History Main / GreasySpoon

* The street cafe type shows up in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' on Tottenham Court Road, where the trio go to try to escape the Death Eaters, but two show up [[spoiler:because they are able to track anyone who speaks Voldemort's name.]]

* In ''NineteenFortyOne1979'', one of the plot lines starts in such a place. Going by the name of Malcomb's Cafe, it is infamous for serving leftovers to other customers.

* ''Film/RoadToPerdition'': IrishMob hitman Michael Sullivan and his son ''very narrowly'' avoid an assassination attempt. Sullivan even small-talks with a waitress who brings his fried chicken and coffee, and the hired assassin Harlan Maguire--posing as an IntrepidReporter--also orders coffee with [[SweetTooth an enormous heaping of sugar]]. While Sullivan and his son escape, Maguire kills a cop who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Oh, and by the way: the American diner [[SeriousBusiness is very important to the culture of the Northeast]], and is practically a religion in UsefulNotes/NewJersey. Argue with a Northeasterner--and especially a New Jerseyan, and ''really'' especially a North Jerseyan--about what a diner is at your own peril.[[note]]In the Mid-West, Indiana is usually the locus for diner culture, and can be very proud of it, too![[/note]]

* The equivalent of a greasy spoon diner in Québec has [[IHaveManyNames many names]]: "cantine", "pataterie", "binnerie". The infamous [[CanadaEh poutine]] had its origin in these cantines. They offer an array of junk food like hot-dogs, corndogs, hamburgers, French fries, "sauce fries" (fries in beef gravy), club sandwiches, submarines, and the ubiquitous poutine that no self-respecting diner wouldn't have on the menu. They are generally very spartan in decoration (such as the semi-famous [[https://twitter.com/Wezpower/status/741416750651199488 Hurteau]] [[https://s3-media3.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/HILIncA8ts5M42ms8s9ctQ/o.jpg cantine]] in Sorel-Tracy) but famous cantines like the [[https://chezashton.ca/nos-succursales/ Ashton]] in Québec City or franchised cantines such as ''La Belle Province'' or ''Le Petit Québec'' are closer to the American diner aesthetic. Virtually every Québec town or village will have at least one cantine, either a franchise or a "mom n' pop" one.

* The Lumberstack Diner from ''VideoGame/Psychonauts2''. At the time Raz comes across it it's long since been abandoned, and is serving as a pancake kitchen for [[LethalChef Fran]] and her animal companions.

* Music/SuzanneVega whiles the time away, drinking coffee and people-watching, in "Tom's Diner".

* A stock setting within many NewspaperComics, such as ''ComicStrip/{{Blondie}}'', ''ComicStrip/BringingUpFather'', and ''ComicStrip/TheWizardOfId''.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' had the [[ThreeAmigos main trio]] resting/hiding out in one of these when under pursuit by [[TheMenInBlack The Guys in White]] after Danny's SecretIdentity was exposed to the public.