Classic Hudson Valley Diner Accidently Makes Top 6 List in America

A diner in Hyde Park, New York was just named one of the six best in America. Unfortunately, it appears to be a terrible mistake.

Recently, Food & Wine Magazine released a list of the best "classic diners" in America. Among them is the Eveready Diner on Route 9 in Hyde Park. While the Eveready is unquestionably top-notch and consistently voted as one of the best in the Hudson Valley, it appears that an error was made when the publication decided to put it on the list.

Eveready Diner in Hyde Park Mistakenly Named in Top 6

It seems odd to question a publication deciding to honor the only Hudson Valley diner that has been visited by Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Still, we're pretty sure Food & Wine made a huge blunder by including the Eveready Diner on its most recent ranking.

In an article on its website titled "America's Most Historic Diners Worth a Detour", the publication explains that the six eateries on its list are among the oldest in America, insisting that "These historic diners have kept their griddles hot for nearly a century and are worth the detour."

This made us scratch our heads, considering the fact that we were all very much alive when the Eveready Diner made its debut in 1995. Even so, Food & Wine insists that the Eveready Diner was "Established in the heart of the Hudson Valley in 1938". If true, that would mean that the huge neon sign out front was erected when the Vanderbuilts were still living in the mansion down the street and Franklin Delano Roosevelt was President.

How Did This Mistake Happen?

It's unclear how Food & Wine Magazine got its information wrong, but we couldn't find any reference online that says anything about the Eveready opening up earlier than 1995. The old Lighthouse Diner, which was closed down in the early 90s and transformed into the Eveready, doesn't appear to date back that far either.

I did find some online articles that mention some activities of the Roosevelts in 1938, which also reference the Eveready Diner as a good place to dine in town today. Perhaps the error is the result of some sloppy research or the unchecked use of AI in writing the article. Either way, the information is clearly wrong.

While the Eveready's kitchy decorations are a throwback to the classic diners of the early 1900s, the restaurant is only 30 years old - hardly old enough to be included on a list with places like Lou Mitchell's in Chicago, which is over 100. In fact, the Eveready Diner is one of the Hudson Valley's newest diners, coming onto the scene over 50 years after Beacon's Yankee Clipper, which opened in 1946, and 70 years after Red Hook's Historic Village Diner, which opened in 1925 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in New York State.

We reached out to the author of the article about the discrepancy and will let you know if she can shed any light on how the unfortunate snafu happened.

UPDATE: The article's author, Annie Brown Verdin, responded to our message and thanked us for pointing out the error. The article has been updated to clarify that the Eveready diner was established in 1995 and technically sits at the former site of a restaurant that was in operation in the 1930s.  While we still think there are other Hudson Valley diners much more worthy to be listed as one of the best "century old" diners in America, we're happy to have helped clear things up.