Jack's Whittier Restaurant -- Whoopee!

I saw the sign originally while trolling photo websites for "googie" tags. I never even noticed it on LAtimemachines.com, but it's there.

Real-life journalist David Allen and I met for breakfast a few weekends ago. I got there about ten minutes early and put my name on the list. I figured there would be a little bit of a wait, but there were only two parties ahead of us, so it shouldn't have been too bad.



It took about fifteen minutes to be seated. Not the restaurants fault, though. Nobody was leaving! Everyone was just sitting there talking and relaxing, while a half-dozen of us just stood in the ever crampening foyer. David soon arrived and we took some notes on our surroundings as we had nothing better to do.



Along with a crane machine (not pictured due to the number of children in front of it--I think there's a law about taking pictures of children. If there isn't, there maybe should be), there was also this toy novelty dispenser. Whoopee cushions? This has got to be the fart-iest restaurant ever.



There's also this sign advertising a DVD interview with the "Oldest Man In Whittier." Or rather this is included as a DVD extra on one called "Early Whittier." I googled this video and found more information on it. The old man is Monte Wicker AND HE'S NOT EVEN THE OLDEST MAN IN WHITTIER! What the hecks! He's just the oldest guy they could find who remembered anything slightly interesting. This is Whittier, it's not like there was much to remember in the first place.

Finally, we were seated. I started out with some coffee (it was decent) while we looked over the menu. There didn't seem to be anything too exciting or out of the ordinary. It was a varied menu that covered the basics. I saw that they offered a loyalty rewards program and when you signed up for it you got a free slice of pie. I immediately asked our waitress how to sign up. I was dismayed when I realized later that I wouldn't get the free pie then--I'd be emailed a coupon later. Bogus.

Apparently they used to have a "at your table" toaster feature, but we saw no sign of it on our side of the restaurant.



David ordered the corned beef hash breakfast. It was a pretty standard "canned" style corned beef. The potatoes were a bit oily for my taste. They should have been crisper.



I was craving a waffle so I ordered their waffle breakfast combo. The waffle itself was interesting; it was perfectly smooth, save for the edging. It tasted like any other perfectly adequate waffle but the smoothness was fascinating. My eggs were slightly overcooked. The bacon was actually pretty good, I'll give them that.

I can't really recommend Jack's Whittier Restaurant. Only the exterior really holds the old school coffee shop aesthetic, so there's no nostalgia trip to be had. The food was uninspiring. The service was only okay.

I finally got my coupon for my free pie, but I don't think I'll use it.

Food: Adequate
Price: $7-$10
Service: Okay
Pie: Yes.

Jack's Whittier Restaurant
13221 Whittier Blvd
Whittier, CA 90602

Chef's--Stick around, hang out, make friends.

Chef's is nestled in a half residential, half strip mall area of Arcadia. From that location alone, I could tell that this was a locals' place.

I feel like I'm using the term "locals' place" a lot lately and I should explain it. A "locals' place" is a place that isn't well-known and isn't in a heavy traffic area. You're only going to find out about if you go searching, or if you stumble upon it, or if you are a local and you see it everyday. Take a place that is well known like Dinah's or even House of Pies. Dinah's appears in movies and it's near the airport, while House of Pies is in Hollywood. Neither of these is really a "locals' place."



Although there's no cartoon chef at Chef's, the building is adorned by an amazing cast iron looking scene of a chef offering a platter of pancakes to a little boy and a dog.



What is it with diners and crane machines!?

The menu at Chef's had two full pages of breakfasts. There are a ton of options and everything was roughly seven dollars. The older couple next to me recommended the breakfast burrito. My waiter had some other recommendations for me. It was a group decision. I went with the corned beef hash breakfast. For my toast I asked for a biscuit and when I declined gravy (I was saving my calories for pie), my waiter was surprised but he rolled with it.

While I waited, a different waitress came by and made a comment to another patron about my scooter in the parking lot. I piped up and said it was mine and we talked for a few minutes about scooting and riding motorcycles. There were a lot of these side conversations going between diners and staff. That's a locals' place right there.



At the table in front of me sat two guys. One did the majority of the talking and all of his stories ended with someone praying to Jesus. They started off as reasonable "praying to Jesus" tales. "Someone tried breaking into her house and she and her kids started to praying to Jesus." and "the car flipped over and while I waited for the paramedics, I started to praying to Jesus." Eventually they got to be pretty mundane situations that also somehow ended up requiring prayers to Jesus. "It turns out they were Buddhists, so I started praying to Jesus." "I can't finish this breakfast burrito, I need to pray to Jesus."



When the waiter brought out my plate, it looked exactly as I had pictured it. I expected canned corned beef hash and a canned peach, and that's what I got. Everything tasted fine, although the biscuit was a little dry.

I sat for awhile and sipped coffee, taking some time to let the food settle. I actually wrote the better part of the Rod's Grill review while sitting at Chef's. My waiter returned regularly to check on me and refill my coffee. I felt very comfortable just hanging out at Chef's.



After a bit, I let my waiter know I was ready to be pied. I was informed that the pie of the month was Strawberry Cream and that they make all the pie in-house. House of Pies strawberry cream is pretty spectacular and you don't always see it offered at a restaurant, so I wanted to see how Chef's measured up. It was pretty good, but not as good as House of Pies. They did use fresh strawberries, but the cream wasn't as rich.

Chef's gets my recommendation more for atmosphere than food. Fake being a local and hang out there for awhile.

Food: Okay.
Service: Great.
Price: $7-$9
Pie: Various and homemade.

Chef's Coffee Shop
13 E. Live Oak Ave
Arcadia, CA 91006
(626) 574-0257

In the Chef's restroom:

Penny's Family Restaurant-- All Day Long, You'll Have Good Luck

You don't really expect to find a ol' fashioned American comfort food eating establishment in something called "Hong Kong Shopping Center," but that's exactly what you'll find in lovely West Covina (not to be confused with its rival, directionless Covina).



Penny's is a sweet little place surrounded by knock off 99cent stores, fast food Chinese restaurants, and video stores with signs in languages I cannot comprehend. On the Sunday morning that we went, Penny's was packed with what were clearly regulars. That, or the waitresses were Chatty Cathys with everyone. An elderly gentleman dressed like a cowboy with a penny stuck to his name tag and a belt-buckle made of nickels, coasted around the place filling up coffees. When we asked him a question regarding the food, he shrugged and said "Oh, sorry. I just pour the coffee."



For all that activity buzzing around the place, you'd think someone would have noticed that we were in the beginning of February and they still had fall and Christmas decorations up. Maybe they just didn't care, like your great aunt who leaves up the Christmas tree all year because "Eh, I like it like that way" and "Oh, the bother."

While watching television the night before, I turned to #1DC Antoinette and said "Man, I want some pancakes!" So guess what I ordered? No swerve, I ordered the pancake breakfast with sausage, found on the menu as the "3 by 3 Special."



I'm going to confess that I like things doughy. I eat raw dough. Not just cookie dough, but rather all dough--and I like my pancakes doughy. Penny's delivered moist and soft pancakes to my belly. They also delivered a ton of butter, although I managed to scrape those two mounds off the moment after I took the picture. I'm sure my arteries look like the river of slime in Ghost Busters 2. I would have loved something more exotic, but alas they only had the standard maple pancake syrup.

The sausage was unremarkable.

Mission Family Restaurant - Old School - CLOSED

You can tell from the picture that the Mission Family Restaurant has been around for a long time. Concave roof design, ancient sign, and rock wall exterior, this place is old school and nothing beats old school. Cancer is old school and nothing beats cancer. Shut up Lance Armstong!



Another sign that Mission Family is old and old school, the booths have not been redone since who knows when. My booth was held together with duct tape. Literally duct tape. The layers of duct tape tell the age of this place like the rings do on a tree trunk.

I'm not even sure where this place is and I was just there. This is far and away from my usual stomping grounds. #1 Diner Companion Antoinette and #1 Co-worker Eveleen brought me here. It's in Pomona, apparently.

Antoinette said I'd love it based on the decor alone; she knows me well. I love the "dinge" places. Although I was not a fan of the heat lamps I saw on the kitchen counter, just about everything else was top notch in terms of creating an experience.

Antoinette ordered the Mission Scramble, which was described as "scrambled eggs, two pieces of bacon with biscuit and gravy." It arrived as such:



Yes, smothered eggs with the biscuit. No mention of this at all on the menu.

I ordered the country breakfast of 3 eggs, 3 bacon, and biscuits and gravy, all for $6.35. It arrived as this:



Yep, totally normal. Totally as you would expect. I swapped with Antoinette. Sometimes the man has to take a hit. It was a good hit, though. The gravy, which is ladled up like soup onto the plate, was smooth and not greasy. It was just a bit too much. I think I made it through half of it before saying "No mas!" I did really like the biscuits. They had a soft, corn-bread like texture.

Evaleen got a standard pancake sandwich. It was what it was.



That cup in the foreground is coffee, which is very good at Mission Family Restaurant. I also want to note that they serve buttermilk by the glass. I honestly would like to try sitting down to a glass of buttermilk and a biscuit some time.

Other points of interest:

Crane machine! What is it with family restaurants and crane machines?



This one at least has cute stuffed animals. Like real ones that you could conceivably find in a store. These are not your usual hech en Tijuana ones full of sawdust and shredded newspapers. That frog is adorable! And that baby chick on the left? I want to hit with a hammer, it's so cute.

I was a little surprised to find these machines in the bathroom:



I guess it should be called Mission Family Planning Restaurant.

Food: Decent.
Service: Started good then went a little downhill.
Price: 4-10 for entrees
Pie: When it came time for this I got really distracted by a guy with a tracheotomy hole in his neck. It weirded me out. They have basic pies. Apple and Cherry are a safe bet.

Overall: The place thrives on the experience. The food was decent and the price was cheap.

UPDATE- Mission Family Restaurant closed in 2013.


888 W Mission Blvd,
Near S White Ave and W Mission Blvd
Pomona, CA 91766
(909) 629-6412