Robert ‘Big Bob’ Gibson started out in 1925 with a hand-dug BBQ pit and a makeshift table in his backyard. His slow and low wood-smoked chicken and pork proved so popular that he opened a restaurant, drawing lines around the block. There are now two locations in Decatur and they’re legendary thanks to the excellent food and warm welcome. Big Bob is also credited with inventing the BBQ white sauce, blending mayonnaise, vinegar and pepper.

Casual, compact and completely delicious – Pho’ Vietnam, which has several locations in Anchorage, is known as the place to go for a hearty and heartwarming bowl of pho (Vietnamese noodle soup). Every mouthful is packed with spicy, sweet, savoury and tangy flavours. Diners appreciate the great value and also adore the sticky, generously filled pork buns.

The exterior may be unpretentious and a little unprepossessing but the food served at Kiss Pollos Estilo Sinaloa is really rather special. This tiny Mexican joint has a menu of favourites including burritos, tacos, tostadas and quesadillas and they’re some of the best you’ll find anywhere. That is, according to many who have dined here. Everything is delicious, though the chicken tacos are a must-try.

The Hooshburger, laced with Iranian spices typically used in kebabs, is the thing to order at Pig Trail Bypass Country Cafe, a general store, café and gas station hybrid. The café, owned by an Iranian immigrant, is tucked along a winding road in the middle of the Ozarks and its food, along with the friendly service, make it well worth a detour.

Many consider La Taqueria to be the best Mexican restaurant in California, which is certainly saying something. Located in San Francisco’s Mission District, in the heart of the city’s Latino community, it’s been here for around three decades and is famed for the best burritos packed with meat, fish or veggies and with no ‘fillers’ like rice. The tacos are pretty amazing too and diners reckon the joint definitely lives up to the hype.

Grinder specialises in, well, grinders – a type of sub sandwich that originated in New England and is thought to have been named because sailors would often ‘grind’ their teeth on one before heading out to sea. They’re usually served hot and toasty and customer favourites include the excellent Petey, packed with house-made meatballs, marinara sauce and three melted cheeses. Everything is wonderful though and comes served on classic, fluffy-yet-crispy hoagie bread.

This cute, family-run New Haven spot has been going since 1895 and, according to the Library of Congress, is the first US location to serve the hamburger and the steak sandwich. The hamburgers are still made from the same mix of five cuts of beef and served on white toast with onion, tomato and cheese. People love the history of the place and the delicious, no-frills food.

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El Diablo, which has several casual counter-serve restaurants in Wilmington and one in nearby Newark, is a hit with diners who describe the made-from-scratch burritos and tacos as the best they’ve tasted. The salad bowls – or ‘naked’ burritos – are pretty good too. With a varied, crowd-pleasing menu and stand-out dishes like the braised short rib, it puts other restaurants in the shade.

El Carajo is a restaurant tucked inside a wine shop tucked inside a bakery tucked behind a working gas station. This snug spot, in a building that once housed a car wash, also happens to serve incredible food, including paella, grilled octopus, crisp sardines and seared meats. They also have a huge wine list, cosy ambience and warm service, adding to its reputation as one of Miami’s best places to eat.

Southern Soul Barbeque on St Simons, one of Georgia's Golden Isles, is housed in a 1950s-built gas station where attendants once dressed in bikinis while filling up car tanks. Things have moved on a little and now this charmingly ramshackle restaurant is famous for its delicious slow-smoked barbecue. Instead of gas, servers dispense tender beef, pork, turkey and wild game to devoted customers and lucky passers-by every day.

Porky’s, which started as a food truck and has a second shop quite some distance away in Lehi, Utah, is famous for serving fast food favourites with a twist, from grilled cheese sandwiches loaded with pulled pork to beef hot dogs topped with onions, pineapple and sweet or spicy sauces. Once you’ve taken a bite, nothing else will compare.

Housed in a simple wooden structure and decorated with old farming tools, The Rusty Lantern is a little different to your typical diner. The yard is strewn with old tractors and a collection of bird houses and it’s the warm quirkiness of the place that make people fall in love with it. Of course, the food is also outstanding, with popular choices including unusual soups like taco, pizza and ham and bean. The enormous cinnamon rolls are a hit too.

Born in Chicago’s Little Italy in 1960 and now with a second location on Michigan Avenue, Fontano’s has stayed true to its roots by specialising in Italian-style subs like the Blockbuster, which comes stuffed with ham, salami, capocollo (a traditional cold cut) and two types of cheese. The bread is especially good and they also serve a mean pizza, including Chicago’s iconic deep dish.

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It’s always lunchtime at Oasis Diner – or at least it feels that way. Shelves inside this cute, colourful spot display a range of vintage lunch boxes with illustrations from E.T. to Mickey Mouse. It’s like stepping back in time in the best possible way, with the building itself shipped from New Jersey in 1954. The menu is an equally appealing list of comforting, carb-loaded dishes, with the Patty Melt one of the favourites.

La Regia Taqueria is a one-stop shop for Mexican groceries and supplies, from spices to piñatas, offers takeout and even has a sit-down restaurant. So it’s something of a hidden gem, with those who have discovered it declaring that they serve some of the best and most authentic Mexican cuisine. The cooking is reliably spot-on with a menu of burritos, tacos, quesadillas and a variety of vegetarian dishes too. The fried potato tacos are among diner favourites.

There’s often a queue snaking around the corner by Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que, with three locations including one attached to a gas station. It’s considered among the best barbecue spots in the city with beautifully smoked, tender ribs and pulled pork. The Z-Man sandwich, stuffed with brisket, cheese and onion rings, is a favourite, and all plates can be enjoyed inside or on the patio, right behind the pumps.

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Rick’s White Light Diner has a motto: “If it goes on the wall, it never comes down.” They obviously live by it, given the eclectic display of licence plates and mardi gras beads that adorn pretty much every inch of the walls. The exterior of the 1943 building has an interesting story too, with white porcelain tiles used due to the wartime rationing of steel. Rick’s famous crawfish pie is a breakfast favourite, while the friendly atmosphere is a huge part of the diner’s charm.

There are three Billeaud’s – two in Broussard, including the original location attached to a gas station, and one in nearby New Iberia – and each is as unassuming yet reliably delicious as the next. Around since 1889, it’s best known for boudin (boo-dan), a Cajun sausage made with pork and rice, though the rotating plate lunches are excellent too.

More of a hole-in-the-trolley than a hole-in-the-wall, tiny Palace Diner is nevertheless an unlikely spot to find such excellent food. The 15-seat diner, set inside a trolley car, has an even smaller menu with just a handful of breakfast dishes and lunchtime sandwiches on offer. Diners describe dishes like the tuna melt as life-changing although most say everything is sublime. The bright red trolley was built by the Pollard Company in 1927 and is one of two surviving such structures in the country.

Located in Baltimore’s Fells Point neighbourhood, Tortilleria Sinaloa is a small, unassuming and hugely popular spot that often draws queues thanks to its delicious Mexican cuisine. People love the freshly made tortillas and tortilla chips as well as the tilapia fish taco, which comes served with butter sauce seasoned with Maryland favourite (and Baltimore-founded) Old Bay.

Legendary Miss Worcester has been going since 1948 and has an entire menu dedicated to French toast, with the crunchy option among customer favourites. There’s also a menu of egg dishes and another focused on burgers. In fact, the dishes significantly outnumber the seats, with around a dozen perches at the counter and five booths for groups. Everything is delicious, and the fun, homely decor is a winner too.

These are America's best classic diners

You might expect to find food this flavoursome and vibrant in a treasured neighbourhood restaurant. But in a gas station off the highway? Perhaps not. Mr. Kabob's original location opened in a Berkley gas station in 2003 and proved so popular there are now several other locations, including one in downtown Detroit. Each one serves up flavoursome food like zingy fattoush salad, moreish pitta wraps and beautifully marinated meats.

The location of Al’s Breakfast could hardly be more apt: this tiny slice in the wall is in Minneapolis’ Dinkytown neighbourhood, and is just as adorable as the location suggests. It claims to be the narrowest diner in Minneapolis with a width of just 10 feet (3m) – so skinny it’s a wonder there’s enough space for the huge breakfasts that have been served up here since 1950. People love the place for its fun, old-school atmosphere and warm, friendly service.

This hole-in-the-wall diner on once-thriving Farish Street doesn’t look like much from the outside – or on the inside, for that matter, with just a few simple tables and plastic chairs in the narrow space. But Big Apple Inn witnessed some important history. Leading Civil Rights campaigner Medgar Evers – who was assassinated outside his Jackson home in 1963 – rented the small upstairs apartment as an office. Its speciality since opening in 1939 has been pig ear sliders, while the menu also includes a burger and hot dog.

The legendary Broadway Diner serves homemade classics like biscuits smothered with lashings of rich, creamy gravy in an atmosphere that’s both fun and comforting. Customers love the signature breakfasts like the The Stretch, a generous serving of scrambled eggs, chilli, onions, cheese and hash browns. The interior is classic diner style with red booths, pink and blue tabletops and a long counter lined with leather-cushioned stools.

This Montana-founded chain has locations in Billings, Bozeman and Livingston, with one outpost in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Each one is adorably compact and serves some of the tastiest sub sandwiches around. People love the generous fillings, from meatballs with melted provolone cheese to Philly-style cheesesteak, and the pickles are (of course) deliciously moreish.

In an ordinary looking low-rise structure off the Highway 2, Hi-Way Diner is a classic, no-frills spot that serves up reliably delicious comfort food. Breakfast is the thing to order at any time of day, with favourites including eggs Benedict and anything with hash browns. Diners even get the third egg free, while the sandwiches are stuffed with fillings like chicken strips and meatloaf.

Guests might experience a close encounter of the third kind when visiting this restaurant and shop, attached to a small motel. That's because Little A’Le’Inn in Rachel, a town with a population of fewer than 100, is in the middle of the Nevada desert off the ‘Extraterrestrial Highway’, en route to Area 51. The restaurant serves up Alien Burger, fries, stories about alien sightings and advice on the best spots for watching the skies.

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The original Lexie’s in Portsmouth (there are also locations in Dover and Exeter, plus another in Newburyport, Massachusetts that's open seasonally) is a favourite spot for burgers and thick, creamy shakes. The patties, which include veggie options, come loaded with various toppings or served plain and customers love the simple yet delicious food. Cute touches like crayons and paper for kids and cookies with the bill are also much appreciated.

American Melts is a ‘build-your-own’ grilled cheese bar and the possibilities are huge – unlike the space inside this tiny box of a café. Filling options include bacon, American cheese, pesto, pickles, portobello mushroom and sliced apple, served on anything from country white sliced bread to a doughnut. The results are some of the best sandwiches served anywhere.

El Modelo first opened in 1929, with owner Carmen Garcia rising in the early hours to make tortillas ready for the breakfast crowds. Now this no-frills spot remains famous for selling the best tortillas and tamales around. Hot treats like huevos rancheros and sopapillas (small fried pastries) are wonderful too, while New Mexico’s green and red chillies play a starring role in many dishes.

There's a couple of tables tucked in the back of Zaragoza Mexican Deli & Grocery, though most people order their burritos, tacos, tamales or tortas – topped with carnitas, chicken, chorizo or goat – to go. Customers love the hidden feel of the place, which is effectively a small deli counter inside a tiny grocery store, as well as the friendly service and authentic cooking.

Country Deli, located on the state’s Outer Banks line of barrier islands, is famous for its overstuffed sandwiches, so big that customers often save half for later. Generous fillings include BLT and delicious cheeses, while the cookies, cakes and ice cream sandwiches are popular too. There’s also a range of deli foods, most from local producers, on sale.

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Tiny Darcy’s Cafe punches above its weight when it comes to the quality of the food – and the size of the portions. Tables fill fast at this popular spot, which is a favourite for breakfast (served all day) and delicious pastries. The menu includes enormous plates piled high with eggs, bacon, sausage and every other breakfast food you can think of, alongside sweet treats like pancakes and cinnamon rolls.

This cute corner deli in Columbus’ Historic German Village is considered the go-to place to satisfy sandwich cravings. People rave about Brown Bag Deli menu favourites like The Village Addiction, sourdough with smoked turkey, havarti cheese and cranberry mayonnaise, and sriracha-spiced Inferno. Sides like devilled eggs and potato salad laced with mustard are also delicious. 

Tarahumara’s is a family-run cantina and a real local gem. The menu centres around the cuisine of Mexico’s Chihuahua state and includes a range of delicious salsas made daily using red and green chillies grown in the region. Customers can expect rustic, generously piled-high plates of chicken mole and chilli relleno as well as some pretty stiff margaritas.

Waffle Window quite literally serves customers through a hole in the wall. Its USP is Belgian-style waffles served with a very Portland twist, which means regional ingredients and inventive toppings like huckleberry jam, bacon and brie and lemon panna cotta. Customers love their fluffy waffles and the warm, friendly service.

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A number of locations claim to serve the best Philly cheesesteak, but many customers believe John’s Roast Pork is the place. Despite the name, this small, unassuming spot in south Philadelphia is renowned for its cheesesteaks, athough it turns out the roast pork sandwiches are pretty great too. The food is so good there are often people lining up down the street and everything tends to sell out by the afternoon.

Dee’s Deli is the sort of cute, charming, down-home spot that has locals yearning for the sandwiches while they’re away and has visitors wishing they lived a little closer. The tiny bungalow-style joint specialises in traditional Italian grinders, served packed with charcuterie meats, cheeses and crunchy veggies. Everything is good, particularly the enormous meatball sub.

The Grilled Cheese & Crab Cake, which has featured on Guy Fieri’s TV show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, proves that cheese and seafood can be paired to perfection. Customers are particularly enamoured with the crab melt sandwich: a crab cake squished between two thick slabs of Texas toast with Monterey Jack cheese and sliced tomato. It’s especially good with a side of fries seasoned with Old Bay.

Sugar Shack looks more like a gas station than a place to find fabulous food, though low-key and no-frills so often deliver just that. This roadside diner definitely does, winning over locals and passers-by with some of the best burgers in the Black Hills. A popular stop with bikers, the hole-in-the-wall eatery is also known for its rustic atmosphere and friendly service.

The Loveless Cafe isn’t glitzy or glamorous like some places in Nashville but this spot just outside the city is perhaps one of the best places to find good old-fashioned Southern comfort food. Located at the start of the Natchez Trace Parkway, it’s the perfect place to stop on a road trip and load up on classics like fried chicken and the fluffiest biscuits, all served on gingham-topped tables and surrounded by walls covered in photos.

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Czech Stop, a Shell gas station, deli and store has a little secret inside. Little Czech Bakery draws on West’s Czech heritage by specialising in kolaches. These freshly baked pastries are filled with a range of sweet or savoury fillings from fruit with cream cheese to sausage with sauerkraut, and they’re just perfect. There’s a handful of tables for eating in or people can grab a bag for the road.

The food at Five Sushi Brothers, a small spot with just a few tables, is so good that the restaurant has won a legion of loyal fans and is especially popular as a place to satisfy late-night cravings. People particularly rave about the gyoza dumplings and the cute atmosphere. There’s also a location inside the Walmart in Orem.

The food served up at Handy’s Lunch, a family-run spot that’s been going since 1945, is simple yet superb. The small diner, near the stores of Lake Champlain, is a favourite for breakfast and lunch, with a menu of crowd-pleasers like the Big Daddy breakfast (a plate of pretty much everything you can think of) and the Super G sandwich which is essentially breakfast in a bun.

Route 58 is part deli and part café, with shelves and fridges stocked with homemade soups, dips, smoothies and cheesecake. The latter, a classic New York-style cheesecake with myriad toppings, is very good (and huge), and the pastrami, soups and knishes (Jewish filled pies) are all excellent. So are the sandwiches, generously crammed with fillings like hot pastrami and corned beef – the sign outside warns "if you finish, we've made a mistake".

Twede’s Café doesn’t look like much from the outside but fans of David Lynch’s surreal 1990s TV drama Twin Peaks might recognise it as one of the most memorable locations from the show, the Double R Diner. People come for a slice of the Twin Peaks cherry pie, famously loved by Agent Cooper in the show, and (of course) a "damn fine cup of coffee". There is heartier fare like sandwiches, wraps and mac ’n’ cheese on offer too.

Hermosilla’s looks like your standard deli but the food served here is really something special. It’s so good, in fact, that customers tend to return again and again. The sandwiches are great, from Italian subs to pastrami, while they also sell deli and antipasti trays to take away or eat at one of the few tables.

This cute and decidedly old-school burger joint dates back to 1934 and is a favourite among locals and anyone else in the know. The menu at Al’s Hamburger Shop is simple yet perfectly executed. A range of classic and speciality burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches and shakes are served up to happy customers, who perch at the few blue leather-topped stools or grab a cosy booth.

Luxury Diner is housed in an old trolley car and the interior is tiny. With just a few tables and food that attracts rave reviews, there is often a wait to be served. It’s worth it though for the wonderful club sandwiches, fluffy pancakes and friendly service. It’s known for breakfast and burgers but the more substantial lunchtime plates, with choices like chicken fried steak and corned beef hash, are also great.

Now take a look at America's classic diners through the decades