Lincoln Diner - Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

I first started going to Lincoln Diner in Gettysburg when I was in high school. It was THE hangout for the group I followed, much to the dismay of the waitresses at the diner. We would go in and order coffee or sodas and snacky items. My favorite memory was going in with a couple friends and munching down on orders of french fries with gravy. I don't know why that was soooo good, but there you go.

Lincoln Diner is located right off the square in Gettysburg, one block down on Carlisle street, right against the railroad tracks. Sometimes if you are lucky a train will go by and you can watch it go, literally 15 feet from your table. There are two sections, the front section is booths and stool/counter seating. This is the smoking section, also, and it is open 24 hours. The back is table/booth seating, non-smoking, and closes around 9pm (I think).

When I used to go to the diner in high school, it was a little run down, someone had apparently gotten the great idea that the traditional chrome look of diners was really outdated and had ripped it all down years before. About 10 years ago, they finally brought the chrome back and it now appears as it did years ago, in full chrome and neon as seen in the picture above.

Service is good, the food is typical diner: (large) breakfasts all day, soups, sandwiches, fries (with gravy, please!!), salads, , burgers. I've never ordered entrees there, but I know they have broasted chicken, fish fillets, steaks, etc. with veggies, mashed potatoes, the usual. They also have some of the best milkshakes in the area, but one of the things that most people comment on is the desserts.

Beside the main door there is a revolving, cooled, 3-tier dessert display with 3-layer chocolate cakes, strawberry pies, eclairs, boston cream pies, and just about any other thing you can imagine there for your drool-enticing viewing, not to mention some very good baklava and sundaes. They actually have maple walnut sundaes! And to top off their dessert menu is The Thing: 8 scoops of ice cream, 4 different syrups/sauces, and several toppings that I cannot remember right now. No, I've never had it.

It remains THE hangout for groups of high school kids today. This is one of the three drawbacks I will mention about the Lincoln Diner. I think the kids flock to it primarily because it is open 24 hours and they don't seat you, so you can walk in, gab with friends, and walk out again. They also don't pay much attention to teen smokers.

Problem 2 is that they don't accept credit cards or debit cards, but you can plan ahead and hit an ATM machine before you go. They do accept traveler's checks.

Problem 3 is the parking, which is small, tight, and problematic in getting out of the lot without hitting someone else's car. My recommendation is to park in the sole Gettysburg parking garage, which is across the street and down Racehorse Alley that runs between the Gettysburg Hotel and the Majestic Theatre.

The bottom line, though, is that if you are looking for a large mushroom and cheese omlet with some of the best breakfast potatoes around, or a chocolate milkshake, or (sigh) gravy fries, this is the place to go.

Unfortunately, they don't appear to have a website.

Lincoln Diner
32 Carlisle St.
Gettysburg, PA 17325
(717) 334-3900