Don’t look for this place to be listed among James Beard award winning restaurants, but if you’re looking to save a few bucks on a meal before going to bet on the horses, you could do a lot worse.
The Club House Diner is a no-frills throwback kind of place that’s been on Street Road for decades. Even TripAdvisor calls it “very much a typical diner” – pretty definitive, I’d say. Most reviews highlight the friendliness of the staff and the family atmosphere of the place. They are spot on.
Just exactly when the diner started into business is an open question. The restaurant has changed hands several times, so they’re a little short on their institutional memory. The racetrack opened in November of 1974, when it was called Keystone Race Track. By 1984, help wanted ads for the Club House Diner began to appear in the Philadelphia Inquirer, so we know it was there then. Based on the architecture of their building, ’74 to ’84 is about the right time frame.
Yes, there are Early Bird Specials for seniors from 2-6 pm! Breakfast is served all day. If you’ve already had breakfast, try their salad bar… so many choices for just one plate…
Smarty Jones, who won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes in 2004 was the most famous thoroughbred to come from the nearby race track. There was great disappointment in the Delaware Valley when Smarty placed second in the Belmont that year & just missed winning the Triple Crown! I was a little miffed not to see a culinary nod to Smarty on the menu, but that was 22 years ago & his fame has faded from popular culture. I mean wouldn’t it be cool to say you’ve tried the “Smarty Jones” omelette at the Club House? But maybe it would be as anticlimactic as Smarty’s final race.
The other reminiscence I had when I ate at the Club House Diner with Route1Views collaborator, Christopher Gentile was the fabulous breakfast I had at the Track Kitchen in Aiken, SC. Culturally and physically, The Track Kitchen is a long way from Bensalem, but there’s something about horse people that gives me the same special feeling.
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