tickets to a Broadway show, so the appeal here is great. For just the price of breakfast, lunch or dinner, you can hear some of your favorite show tunes all sung by talented and enthusiastic up and comers.
For dinner, we stuck with the diner classics — burgers, fries and shakes. We whet our appetites with the highly recommended Stardust Nachos, served with pepper jack and cheddar cheese, guacamole, salsa and sour cream (we added chili and chicken atop ours). This was a great, greasy and cheesy way to begin any meal, if you ask me.
With plenty of burger selections, as well as other entrees, it was tough to make a decision, but we went with the Be Bop a Lula Burger (it even sounded fun), topped with American cheese, bacon, grilled onions and sauteed mushrooms. It came with plenty of fries and we ate more of it than we expected to after all those nachos. But it was a good burger and I’d definitely have it again.
But our favorite thing we tried here was most definitely the S’mores Milkshake. We don’t know how they managed it, but it really tasted like a s’more, even down to the smoky, burnt flavor of the graham cracker and marshmallows. It was seriously amazing.
So if you’re looking for a little music to brighten up your day and a good burger and shake to fill your stomach, get out of your comfort zone and venture to Times Square and pose as a tourist for a day at Ellen’s Stardust Diner.
Twisted Talk: Have you ever been to Ellen’s Stardust Diner before? What was your favorite thing on the menu? Discuss below!
