Coal Town Diner- Shamokin, PA

Shamokin needed this.

We lost Harry's Grill back in December of 2014.  Harry's was a place you were guaranteed to get a good meal.  I had always hoped to do a write up on the restaurant here, but never got around to it.  RIP Harry's.  I hope someone buys you and brings you back the way we remember you.

So with the closing of Harry's Grill, that left a huge hole in the already slim pickings of a restaurant scene here in Shamokin.

Enter the Coal Town Diner and a few others.  I'll hopefully get around to the others at some point, but right now, let me talk about this "new" restaurant.

It's not totally new because for years it was known as a billiards hall, but they renamed the place (it was previously called Knocker's), took out the pool tables, and put some elbow grease into making it a good restaurant.

Now, let me give my one critique- this is not, as it is named, a "Diner".  "Diner" to me says greasy spoon style restaurant that is open 24 hours a day, or at least late night.  There's another Diner around here, the Palmer Diner, that to me, is not a true "Diner".  Maybe I'm just used to the term applying to the late night so-so restaurants that my buddies and I would frequent when I was in my teenage and college years.  Some who read this will probably disagree with me on the diner thing.  Eh.

Regardless of what marks a true "Diner", I will say that the Coal Town Diner serves some great food. They post a special on their Facebook page just about every day, and I will say that I have enjoyed many of them.

Last week I enjoyed their Spaghetti and Meatballs.  This was homemade sauce and Meatballs that do not come prepackaged.  Those meatballs had me in heaven, with a healthy amount of spice in them.  The whole thing came to $7.99, which means my wife and I could have dinner for under $20.  Not bad for takeout, especially considering that it also included a salad and bread.

Everything seems made with care, and the people already know me despite that I've not been a regular customer for even a month at this point.  They are nice, friendly, and you might get in an interesting conversation with a fellow customer.

They do have some coal region specialties from time to time.  My first time at the Coal Town Diner I had a Kielbasa sub, which was probably the best thing I've had there.  This was old-style polish Kielbasa made in a crockpot, with onions that tasted very much like sauerkraut.  In fact, sitting there, I asked what kind of sauerkraut it was, only to be informed that they were in fact onions.  I hope they bring that one back soon.  (Hint, hint.)

I only have two criticisms, and they are as follows: 1.) their specials are so good that they should just be a part of the regular menu, and 2.) they do not serve dessert.  Now, the second one can be taken care of, as Maurer's Dairy is next door, but if you want more than ice cream, you're out of luck.  I bet that their kitchen could produce some decent cakes and pies.

So if you live in Shamokin, do give this place a try.  They seem to be doing great on the business end, which is good to see, but I want to see this place thrive for a long, long time.

Coal Town Diner
30 South Market Street
Shamokin, PA
(570) 644-1844