Skylight Diner, 402 West 34th St, New York, USA

It's been four months since I last found myself in New York City. The last time was because the hotel I was staying in stole my passport. I was in Pittsburgh, but had to travel to New York to get hold of an emergency passport in order to fly home. This time I was in New York for a better reason: I was on holiday.

Inside the Skylight Diner in New York...

There was (and is) plenty to do and see: the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Macy's, the 9/11 memorial and, of course, a traditional American diner.

I was staying in the NewYorker Hotel on 34th Street, a great place, it has to be said, and an even greater concierge who knew just the place to visit for breakfast.

The Skylight Diner was just across the road and I couldn't wait to have a big breakfast. And by 'big' I only really needed a bowl of porridge and fresh fruit, just like what I eat at home. Here in the USA, they call porridge oatmeal and I ordered a huge bowl of it along with strawberries, blueberries and sliced banana (see photo below). That and a cup of Lipton's English Breakfast tea (decaff) was very English, but it was all I wanted. I could have eaten much more; there was, for example, a whole section devoted to omelettes hovering around the $9 to $12 mark. How about an avocado omelette ($10.95) or an egg white low cholesterol omelette ($12.45) and containing peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomato and basil. There's a classic Denver omelette containing ham, peppers and onions ($10.95) or an Anthony Quinn omelette with tomato and feta cheese ($12.45).

Oatmeal with fresh fruit - wonderful!

There's pancakes and French toast (I love French toast) and there's steak too, like an NY boneless strip steak and two eggs ($19.95). There are breads and pastries, egg white breakfast wraps, variations on an egg sandwich, yoghurts, cereals, tea, coffee, soda, it's all here at the Skylight and it's retro, just like I'd expected it to be and I would have gone back for more, but it all adds up and there's a Pret on 8th Avenue that sells oatmeal, a large cup of English Breakfast tea, and an almond croissant for far less than I paid for breakfast at the Skylight, but that's not what it's about. Yes, you can pay less for your breakfast at a Pret, but the Skylight is the real deal and that's all that matters. 

The Morning Star Cafe, Second Avenue, New York, USA

Mooching around New York on a Friday can get a bit boring as wherever I go, I find throngs of people milling about, not mooching, but milling. I don't know the difference - between mooching and milling -  but I think mooching is more meaningful, more inquiring, more subversive, perhaps. Anyway, I'm mooching around, walking along Lexington heading nowhere in particular, although I was heading in the direction of Times Square, but eventually realised that it would be good to stop for lunch. Perhaps the mint tea and a cookie earlier made finding a lunch spot less urgent than it might have been, I'm not sure, and I need to put a stop to cookies, I really do, but lunch is always an absolute necessity.

If you find yourself on Second Avenue in New York, visit this place!

There are plenty of restaurants in New York, some pricey, some not, but I didn't want a pretentious establishment, I wanted something that offered a proper lunch. Remember, I gave up alcohol 18 months ago so I don't need the ponce-a-rama of a licensed eaterie, anything (within reason) would do, although a takeaway was out of the question.

I've passed the Morning Star Cafe once or twice since I've been in the Big Apple and as I pass it again I think that destiny, fate, call it what you will, has decided that I must go in. It looks promising from the outside: a caff that is open 24 hours (that could be good or bad), a place that sells good, wholesome food at reasonable prices and a place that is just what the doctor ordered in terms of being the sort of place you can get comfort food. After hesitating I go in and peruse the extensive menu and eventually I choose a pasta dish: penne with brocolli and sliced chicken, lots of garlic. It was fantastic and I began to wish I'd had dinner here last night instead of the ridiculously expensive Montebelo's, a recommendation of Danny, my hotel's concierge.

There's diner-style seating and friendly staff and there's even online ordering of food, with 10% off on your first order.

Penne with brocolli, chicken and garlic

The Morning Star serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and is really a classic American diner. The menu is extensive, too big to cover here, but let's just take a few items: pastries and bread, fresh eggs (any style) - and that includes corned beef hash and eggs for $14.95. Bagels and Lox. Fine, I know what a bagel is, but what does Lox mean? It appears a lot on the menu and I'll have to investigate. There's a few variations on an egg sandwich including the Western Sandwich (with peppers, onion and ham, $8.95). Let's not forget omelettes ranging from $9.95 (plain) to $16.95, the latter being Lox and Onions. What is Lox? But forget Lox for a minute, check out the extensive range of omelettes. There's loads of them! I've never seen such a wide selection.

There's a 'healthy corner' where you can find all the usual suspects (fruit, porridge and yoghurt) and then there's the less healthy stuff (pancakes, French toast and Belgian waffles). I love French toast, by the way. Sandwiches are another 'big' part of the menu and again there's a few of the usual suspects on parade (tuna, cheese and BLT) but what about a veal cutlet parmigiana for $14.95? Sounds good to me. And if that's not right, there's carved sandwiches (beef, ham, turkey, brisket and meatloaf). And then there are triple decker, 'specialty' and hot open sandwiches, plus wraps.

Home-made soups, side orders, salads, 'diet delights', 'Greek Corner', burgers, sautes, seafood, pasta, entrees, desserts, roasted or broiled chicken dishes, beverages, juices, smoothies and alcoholic drinks too. The Morning Star Cafe is the place to be in my opinion.

The New York subway we know and love...

I chose penne with chicken, brocolli and garlic olive oil. It was amazing. Perfectly cooked, although the brocolli could have been tenderer. I added a couple of mint teas and the bill came to something around $28.00. Perfect. Better than the $70 I spent in Montebelo's the previous night.

They've got wifi here too and I wish I hadn't visited that coffee shop for the tea and cookie earlier as I could have come straight here and chilled out for longer. Unfortunately, the trip to the airport and a flight home was playing on my mind.

The Morning Star Cafe can be found on 2nd Avenue. The web address, where you'll find out more about the extensive menu, is www.morningstaronsecond.com

Poppins Restaurants, Redhill - at last it's open and it looks very promising!

The big dilemma in my life at present is hardly a matter of life or death. In truth, it's pretty unimportant in the general scheme of things, but I'll admit that it's bugging me slightly, hence my desire to get something down on paper, as I'm doing now. The dilemma in question is this: is the Pop Inn cafe in Redhill better than Poppins? The latter has recently opened. And let's face it, it's been a long time coming. For months, possibly years, Poppins has covered its windows with newspaper and I was beginning to think it would never open in Redhill. I started to wonder if the potential operators, the franchisees no less, had had second thoughts, leaving the franchisor (Poppins Restaurants) to find somebody else, but no, it's now open and I've been there twice. The first time was for a cup of tea and a toasted teacake, allowing me to make my first comparison between the two restaurants: a cup of tea in the Pop Inn (which on the A23 on the outskirts of town heading south) is £1, but it's £1.60 in Poppins (although it's a larger cup). I'm not sure if they sell toasted tea cakes in the Pop Inn.

On Friday (12 April) it was time to visit Poppins for a full-blown meal, although, in the end, I settled for baked beans on toast, a cup of tea and apple pie with custard. Unfortunately, I opted for cold custard, which was a mistake on my part. Next time it'll be warm apple pie and ice cream.

Mug of tea, £1.60, but a big mug!

And let me add now that beans on toast doesn't really count as a proper meal, which means I'll be back for something more substantial.

Poppins, it has to be said, is much more comfortable than the Pop Inn, not as basic. There's padded banquette seating, American diner style, and the decor is slightly better, although that might be because it's new and the Pop Inn has been around for a few years.

Both establishments offer good service. Faultless service, in fact. It might have something to do with the familial connection between the two restaurants. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but there definitely is a familial link between the operators of both restaurants.

I guess it would be fair to say that Poppins is a tad more upmarket than the Pop Inn, and that might be the reason behind the slightly higher prices. Perhaps the rents are higher in the centre of town. In terms of menu variety, they are about the same. I've already reviewed the Pop Inn restaurant on these pages, so here's a little bit of information about the Poppins menu.

Breakfasts range in price from £5.50 for a Late Breakfast Special consisting of griddled bacon, fried egg, sausage, fried bread, tomatoes and mushroom; and for £7.80 there's the Inclusive Breakfast (two bacon, sausage, tomatoes, beans and hash browns, two slices of toast, butter and preserves, tea and coffee).

There are jacket potatoes (ranging from £4.80 to £5.80); burgers (from £3.60 to £6.70); omelettes (£5.20 to £7.20); salads (£3.50 to £6.40); main meals (everything from chicken nuggets to pies and, at the top of the pile, a sirloin steak); fish dishes, 'world favourites' – like curry and chips – and a wide range of 'sweet treats' and pancakes, including apple pie and ice cream or custard. There's also a children's menu and a takeaway menu.

And if you think that's more than enough, there's a wide range of snacks – and they look pretty substantial too – plus a range of hot and cold drinks.

There are Poppins outlets all over the UK (including one in my home town of Sutton, Surrey) and I'm sure they're all on a par with the Redhill outlet, which will provide healthy competition for other operators in town, including the M&S cafe and others, although the Piazza in the Belfry has gone, sadly.

I like the Poppins Restaurant in Redhill – I'm back in on Wednesday 17th April. The staff are very good, the portions ample and the general decor is good. It's a cosy place AND there's free WiFi.

And guess what? It's open from 0800hrs to 1700hrs six days a week and from 0900hrs to 1600hrs on Sunday.

Postscript, 20 August 2019: I went to Poppins for lunch today and I must put it on record that the Pop Inn café on the A23 offers far better value. The Pop Inn offers the most amazing chicken fillet baguette for just £3.30 whereas Poppins offers a chicken baguette with mayonnaise for £4.00 – they're chalk and cheese. My advice? Go to the Pop Inn on the A23, it's simply better.