Nothing says Jersey more than a diner.

The shiny roadside shrines to gluttony and greasy excess are where Jerseyans eat, gather and gab, pondering the mysteries of life, or maybe just an evening or relationship gone wrong.

There are 600-some diners in the Garden State, making this the center of the diner universe, and for the last trip of Munchmobile 2014 the crew took on this weighty - in more ways than one — responsibility of deciding the best.

The plan was simple. Visit five diners in different parts of the state — yes, South Jersey, we got you — order from all over the menu, and decide stainless steel supremacy.

If it was not quite the stomach and sanity-straining challenge of my Ultimate Jersey Diner Road Trip for Inside Jersey — 55 diners in 11 days — it was certainly enough for one day.

"What an incredible day it was,'' said Muncher Davida Isaacson. "Five diners, 14 hours, lots of laughs and many many miles.''

Tell me about it; I left my house at 6 in the morning and returned at 1 the following morning. All in a day's work, and a roundabout road trip that seemed a fitting end to Munchmobile 2014.

Omelets, pancakes, sliders, scrapple, scallops, chicken pot pie, meatloaf, key lime pie, milkshakes and much more — there wasn't any part of those telephone book-sized diner menus we didn't touch.

We even ate a mouse. Really. More on that later.

AMERICANA DINER, EAST WINDSOR

The stylishly retro Americana Diner was named Jersey's best diner in the Inside Jersey piece; how would it stack up this time around?

This is a serious operation; all the bread for the Americana and sister restaurants the Skylark Diner & Lounge in Edison; Skylark on the Hudson in Jersey City and the Pines Manor in Edison is made here. The produce is locally-sourced and the beef grass--fed.

A basket of warm bread was delivered to our table, and it was a hit. Lori O'Connor called it "delicious,'' but her favorite dish was the portabello mushroom/mozzarella omelet, with its "firm'' mushroom and "great taste.''

It's time for breakfast at the Americana Diner, with an omelet and French toast.

Larry O'Connor, Lori's husband, described the bagel deluxe, with its "fresh'' salmon, as "wonderful,'' but he found the French toast "bland and dry.''

There's nothing worse than "droopy'' bacon, says Steve Isaacson, but he was happy with the bacon ordered crispy here.

Davida, his wife, found many of the dishes not on the level of the homemade bread. The cinnamon on the cinnamon French toast "must have been left in the spice bottle because it wasn't on the toast,'' she said.

Kevin Flynn's favorite dish: the "light and fluffy'' Belgian waffle, with "just the right amount of maple flavor soaked into the waffle.''

My favorite item: the sliders, medium-rare as requested, three tender tasty morsels of meaty delight.

VINCENTOWN DINER, VINCENTOWN

A ramble down Route 130, then 206, brought us to the Vincentown Diner. All diners are the same? Not this one. The Vincentown Diner uses locally-sourced food; staffers wear t-shirts that read "Local Tastes Better.'' They use 100 percent organic milk, too.

We were jn South Jersey, so I insisted on ordering scrapple (good luck finding it north of Trenton). Best line ever about scrapple? "Everything from the pig except the oink.''

I liked Vincentown's version. The Munchers? Not so much. "I don't know if this was good scrapple or not, but I don't plan to find out with another order any time soon,'' Davida Isaacson noted.

The burger from the Vincentown Diner was first-rate.

The BBQ pork sandwich was right off some diner assembly line, and the Jersey Peachy Pancakes didn't exactly taste Jersey Fresh.

But there were several standouts. The big fat burger, for one. And the chipped beef; both Lori and Larry O'Connor rated it "very good.''

Craziest item all day? The Vincentown Triple — roast turkey, sliced ham, thick bacon, tomatoes, melted cheddar and honey mustard between slices of French toast.

"The French toast was moist, well-soaked in egg and the bacon crispy,'' Steve Isaacson noted.

Flynn loved the Philly cheesesteak omelet, and rated the milkshake here the day's best.

They also served the day's best coffee, by my reckoning.

The standout item? That was easy — the key lime pie, not as tart as most but still tasty.

"The proportion of key lime to cream was perfect,'' according to Davida Isaacson.

"Absolutely positively the best item of the day,'' added Lori O'Connor. "Having sampled probably thousands of slices over the years, I can truly say the pie was exceptional.''

MUSTACHE BILL'S DINER, BARNEGAT LIGHT

This stainless steel beauty won an America's Classics award from the James Beard Foundation in 2009, the first diner so named in the award's history.

Owner Bill Smith — yes, he has a mustache — started here as a dishwasher when he was 12 and the diner was known as Joe's Barnegat Light Diner. He bought the diner in

1972.

The day we visited, Smith was in the kitchen, wearing a sort-of-bandanna fashioned

from paper towels. Later, he would make a pancake in the shape of the Munchmobile, presenting it to the crew.

Forget the fun stuff — how was the food? The scallops, according to Flynn, were fried "perfectly,'' cooked "all the way through, not slimy in the middle.''

Lori O'Connor concurred, calling them "moist and sweet and absolutely delicious.''

She also loved the "great'' shoestring fries and "delicious, juicy'' burger.

Steve Isaacson flipped over the cheesesteak. "Rivals anything Philadelphia has to offer; the beef, cheese and onions blended together perfectly,'' he said.

Davida Isaacson singled out the super homemade sides — potato and macaroni salads, and cole slaw — and the Cobb salad, with its "fresh turkey and crisp bacon.''

Larry O'Connor called the grilled shrimp, burger and Greek omelet all "big hits.''

"Could it be, perhaps, that everything tastes better Down the Shore?'' Lori O'Connor wondered.

TOM SAWYER DINER, PARAMUS

The original diner, which opened in 1974, burned down in 2006. The new Tom Sawyer Diner is shiny, showy and stylish — but not so fancy that a giant hot dog parked out front didn't look too out of place.

Flynn marveled about the meatloaf — "almost as good as my Mom's'' — with its gravy and "super smooth'' mashed potatoes.

Davida Isaacson disagreed; the "thick brown slabs'' reminded her, "unfortunately,'' of the scrapple at the Vincentown Diner.

But she went gaga over the grilled chicken — "simple, well-seasoned, perfectly grilled,'' with herbs "just right.''

The chocolate mouse/mousse at the Tom Sawyer Diner.

Flynn was also a big fan of the "really delicious'' Caesar salad, with its "super crunchy'' lettuce.

The spanakopita or spinach pie, with its "delightfully flaky filo wrap,'' had an admirer in Lori O'Connor.

Both she and her husband hailed the honey Dijon wrap; Larry O'Connor, who took the leftover portion home, lauded the "really great'' flavor.

Steve Isaacson found both the beef and chicken kabobs "disappointing — dry and a bit tough.'' But the tomatoes and peppers "tasted as if they just came from the garden.''

Once I saw the mouse in the dessert display case, I knew we had to try it. Actually, it's a chocolate mousse in the shape of a mouse, with pointy little ears and a chocolate tail.

"Light and creamy and the chocolate coating was just the right semi-sweet taste,'' Davida Isaacson observed.

Lori O'Connor, meanwhile, found it "cute and pretty tasty.''

Good cheesecake here, nice and creamy.

TOPS DINER, EAST NEWARK

The big question as we settled down at Tops Diner was not whether we had an appetite left but how long it would take to pick from the vast — even by diner standards — menu.

Thirty- two kinds of burgers, 21 seafood dishes, 16 pasta dishes — well, you get the idea. "Casual global cuisine'' is the slogan.

The meatloaf had been one of the top dishes of my 55-diners-in-11-days road trip, so

naturally we ordered it. Swimming in a mushroom gravy, it was a group hit.

"Great structural integrity and a tasty gravy,'' said Larry O'Connor.

Steve Isaacson called the meatloaf a "true work of art, crispy and set in a sauce I can still taste. It ain't your mom's meat loaf.''

Flynn called the penne vodka the best he's ever had — "creamy, not heavy, very smooth.''

Munchers toast a job well done with strawberry lemonade at Tops Diner.

The chicken pot pie also turned heads and teased tummies. Davida Isaacson admired its "delicious, flaky top crust,'' and its "nice array'' of vegetables in a light wine sauce.

Lori O'Connor named the chicken pot pie the day's second best dish. "It was just as good the following day when I was really hungry,'' she said.

The mac and cheese — large enough to feed the entire town — was a winner, and so was the lobster bisque, even if it was not as rich as most.

"The flavor was excellent, with a nice bite at the end,'' Davida Isaacson explained.

Munchmobile photographer Alex Remnick, our resident vegetarian, approved of the Shroom burger.

Larry O'Connor rated the penne vodka ''ok, but not special,'' but was wowed by the "huge'' portions overall.

Dessert? There's always room. The Outrageous Chocolate Cake delivered in the chocolate department, but the cake itself was dry.

Then, finally, with a slice of New York-style cheesecake (not as good as Tom Sawyer's), we were done.

Not just with the trip, done with Munchmobile 2014.

"We had a blast!'' Lori O'Connor said.

That pretty much describes the entire season, which started with a food truck run in the rain in May and ended on a neon-lit late night minutes from Newark.

What restaurants and dishes made my best-of-Munchmobile 2014 list? Next Friday, all will be revealed!

TOP DOG

We loved the key lime pie at The Vincentown Diner; the sliders and portabello mushroom omelet at the Americana Diner; and the grilled chicken and chocolate mousse at the Tom Sawyer Diner. But this came down to a two-diner race between Mustache Bill's and Tops, and it was sooo close. In the end, the Shore bested North Jersey. Give Top Dog honors this week to Mustache Bill's Diner in Barnegat Light.

Waitress Julia Beekman shows off the Munchmobile pancake made by Mustache Bill Diner owner Bill Smith.

UP NEXT

What were the best restaurants and dishes of Munchmobile 2014? Check out Pete Genovese's tasty list, part of our year-end Munch wrap-up, in next Friday's paper and on nj.com.

T-SHIRT GIVEAWAY

Each week, we give out a special limited-edition Munchmobile t-shirt to the first two people who answer our trivia question correctly.

Last week's question: Name any Munchmobile stop in Jersey City this year. The winners: Ben Gray and Diane Howard.

This week's question: On the Munchmobile van, what type of food is the chef riding atop, like a surfboard? Call the Munchmobile Hotline at (973) 392-1765.

LIVE CHAT

Join Pete Genovese in his Food Dude live chat every Friday at 12:30 p.m. at nj.com/entertainment.

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WHERE WE MUNCHED

Americana Diner, 359 Route 130 north, East Windsor; (609) 448-4477. Hours: 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays; 7 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Website: Americana Diner.

Mustache Bill's Diner, 8th and Broadway, Barnegat Light; (609) 494-0155. Hours: 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays, and Thursdays through Sundays; 6 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Facebook page.

Tom Sawyer Diner, 98 E. Ridgewood Ave., Paramus; (201) 262-0111. Hours: 6 a.m. to midnight seven days a week. Website: Tom Sawyer Diner.

Tops Diner, 500 Passaic Ave., East Newark; (201) 481-0490. Hours: 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays; 6 a.m. to 4 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Website: Tops Diner.

Vincentown Diner, Routes 206 and 38, Vincentown; (609) 267-3033. Hours: 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays; 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturdays; 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Sundays. Website: Vincentown Diner.

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