There are two main breakfast options in my neighborhood: A charming but perpetually-crowded bistro, known as much for its quiche and muffins as for its hour-long waits; and the local '50's-style diner, which features no nonsense food with no nonsense service.

I always choose the diner. And apparently I'm in the minority.

In the age of bistros, cafes, cucinas and ristorantes, where is the love for The Great American Diner, that bastion of jukeboxes, polished steel and vinyl stools, grill jockeys in a white t-shirt and apron, and good old-fashioned American grub at prices the average American can afford? Although the diner has enjoyed a long tenure in American culinary history, The diner, the precursor to fast food, is fast becoming just another American memory, gone the way of the New Deal and the '57 Chevy.

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But I argue that the diner is one of those few American traditions that will never entirely go away. Because at bottom, Americans love their no-nonsense value meals as much as they still love their cars, the fading of Detroit's Big 3 notwithstanding.

Especially these days, with the restaurant industry hurting along with everyone else. Now, more than ever, Americans must appreciate the neighborhood greasy-spoon, where a two eggs sunny-side up, hash browns and a cuppa joe sells for $6 and the waitresses always know your name. With higher gas prices, the neighborhood joint has an instant appeal for those Sunday morning breakfast jaunts. A good diner has something for everyone, from the Senior Citizen special to the kiddie menu to the pie and coffee catering to the late night crowd.

When the dust eventually clears, the diner will still be standing, thanks to the value they provide and the sense of community they foster. It's where I'm getting my breakfast most Sunday mornings, anyway. Anyone care to join me?

So you're glad you're not a Wall Street trader these days? At least they banked fat salaries and maybe got a golden parachute. The story's not so green at your local restaurant. These are bad times to be a server. Dangerous, even, because their tips have plummeted faster than the Dow Jones.

One New York City waiter has said that the bottom has fallen out for America's service professionals. He wrote that early this year, he'd make about $500 a week over five shifts. This summer, restaurant sales fell for the first time in two and a half years. Today, $270 for a full week is typical. People are guarding their cash, and they aren't coming into restaurants as much anymore. When they do, they're increasingly cheap. The 20% tip, once more or less standard for good service, is a memory. Some customers are merely rounding up to the nearest dollar.

The horror of this comes from the fact that many of our service professionals are vulnerable even in the best of times. They simply don't make an adequate hourly wage -- it's below minimum wage. They usually don't get insurance. They can be fired at the drop of a napkin. The expectations have been that they'd make plenty to live on through their gratuities, and if that failed, they could just switch to another restaurant. But with more people paying less in service charges, and with few places in need of new staff, that is now just a fantasy.

Most customers would never consider walking out of a restaurant without paying their bill in full. That would be theft. But because tips are discretionary, there are plenty of cheapskates who think nothing of bolting without a proper tip, or of justifying a dramatically reduced tip with some minor infraction. And now waiters (and bellhops, and valet parking attendants, and dozens of other ubiquitous workers) are finding it impossible to make their rents.

I was eating out yesterday when a big fat tomato slice arrived on my plate. My husband and I both looked at it like it was rotten. In my head I know that kitchen managers are professionals and food safety experts. Surely they must have chosen the right ones since the FDA warned everyone off raw red Roma, red plum or red round tomatoes (despite the confusing nature of the report).

We gingerly put the offending tomato off to the side, now wary of anything it touched. Unless a restaurant makes specific mention of what they're doing about the tomato situation, I don't want to see one in my meal. And if it is there, I want to be able to pick it off without contaminating any other food. Seems like a waste for restaurateurs, who are being stretched thin, to bother paying the current high tomato prices if the food goes to waste because they don't explain what they've bought.

Back when the FDA made its announcement 145 people had gotten sick. Now the total is 228. Certainly some tomato buyers are not absorbing the information.

Every time the news is a little slow, I see yet another article featuring some fresh-faced Manhattan-dwelling Steve Stifflip or Polly Patrician who is considering the move to (gasp!) Brooklyn or even (double gasp!) Queens. He or she whines about the miseries of making ends meet on a mere $80,000 a year, not being able to afford organic radicchio, only being able to eat out once or twice a week, and having to postpone this year's trip to Europe. As I slog through this nonsense, I find myself wondering if I could get a bill passed that would make it legal to eat the rich.

Sometimes I hate people. There, I've said it.

During tough economic times, consumers can (and should) cut back on eating out. Simple math shows that the cost of eating out is probably anywhere from 3 to 10 times the cost of eating the same food prepared at home. But eating out is still a nice treat from time to time, so you probably don't have to cut it out of your budget completely.

Restaurants are feeling some economic pain too, largely in response to increased food costs. Menu prices increased almost 4% in 2007 to reflect increasing costs, so plan on spending more than you used to when eating at a restaurant.

Here are a few tips from SmartMoney.com on saving money when you eat out... One easy (and obvious) tip is clipping coupons for dinners out. With the restaurant industry feeling the pinch, more and more are offering bargains with coupons, so choose wisely and look for discounted dining or "buy one, get one free" meal offers.

Keep an eye out for specials too. It's often much cheaper to dine out for lunch than dinner. And restaurants often run specials for mid-week dining in an effort to get more customers through the door. Forgo dining out on the weekend, and take advantage of midweek specials at your favorite restaurants.

Americans are eating out more than ever, and it doesn't just show in their waistlines. It shows in their pocketbooks. While everyone's complaining about the price of gas, the increased cost of staples like milk and eggs, and the rising interest rate on that credit card balance they've been carrying... they still seem to be dining out in record numbers.

Have you ever sat down and calculated the cost of eating out versus eating at home? I think we all realize there's a big difference, but I wonder how many people appreciate exactly how much.

As I was making myself a pot of chili today, I was reflecting on the cost and was inspired by how much money I was saving by cooking at home. If I went to my favorite chili place for lunch, I'd spend about $8 on chili and toppings (not including a drink) for that one meal.