Old Saybrook cookbook author eats his way around New England Area cookbook author eats his way around New England

Submitted photo Submitted photo Photo: Journal Register Co. Photo: Journal Register Co. Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Old Saybrook cookbook author eats his way around New England 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

OLD SAYBROOK >> He may not drive around in a red Ferrari looking for diners, drive-ins and dives like Food Network’s Guy Fieri, but for the past three years Old Saybrook author Mike Urban and his green Honda have put on plenty of miles searching for iconic New England eateries.

The first book in Urban’s culinary trilogy, “Clam Shacks: The Ultimate Guide and Trip Planner to New England’s Most Fantastic Seafood Eateries,” (2012) takes road-trippers and armchair travelers on an odyssey of rustic havens of fried seafood. The second, “Lobster Shacks: A Road-Trip Guide to New England’s Best Lobster Joints” (2013) is a butter-drenched tour that stretches from New Haven to Maine. Both books feature a smattering of recipes wrenched from the claws of the old salts he met along the way.

Urban’s newest book, “The New England Diner Cookbook,” is part travelogue, part diner history scrapbook, but also features more than 100 recipes for stick-to-your-ribs diner fare.

Urban will talk about his travels, sign copies of his books and serve up samples of the classic diner dish, American Chop Suey, Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Guilford Free Library.

According to Urban, diners began as “lunch wagons serving the needs of shift workers in Providence in the 1870s, and then spread throughout New England.” Diners evolved to more permanent structures with the shiny facades and neon lights that still draw in weary families, late night partiers and politicians looking for some regular folks.

“Diners are neighborhood places, closely tied to their communities,” Urban said.

Many diner menus still feature the tried and true favorites, but now along with that short stack and eggs-over-easy you might find chourico and potato eggs Benedict, or butternut squash soup with maple creme fraiche, blue cheese and cranberries; familiar French toast may be upstaged by a lemon ricotta stuffed version topped with blueberry compote.

Diners are typically small establishments, allowing for menu flexibility and experimentation. Urban stopped in to O’Rourke’s’ Diner in Middletown to talk with owner Brian O’Rourke, nephew of the original owner. O’Rourke went into the kitchen and created a new dish — Urban’s Butternut Squash —which is included in the book along with O’Rourke’s famous Dubliner omelet, Irish soda bread and corned beef hash.

Home cooks may also want to try their hand at chicken pot pie, lobster and brie grilled cheese, lamb burgers with cilantro and goat cheese, whoopie pies, a luscious blueberry cake, or perhaps the oddest recipe, lobster chow mein.

“The New England Diner Cookbook,” published by Countryman Press for $19.95 and available on Amazon, features nearly 30 diners from western Connecticut to northern Maine, each with a unique flavor and the diner promise of good hearty food at a fair price.

To register, visit guilfordfreelibrary.org.