Long Island diners adding trendy dirty sodas, loaded bread bowls

Long Island diners are expanding their offerings with social media menus and trending dishes to appeal to younger generations who follow the "phone eats first" rule — meaning glamour shots of freshly delivered plates posted on TikTok and Instagram take precedence over the first bite.

Young "people don’t go out to diners anymore," said Donya Parsa, CEO of World Media Marketing and a full-time social media creator who's been managing social media for Ronkonkoma's Island Lake Diner for the past two years. 

On a recent weekend, one booth after another was filled with dishes from the eatery's viral social media menu, a collection of snacks, mains, desserts and drinks each more extravagant than the next and made to appeal to the customer's social media feed as much as their taste buds. Think dirty sodas topped with sweets, loaded bread bowls and giant cookie ice cream sandwiches.

Parsa helped come up with the menu to draw a younger crowd whose parents' and grandparents' grew up in diner booths across Long Island. The loyal customer base that loves the classic diner menu, fret not, all the staples are still there, even though these buzzy menu items have taken over the spotlight.

A recent study from Eater and Vox found 77% of Gen Z participants and 67% of millennial respondents say they usually find out about new restaurants through social media. Gen Z is interested in cultural exploration (34%) and more likely than other generations to seek out something to share on social media.

Island Lake Diner owner Dino Glykos, who also owns Seaport Diner in Port Jefferson, where a version of the social media menu is also available. He said orders from the menu make up about 60% of monthly sales, rising to 80% when a post goes viral on social media. Island Lake Diner manager Michael Bulet said the presentation of each item is part of the success.

"The presentation is amazing," Bulet said. "People like to come take pictures before they eat, post it up online, brag about where they’re going, this is definitely the right area, the right spot."

What's on a social media menu? 

Guests of all ages are ordering off the menu. Madison Giaramita, 16, of Centereach, recently tried one of the social media specials for the first time after seeing a post about Island Lake Diner and she believes more eateries should include it into their menus.

"I think it’s cool to see something on social media and actually go and get it and try it and see how it is," she said. "I think it will draw attention to people."

Her parents, Joseph and Jennifer Giaramita, who joined her for dinner, said they see the social media menu "all over social media." Joseph Giaramita said he enjoys the chicken cutlet Caesar salad taco.

"It’s the perfect combination to me," he said.

@islandlakediner 🚨 Meet the Bread Cones at Island Lake Diner! 🚨 Your favorite dishes, served inside a fresh-baked bread cone. 🤤 🍝 Fettuccine Alfredo 🧀 Mac & Cheese 🥗 Caesar Salad 🍅 Penne alla Vodka 🔥 Boom Boom Chicken Crispy on the outside, loaded on the inside, and guaranteed to have you coming back for more. 👇 Which one are you ordering first? 📍 Island Lake Diner #IslandLakeDiner #LongIslandFood #LongIslandEats #Foodie #LongIslandRestaurants #FoodLover #BreadCone ♬ original sound - Island Lake Diner

The social media menu was born about two years ago after a post about their new addition went viral, Parsa said.

"Things were moving but we wanted a big push," Parsa said. "So we decided to come up with different menu items."

The menu went viral and influencers like The Grubfather, Al Fenza, Daniel McCabe and more came in to review and show off the picture-perfect offerings of the social media menu, which grew from one item to a two-page insert of camera-ready creations.

Owner Glykos said they test possible new menu items by placing them on the specials menu and then if their customer base responds to the items, they move to the social media menu.

"It’s also a team effort," he said. "It’s the chefs, the cooks, the managers, the servers, everybody has a part in this."

Kelly and Kenny McCarthy, of Ronkonkoma, who are regulars at the eatery, said there’s only one negative to the success of the menu.

"Sometimes, you can’t get in here," Kenny McCarthy said. "The business exploded since these guys did that."

"It’s a great experience and they really brought back the diner vibe," Kelly McCarthy added.

The gnocchi out taco ($24.99) is just one of the over-the-top items on the innovative menu. The taco shell is made of a juicy, crispy chicken cutlet stuffed with plushy gnocchi with choice of vodka sauce or pesto. Though if you decide to try it, spare your fingers from burning while holding the cutlet shell and spread out the shell and gnocchi on a plate and eat it that way. Other items include loaded tortilla bowls such as the Mexi chipotle bacon mac-and-cheese ($23.99) and the brownie crust ice cream bowl ($18) made with brownie crust, ice cream whipped cream and a chocolate syrup injector.

The menu also includes an assortment of dirty sodas, which are trending across Long Island. Dirty sodas started in Utah in the late 2000s and went mainstream in the late 2010s and early 2020s thanks to TikTok and Instagram.

Island Lake Diner manager Xristos Kaziris said customers tell him how happy they are with the success the social media menu has brought the eatery. Diners are a "dying breed," he said.

"You don’t see diners opening, you just see them closing, and we had to adapt," Kaziris said. "Everything we’re pushing now is getting our younger clientele, but we haven’t forgotten about our older clientele. We still have all of our staples, but we keep adding."

Jennifer Crowe has been an influencer for about 11 years and said she dines at Island Lake Diner at least once a month and has tried up to 20 items from the social media menu, which includes roughly 44 food items and 12 dirty soda options. 

"What’s amazing about this place is it looks insane and unique, but it’s also delicious," she said.

Keeping up with the trends 

While there aren’t many other diners on Long Island with social media menus just yet, there are other diners across the Island doing fun things to draw younger customers while still catering to the general audience.

Bay Shore's Peter Pan Diner, having just reopened and recovered from a fire, is doing over-the-top milkshakes, like the strawberry dream shake ($20.60), topped with a strawberry shortcake ice cream bar. Farmingdale’s Whiskey Down Diner is also keeping up with the trends and includes the chicken Caesar sando ($24), while Carle Place’s Thomas’s Ham & Eggery Diner has picture-worthy menu items, like its blueberry and ricotta pancake ($15.50).

Co-owner of Whiskey Down Diner Alyson Kanaras keeps on top of the trends and said ownership "wanted to reinvent the whole diner business." They started with a strong social media presence before opening and continued adding items like a milkshake of the month or viral smashburgers.

"We wanted to make it fun and make it like a brunch in the bar and change it around," she said. "I'm always trying to think of unique things that'll draw people here that are going to go viral because that's what you're all about now."