A 1946 Mountain View diner (#223) in Middletown, Connecticut
True Diner
728 Main StPhone: (860) 346-6101
Status: Open for business
Holidays 6 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Closed Christmas and Thanksgiving
Website: http://orourkesmiddletown.com
Last Updated: April 25, 2017
Condition: Minor changes
Notes:
Devastated by fire, but painstakingly restored. Very popular with locals. Great service and very high quality food with an Irish lilt, including many items made in house from scratch, with prices that won’t break the bank. You can also get Central Connecticut’s local dish, the famous steamed cheeseburger, if you catch them at the right time.
(They don’t brag about it, but O’Rourke’s is arguably the most authentic steamed cheeseburger, inherited directly from the original, which Connecticut food historians agree was invented in the 1920s by John D. “Jack” Fitzgerald at the late great Jack’s Lunch in downtown Middletown. O’Rourke’s founder Jack O’Rourke worked there at the time, and brought the signature dish to this then-new diner, and handed it on to his nephew, current owner Brian O’Rourke.)
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