Jan's Family Restaurant

Jan's has closed.

I never reviewed Jan's. In truth, I had actually only been there once (had a slice of blueberry pie, it was adequate). It is sad to see another piece of coffee shop history disappear.

Twain's in Studio City has quietly passed on...

...or so it seems.

A two week renovation....has taken months.

Twain's wasn't the best, but it will hold a special place for us. #1DinerWife and I were married across the street and still in our wedding best we walked over and they let us take pictures inside.

It was also featured in the Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet romantic comedy "A Lot Like Love."

UPDATE -

Twain's will be bulldozed and a nightmare of awfulness will take its place.

UPDATE -

Sharkey's will incorporate some of the original design into the new restaurant.

Dandi's Family Restaurant - Fine and dandy--mostly just fine. (closed)

As far as we knew, Dandi's Family Restaurant was a brand new diner, but by doing a little bit of hunting on the web, I found that it was in different location which closed some time ago. They just reopened a few months ago, not too far from the original location.

#1DW Antoinette noticed it while driving by one night; she was really excited because she never gets to find new places. When she does think she has found a new place, it more often than not is already on the master list. It was a great personal victory for her that I had never heard of this place before.

It took us awhile to make it there even though it is just a few miles from our house. We came in for breakfast.



The front windows and walls of the small storefront building are littered with signs advertising specials; rib-eye steak dinners for $8.95, waffles and "free caffee." I always wonder about where places get these signs and if those places just vehemently adhere to the "the customer is always right" or just don't care...or just don't know? Same can be said for menu printers.



Inside, it is kind of mess of design. They clearly bought new tables for the new location but they look too new, too modern for a diner. Two large flat screen TVs mirror each other on either side of the dining room. The walls have Rockwell prints, Rosie the Riveter and bucolic thrift-store paintings. It might be terrible to say--but this being an Asian diner, I think they just thought "Americans like this stuff, right?" and called it a day.

There's also a stand up fridge in the middle of the dining room. I have to assume outlet placement in the building and kitchen space issues necessitated this, but it's still odd.

The first thing you will notice about Dandi's once you sit down is that the service is phenomenal. The staff are all friendly and attentive. If you get coffee (and you should, because it's really good) someone will be by every few minutes to see if you need a refill. They are on it like no other place I've seen.

The menu at Dandi's is pretty typical. It covers way more than it needs to with numerous items for breakfast, lunch and dinner. As I said above, this is an Asian-run diner, so there's a hodge podge of fried rice and other Chinese dishes mixed in. There didn't seem to be any signature item that I had to try, so I just went with something that would give me a good idea of what they can do.



I ordered the country breakfast; biscuits and gravy, sausage, potatoes and eggs. The home fries needed to be a little crispier. The gravy was good but not great, I like white gravy to be more peppery. The eggs and the biscuit and sausage (it's hiding under the gravy) were also decent.



Antoinette ordered the #5; O'Brien potatoes scrambled with two eggs with toast and jam. It would have been pretty great except it was lacking one thing--meat. Ham or bacon mixed in would have kicked it up a notch. I'm sure if you ordered a side of meat and asked them to mix it in, they would.

Despite the dining room being so odd with the furniture and decor and TVs talking to each other, it really is comfortable and homey in Dandi's. Even though the food wasn't anything special, we really wanted to come back.

A few days later we decided to head there for dinner. The sign in the window said they closed at 9pm so we drove up about 8pm...and they were closed. That was rather upsetting. A few days after that decided to try it for an early dinner--a REALLY early dinner. We got there before 5pm. Luckily, they were open.



I got the pork chop dinner and Antoinette got the turkey dinner. They were about what we expected, not great, not bad--just okay. The service and the coffee were again exceptional.

At this point, we're going for the service and the coffee. On our next trip there, we are trying sandwiches. I'll be sure to update when we do.

Food: Okay.
Service: Excellent.
Price: $5.95-$10.95
Pie: Yes

Dandi's Family Restaurant
533 S. Del Mar Blvd
San Gabriel, Ca 91776

UPDATE- Dandi's closed some time ago and is now a Thai restaurant

Blue Star--Downtown LA - Closed

Blue Star is located in a sketchy-ass industrial zone just south of downtown Los Angeles. On this particular day getting from my work to the restaurant--which should have just been a straight shot down Alameda and then left on 15th--took forever due to the insane number of 18- wheelers and scrap metal pick-ups seemingly patrolling the streets.

I knew they closed at 3pm and I arrived at 2:45. After going through the harrowing ordeal of traffic, construction detours and double parked semis, when I saw the "CLOSED" sign in the window, I was livid.

"I'm going in!" I said to myself...out loud. That's how mad I was--I was talking to myself. Have I mentioned how much I hate traffic and driving in general?

I looked at the hours posted next to the door--yep, 3pm. It was not yet 3pm, what was up with the giant closed sign in the window? Did they even know what I went through to get here? I pulled open the door and was ready to tear it up. The two women at the table near the door looked up at me, like they knew I was about to unleash hell. Then a dude told me to sit anywhere I wanted. My ire now taken away, I quietly skulked to a table. At least they were willing to honor the posted hours.



Blue Star has been around for a few years now, but it seems like a design concept never coalesced. It's sparsely decorated; in fact, I think the only thing hanging on the walls that isn't a neon sign or a flatscreen tv, are some hubcaps. It's like a decorator said, "Hey these will look cool here" and called it a day.

They also serve beer and wine, which I found very strange for a place that closes at 3pm. What's the point--unless they are going for a hardcore mid-day drinker base?

I ordered a coffee, which was disgusting and tepid. They were closing and had clearly given up on this product sometime ago. I would have said something, but both employees disappeared into the back and by the time they returned, I was over it.

The menu was sort of torture for me. Some of the breakfasts sounded delicious, but they stop serving them at 11am. The lunch and dinner menu (again, they close at 3pm. "Dinner?") is pretty uninspiring. I asked my waitress which sandwich she recommended between the BBQ Chicken and the Chicken Pesto. She said the BBQ, so I went with that.



I was not expecting much. The coffee had set such an awful precedent that if they had brought me a chicken neck drenched in Heinz 57 on two slices of store-brand bread, I would have not been surprised. Ultimately, this sandwich was really, really good. The BBQ sauce was a good mix of tangy and sweet and the fried onions were a nice touch. My only critique would be that the chicken was a little thin. The french fries were like the best non-greasy fast-food style fries I've had in awhile. Worth $10.50? No.

I finished my meal and left. I was the last person inside who didn't work there. After I walked out, the waiter flipped the sign in the window over to "Open." He just hadn't paid attention to which way the sign was facing.

It all seemed very lackluster and I can see no reason to go back to Blue Star. There was no experience to be had and the price and the hours would definitely keep me away.

Food: Good.
Price: $9-$16.
Service: Okay.
Pie: None.

Blue Star Diner
2200 E 15th St
Los Angeles
213-627-2022
www.bluestarrocks.com

New York landmark diner set to close on May 15th

The Empire Diner

History:
"The Empire Diner was closed and nearly abandoned in 1976 when three young New Yorkers-Jack Doenias, Carl Laanes, and Richard Ruskay, renovated the former greasy spoon on then-grungy 10th Ave. and turned it into the landmark restaurant it has become. With its Chrome and Black interior, traveling marquee lights, outdoor café, flashing “EAT” sign, and stainless steel Empire State building silhouette, the Empire Diner became a major force in the Chelsea Renaissance that allowed art galleries, hotels, and other restaurants to replace the machine shops, gas stations and auto parts stores that then dominated the landscape."

Present:

"After more than thirty years of serving Chelsea residents, actors, police commissioners, athletes, gangsters, such luminaries as Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Steven Spielberg, and anyone carrying a New York City Guide Book, the Empire Diner has lost its lease and is closing its doors May 15th, 2010."

Future:

"The search is on for appropriate real estate in and around New York City, as well as abroad, on which to develop both new Empire Diners and Burger Rebels eateries."

Tokyo 7-7 - Dining Japanese. I think I'm dining Japanese, I really think so.

You will have trouble finding it. Your GPS will insist, such as it does, that you have arrived at your destination and it will do so using that condescending British accent you've been meaning to change but you can't remember how and the manual has gone missing. Your eyes will scan the street and find nothing. You’ll decide to just park and find it on foot. You’ll park in the nearby parking garage and then through the iron bars of the garage you will see it:

Tokyo 7-7 Coffee Shop



....it's in the alley.

Tokyo 7-7 is an American Japanese Diner. Its alley location isn't so odd from the Japanese perspective of alleys being streets that cars don't drive down. Stores and restaurants are often found down alleyways. A few years ago, I went to Japan on vacation and most of my time was spent wandering down alleyways.

In America, where alleys are for hobos and murderers, it is an odd place for a restaurant.

Inside, it’s like going to eat in your weird uncle’s den: wood paneling on the walls,



really odd…things…sticking out at you,



and like every weird uncle has—an autographed cast photo of Full House.

#1DC Antoinette, along with Diner Pal Paul (remember him?), took the opportunity on President’s Day to try out Tokyo 7-7. We rolled in at about a quarter to twelve, disappointed that we missed the super cheap breakfast specials which ended at eleven.

Our waitress went from sweet ol’ lady to exasperated in no time as after three check-ins with us we still had no idea what we wanted. The menu isn't expansive, but everything was so cheap that we were looking for the catch somewhere on the menu. “Do they charge for water? How can they afford this? Is salt extra?”




Sorry if the picture doesn't sell it, but there are no items in the double digits, and nothing above seven dollars.

Even though we missed the special super-cheap price for it, Paul ordered the French Toast breakfast. He liked the bacon and the french toast was pretty good.



Antoinette got the Portuguese Sausage and Eggs. The sausage was spicy. The eggs were okay. The home fries were rather boring; they tasted like boiled potatoes that were just kissed by the griddle.



I went in a different direction. I went East...FAR EAST! (Get it?!) I got the Tokyo 7-7 Special. Basically a Japanese breakfast with tamagoyaki (thin layered omelette), cha-shu (pork), sunomono (pickled cucumber), rice and miso soup. Everything was enjoyable at least. There's something about the way the Japanese prepare eggs that kind of disgusts me with the texture (wet and slimy), but it tastes pretty good. Clearly the Japanese dish was the way to go. It was also the most expensive of the three, topping out at--OMG--6 dollars!



Now a word about the coffee at the Tokyo 7-7 Coffee Shop. It's bad. It might have been the worst coffee I've had at a non-Starbucks. It took a lot of sweetener to make it through. The waitress was pretty good about refills...which wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Diner Pal Paul, insists that, on price alone, he'd eat there everyday. For the three of us, our bill came in at about twenty dollars. I would definitely go back if I ever happened to be in Culver City wanting breakfast. It's a unique little hidey-hole of a place. I felt comfortable there, probably because it reminded me of Japan and... my weird uncle.

Food- Good
Service-Good. She did get visibly annoyed when we didn't know what we wanted right away.
Price- Dirt Cheap. Remember, cash only.
Pie- No pie.

3839 Main St.
Ste B: Alley behind the street
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 204-5728

UPDATE- 12/21

I just learned that this place closed down last weekend. Special thanks to Diner Photog Charlie Chu for sending me the link. http://www.giantrobot.com/index.php/blogs/eric-post/tokyo_7-7/

Silver Spoons: West Hollywood. - Closed

I don't do West Hollywood. It's a big 'ole hassle of a neighborhood full of parking permits, douchey stores, and crowded clubs where I don't like the music and nobody asks me to dance. I have no reason to ever go there.

While looking for a diner in Beverly Hills one Saturday morning, we found the google maps directions woefully unhelpful at navigating the ridiculousness of the area. We gave up and headed back to the east side via Santa Monica Blvd.

#1DC Antoinette's eagle-eye noticed the sign for "Silver Spoons." Because I was speeding by in order to get back into familiar territory, I had to flip the car around to get into the parking lot. Now, a dedicated parking lot in this area of town speaks to the length of time Silver Spoons must have been around.

Sorry about the lack of a photo of the sign for Silver Spoons. For some reason, the picture I took with the digital camera didn't turn out. The sign is pretty massive and cool and I must have driven past it dozens of times and missed it somehow. Instead, here's the title shot from the classic 80s sitcom:

Walking up to the building, I was full of trepidation. It was boxy and uninviting, almost built like a fortress. A canopy covered what I assumed was a patio that somehow served to make the building even more closed-off--like a turtle in a shell.

Once inside, the feeling immediately washed away as the first sound we heard was the hearty laughter of a man and background smatterings of lively conversation. Turning the corner to face the counter, we saw that the laughter belonged to one of the waiters who then approached us.

He had the look of a career waiter. Not passing time while waiting for pilot season and not broken down after twenty or so pilot seasons had passed. This man clearly loved being a waiter and he showed genuine care and friendliness.

Man, I look like crap in that picture. Anyway, the walls of Silver Spoons are adorned with movie posters and head shots. Head shots are fairly common in Los Angeles, but full on posters (most of them autographed) is unique. A lot the signatures are personalized to Silver Spoons, making me think this place is even more of a Hollywood landmark than I had imagined.
If you glance over my shoulder on the left, you'll see a poster for an Ice Cube movie. Remember Ice Cube from such powerful performances as "Boys in the Hood" and "Three Kings?" Also remember Ice Cube from such films as, "Are We There Yet" and "Barbershop 2: Back in Business?" He's all over the place in terms of quality, but that poster there represents a new low for anyone. That poster is for:

Now, too small to see on the poster is the name of the director. The director:

Fred Durst.

This was the snippet of conversation we overheard going on behind us when the patrons at the table located under that poster asked the waiter about it.

Patron: Like the Limp Bizkit guy?

Waiter: Yeah.

Patron: Did he do the soundtrack?

Waiter: No. He directed it.

Patron: He's a director?

Waiter: Yes. He just finished his second movie. He comes in all the time. He's a friend.

Patron:...Oh.

As we looked over the menu, nothing really jumped out at us. No moment of "Hmmm, that sounds interesting." Silver Spoons offers very standard fare--nothing you couldn't get at Astro Family Restaurant or a Spires or any number of other similar restaurants. The prices aren't going to kill you nor are they going to save your soul.

Antoinette ordered the patty melt with fries and coleslaw. The rye bread was really good, as were the fries, which even retained a hint of real potato flavor. Antoinette thought the onions could have been grilled a bit longer. I thought the patty melt didn't have enough cheese, while Antoinette thought it had too much...That probably means it had a perfect amount of cheese.



I ordered the "old fashioned sandwich," which is turkey, ham, and thousand island dressing. It was pretty good. The dressing was slathered on, but wasn't overwhelming to the point of not being able to pick up the sandwich.

Now the coleslaw; I first found it bland, but Antoinette noticed an odd flavor to it. It took me several tastes and some time, but I eventually realized that the coleslaw had the distinct flavor of old cantaloupe. It wasn't gross by any means; it was just weird.

The meal at Silver Spoons was decent. It's a nice, comfortable place with big booths, dark wood interior that makes you feel you're in a nicer place than you are, and a good staff to bolster that feeling. I'd recommend it if you are nearby and looking for American comfort food, or if you want to see some cool movie posters and maybe a celebrity. Here's a link to the "Seeing Stars" website page about the restaurant. Stalk away creepos!



Food: Decent.
Service: Hearty Laughter!
Price: A little high.
Pie: Check out the revolving dessert case by the front counter.

8171 Santa Monica Blvd.

West Hollywood, CA 90046

(323) 650-4890

UPDATE- Silver Spoons closed back in 2011 and is now a seafood restaurant.

Jouni's Cafe - Proud to be an American eatery.

Jouni's Cafe was recommended by a reader; yes, I have readers other than you. Unless you are the guy who recommended it--then I guess I just have you. Sooooo.....thanks!



Jouni's is another "far east" diner, located in Upland, far from the big city lights. It's not by a freeway so I can't recommend it for convenience as with Corky's. This is solidly "If you are out there and want to get something good to eat, go to Jouni's."



It does have a tangible lived-in feel to it. Similar in style to Corky's; however, you can tell that Jouni's has been around for awhile. We had a super friendly waitress who did her best to help us with the menu. It wasn't that the menu was difficult to understand, it was just pretty extensive and we had questions about recommendations. She seemed to struggle because, as she put it, "she doesn't really like food," but pushed on.

They are really proud of their omelettes and really like flags.



Looking at the menu, I knew without a doubt that I had to order the Brooklyn eggs: Eggs Benedict with pastrami taking over the role of "meat" for the aging yet still capable ham.

Add some tasty home-fries and you have a potential plate full of flavor joy.



It fully delivered. The hollandaise combined with the pastrami could have spelled a salty disaster and given me an instant case of gout. Luckily, the hollandaise was very rich and smooth while the pastrami was a good kind of fatty.

Number One Diner Companion Antoinette ordered the Adam's Eggs: two poached eggs on top of ham slices on top of a biscuit, served with gravy, which Antoinette opted to have on the side. The biscuit was incredibly good, so much so that she wished it had come with another one. The gravy, however, was a little thick.



The coffee at Jouni's was pretty good, but in a moment of insanity I added non-dairy creamer, otherwise known, "Aww shit, it's oil!"

Also, if you are looking for a reason to go to Jouni's Cafe, oddly an American tragedy provides an excellent reason.



If you are a cynical jerk you can at least say "Hey, free breakfast." But you're still a jerk!

Jouni's Cafe was a great experience. Good food, pleasant atmosphere and a feeling of home.

Food: Really good.
Service: Great.
Price 6-10
Pie: No but various kinds of cake-like dessert options.


Jouni's Cafe
930 Central Ave.
Upland, CA
909-946-2119

On the Road: Portland and Vacouver's diners: Fat Dave's, Jam, and Stardust

Here's another long in the hopper, "On the Road" edition from my trip back in October.

After my long stint in Spokane, I crossed the state by plane,rented a car, and headed south to see my friend Greg (whom you may remember from the Joe's Diner review) in his new town of Vancouver, Washington. It sits right on the border with Portland, Oregon, also known as "the city that freeway planners forgot." I also took the opportunity to visit my old college friend, Amber. In a mere day and half down there, I hit three diner/breakfast joints.

First off, Amber took me to Fat Dave's Restaurant and Lounge. Apparently the place had just recently been upgraded from "dive" to "slightly musty." We rolled in about mid-afternoon and were just about the only people inside, aside from a regular, or at elast the kind of guy who looks like a "regular," be it at a lunch counter or a bar at last call.

I got the "Fat Dave's Special" which included 3 pancakes, 3 eggs, sausage, hash browns, and toast. Amber got the cheese omelette(picture lost to the hard drive ether), which included just about all the same sides.

The food was unremarkable for the most part. The hash browns were the stand out, being a thick mound of potatoes. Shredded at some point but then packed together tightly for their time on the griddle. It was still on Hash brown Road but pointed toward Latke Blvd.

The coffee was good, but an incredible oddpoint: you were only allowed one refill on sodas. Coffee is flowing like the mighty Mississippi, but soda levels are down to LA River measurements.

The best part of Fat Dave's is the stained glass window that adorns the dining room.

Says it all really.

Food: Unremarkable.

Service: In my notes I wrote "odd". I have since forgotten what was odd about it. So.. be warned.
Price: $6-10

Pie- Yes.

Fat Dave's
1511 NE 99 St.

Vancouver, WA

For dinner that night I hooked up with Greg and he took me to the Stardust Diner. Don't let the sign fool you. It is not called the "Blurry Something D-R." My camera phone is not kind to me at night.



Like San Diego's Studio Diner, Stardust is of the shiny metal variety. This place even decorates for desserts. The entire staff appeared to consist of teenagers. At first, this was a bit disconcerting on account of how shitty teenagers are at everything except screwing shit up. However, they proved to be highly intelligent and thorough food workers.

The only low point of the service was at one point they all seemed to disappear to go sing "Soulja Boy" in the kitchen. Jut out of frustration, I was about ready to Superman some hos myself.

I did really like that the Stardust Diner had its own newsletter.

I took a chance and ordered the Philly Cheesteak. Our waiter asked if we wanted to try their new curly fries. He was really excited about these curly fries. I opted in.

Greg had the bacon cheeseburger. Greg got the curly fries, too. The waiter was just too excited about these for us not to turn him down.

The food was only okay. Both of our meals felt overly heavy in our stomachs. So much so, that having after having opted in for the curly fries, we had to opt out of a dessert.

I felt bad because, as I stated earlier, they totally decorated for their desserts.

Food: Okay.
Service: Surprisingly friendly and efficient.
Price: 8-14
Pie: Yes.

Check out their website. Warning: rock and rolling from the get go. Turn your speakers down.
http://www.stardustdiner.biz/

1110 SE 10th Ave.
Vancouver, WA 98683

ETA: Stardust has since closed down. Bum news.

Jam on Hawthorne is probably known to most modern Diner aficionados. It was featured on the "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" show on Food Network.

This eclectic little breakfast joint is nestled in one of Portland's fine hip neighborhoods. Greg and I stopped in about mid-morning on my final day down on in the P-Land-O. (I just made that up. Can people start using it for Portland Oregon? I think that would be cool.)

Jam has a nice neighborhood vibe. I would say it's Portland's Square One, or rather Square One is L.A's Jam. Hipster clients mixed in with regular folks and soccer moms who just got out of their Pilates classes all gathered for breakfast here.

I had to break out of my current breakfast rut and try something new. No, no, no, nothing as drastic as a fruit cup or a bowl of granola--Close, though.

I ordered the VEGAN blueberry pancakes. WTF! OMG!! Vegan! Yes, I ordered them and ate them and they were good.

Greg got the famous Corned Beef Hash breakfast. This was not dog food. This was high-quality (so high-quality I want to put an accent mark somewhere on it) corned beef. Moist, but not mushy; salty, but not briny. It was m-f-ing, Campbells Mmm Mmmm Good!

This was a great way to end that leg of my trip.

Food: Excellent.

Service: Friendly.

Price: 7-13

Pie: Sadly, no.

2239 SE Hawthorne Blvd

Portland, OR 97214

Phone: (503) 234-4790