Big Bang Coffee Shop - "As good as Denny's"

It used to be Denny's--sometimes known as "Jail Dennys" due to its proximity to, well, the jail--then it closed for awhile. Then it reopened as Nibblers, which featured a wider variety of food with an international flair. Then it closed for awhile and promised to reopen as Denny's again. Well, now it is BIG BANG Coffee Shop.

"AS GOOD AS DENNYS." Why would you say that? That's not even good advertising speak. "As good" doesn't make me want go. Well... to be fair, I wanted to go regardless because of the whole saga of openings and closings and name changes. That banner though--bad idea.

I came in at about 5:30 0n a weekday.

I was the only customer.

There are little signs all over the restaurant explaining that they were all set to reopen as Denny's when the Denny's company revoked their license. This explains why their menu is just a very scaled down version of Denny's. They even have their own version of the Moons Over My Hammy.

I ordered the Lumberjack breakfast; 2 eggs, 2 pancakes, 2 bacon, 2 sausage, 2 pieces of toast, 1 cut of ham and hash browns. All this food only 7.95.

Here's my review of the food--As good as Denny's.

The eggs and meat were really good actually. It was a slice of honey baked ham, which I did not expect and was quite nice surprise. The hash browns needed to be crispier and the pancakes were rubbery and heavy.

The owners are clearly hung up and bitter about the Denny's thing, which is too bad. I know that after Nibblers must have failed (based on the reviews I read at the time --"kind of pricey, not that great") they must have felt desperate to appeal to the old Denny's base. This all just reeks of desperation though.

It was cheap, decent food, but that's really it. I wish them success though. I like have options near downtown and this is certainly an option.

Food: Decent.

Price: $6-10

Service: Good.

Pie: Apple. (Looked really good, but I was full)

Big Bang Coffee shop

1200 Vignes St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

UPDATE-
It's back to being boring old Denny's...but, HEY! Hobbit menu right now!

 

Dinerwood on the Road: Best breakfast in San Diego is in Chula Vista

On the annual pilgrimage to San Diego Comic Con, me and mine stay in the lovingly rundown city of Chula Vista just south on the 5 freeway. Our usual place was booked up so I found place a few blocks away. Now, when I booked the Big 7 Motel I swear it had a 2 1/2 star rating on Expedia--which I was fine with since I only planned on sleeping there not eating off the carpets. During the approaching months I watched that rating eek ever lower. By the time Dinerfriends Greg and Paul and I checked in, I knew we were in for a crapbox of a stay.

The one saving grace of staying Chula Vista this year was our close proximity to this place--



Family House of Pancakes. If you want to just cut to the chase, let me say it: This place has the best breakfasts in San Diego.

On the first day it was just Greg and I and we had no idea what to expect.



It's a cozy joint with a charming decor ripped right out of a 70s movie.

Waitresses greeted patrons by first name and knew what they'd want to order the minute they sat down. Seriously--one of the waitresses basically did a magic trick. She asked this woman what she wanted and when she replied, the waitress said "I knew you would want that. In case you don't believe me"--she turned her notepad around for the woman to see--"I had already written it down." MAGIC.



To summarize the story: Dad had dreams of opening a restaurant although all he knew how to cook were pancakes. He realized his dream and learned that you should not open a restaurant when all you know how to cook are pancakes. The restaurant struggled until dad died. Mom, heretofore only a homemaker, came in to try to run it. She struggled too and it took the whole surviving family coming together in order to make it even function. Now they do okay.

On the first day I ordered the Tropical Pancakes. Pineapple bits in the batter and on top along with toasted coconut. This was heavenly.



To get some much needed protein to go along with my powerfully carb and sweet pancakes, I ordered a slab of ham. It was delicious.



That morning Greg was a little under the weather and honestly felt more like plain toast and tea but the lure of the bacon waffle was too much. Nice chunks of bacon were mixed in with the waffle--you would think that would go without saying right? I have unfortunately ordered a bacon waffle at places and that just means they lay some slices on top and call it a day. This had a perfect balance of sweetness in the waffle to work with the bacon chunks inside.

The next morning we ate downtown (Cafe 222 review coming soon), but on our last day we made a point of going back to Family Pancake House. This time we took Paul with us.



Paul had the banana pancakes with a side of bacon. His pancakes were almost as good as the ones I had two days before.



Whereas Greg and I ordered coffee (it was decent--not great), Paul ordered only water. They brought his water out in a gigantic cup. I think that actually says a lot about the thoughtfulness of the restaurant.



I had the roast beef hash with eggs and potatoes. I believe the menu said '2' eggs--this was easily 4 or 5 eggs. The country potatoes were thin cut and walked delicately close to crispy. The hash was a tiny bit salty but otherwise everything was delicious. I ate maybe half of what was on my plate and I was bursting.



Greg, fully recovered from his illness of the other day, was the big winner at breakfast. He had the house speciality Irish Benedict. The menu said "corned beef" for the meat portion and we had assumed they were using short hand and it would be corned beef hash, but we were wrong. It was actually hearty cuts of actual corned beef. It was amazing. The waitress (the one who did the magic trick the time before) looked at Greg and said "I know what you're ordering next time you come in. I'll remember." No doubt she meant it.

When our waitress brought out our food that morning she apologized for the delay. We had waited maybe ten minutes--I think it was probably closer to five. Their turn around was blindingly fast.

I love Family House of Pancakes. I was actually upset that it took four years to find this place and I had to eat at Aunt Emma's Pancakes more than once. This is officially my breakfast headquarters when I'm in San Diego. Now I just need to find a slightly better motel to stay at nearby for SDCC 2012.

Food: Great
Service: Exceptional
Price: $7-10
Pie: Yes.

Family House of Pancakes
562 Broadway
Chula Vista, CA 91910

Village Coffee Shop--Over and Under

The Village Coffee Shop is located in the shadow of the Hollywood sign in the closed-circuit neighborhood of Beachwood Canyon. You actually drive through a stone archway to enter the neighborhood. It's very fancy but yet, also somehow modest. It is like an idyllic oasis with a small town feel. The residents are served by a small grocery store and the only restaurant--the Village Coffee Shop.



I hadn't been to Village Coffee Shop in years; it was definitely pre-Dinerwood. It was never my regular spot or anything, but I'd find myself there every few months and I don't really know why. It was never good--literally nothing there was ever good. Decent, sure, but never good. Also, it's kind of expensive. You can't forget that, for as homey as the area feels, it is still in the Hollywood Hills, and that means they can get away with charging a bit more.

After all these years, I decided to go back and drag my friends Matt and Paul with me.



Village Coffee Shop is definitely decorated in the "Grandma's House" style. You do feel very comfortable there. It's about as un-LA a place I have ever been to. The wallpaper and decor made Paul angry. He lives in Hollywood, so I think anything that reminds him that life can be more than homeless people and parking tickets just makes him mad.



Paul had the tuna melt which was served with a slice of American cheese. It was a decent sized sandwich and had a decent amount of french fries. It was about nine bucks.



I got a beef melt with fries. For some reason my sandwich was cut into thirds. I also got nearly twice the fries that Paul did. My sandwich was a little bit more expensive than Paul's. It must have been the extra fries.



I ordered a side of ranch for my fries. It tasted watered down. I was at least hoping for a nice thick restaurant style ranch, but this was like low-fat dressing and just depressing.



Matt ordered an egg cream (milk, chocolate syrup and soda water) because, why not? Not a lot of places serve true soda fountain drinks. This was odd because the soda water was served on the side for no apparent reason.



He also ordered the ham and cheese sandwich, mostly because he was curious what a $9 ham and cheese was like. When it also came out with Swiss and American cheese he said "American cheese is just lazy!"

Overall, our opinion was that everything was decent but underwhelming. The french fries were cripsy on the outside but mealy on the inside. The sandwiches all tasted like what we'd make at home if we bothered to put a minimal amount of effort into it. It was also overpriced for the quality and portions. The neighborhood is what sets the prices. I think many more years will pass before I ever go back there.

When we left, Matt said "Okay, now where are we going for lunch?"

Food: Decent.
Price: $8-$17
Service: Decent.
Pie: Yes.

Village Coffee Shop
2695 N. Beachwood Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90068

Goody's 2-- The New Digs

You may remember Goody's from my stellar-nearly journalistic quality-review of the last night of service at its original location. It certainly took long enough, but Dinerwood finally made it to the new Goody's location in El Monte.



Goody's now resides in what was formally called the "News Cafe" next to El Monte City Hall. I'm pleased that they kept the original font for the sign. It may not be as grandiose at the original Googie sign,but it works. That font is one of the few familiar things they were able bring to the new location.



Another is the sad-sack chef fixture on the wall. I love this guy: his lazy eye--or is it a wink? I don't know; the plate of buns or coffee beans or moon pies; the shovel. He's a schlub. I love him.



The News Cafe was a more modern, more shiny coffee shop. It was next to City Hall for crying out loud. It needed to be a beacon of progress for people looking for a cup of coffee after filing a property lease permit or getting a cheapy wedding. The old Goody's was like your grampa's den.

#1 Diner Companion Antoinette, my folks, and I came in last Saturday morning for breakfast. We were seated and then kind of forgotten about for a little while. I was just getting to the point of flagging someone down to at least take our drink orders when the waitress finally came back to us.

She was nice and chatted with us a bit. In fact, she chatted with everybody a bit, which is why it took so long to get drinks. We asked how things were working out in the new location. She said "fine," and then looked at us a little oddly and asked if we used to come in at night. She's worked at Goody's for 17 years and didn't recognize us. We explained that our first time was actually the last night. She then left to get our coffees.



The coffee was good. The cup and saucer were adorable. It looks like they also took the dishes with them to the new space.

On one hand, I was a little disappointed that they kept the old menus. Our waitress had let me take one when we left the original restaurant and I thought I taking home a priceless artifact. On the other hand, I see that it provides a safe continuity for those old regulars coming to the new location. The same sweet message of "To serve you is a real pleasure" greets you on the cover, and you know that although you drove a different way to get there, it's still the same ol' Goody's.

Before our food arrived, our waitress brought us each a small dish of peaches. These were certainly not from a can; they actually still tasted like peaches and not syrup. I'm not saying Goody's jarred them themselves, but at least there was an effort made for quality.

They also brought all of our bread out in one basket that we then had to sort out. I should mention now that in the morning they do not have the small loaves of fresh baked bread that Antoinette fell in love with at the old location. They only have those at dinner time.

My parents ordered basically the same thing, so I only took one picture. My dad ordered the hash browns "extra, extra, extra crispy." The tops and bottoms were fine but he said they were a little too mushy in the center. The eggs were good, but the ham was a little dry. Overall, good though.

Antoinette ordered the bacon and eggs with a side of home fries. Everything was good except she became really worried about the bacon. "It tastes weird. Like, maybe rancid?" No one wants rancid bacon and nobody wants bacon to go to waste. I tried a bite. It wasn't rancid. It tasted like a crispy pork chop. I think it was just maybe overcooked a bit.

I ordered the Creamed Chipped Beef on Biscuits. I had never ordered it before anywhere. It's something that you see written on placards of restaurants in old movies. Depression era food, is how I see it.

When it came out, Antoinette and I immediately saw the problem. I hate hard boiled eggs. They gross me out. This dish was covered in hard boiled eggs. She graciously offered to trade me her eggs and weird tasting bacon. I wanted to power through and try it....and if it came down to it, I could try to eat around the eggs. One thing I had to keep in mind was that this wasn't gravy over biscuits and dried beef and hard boiled eggs. It was a cream sauce with a very different flavor. Luckily it usually overpowered the egg taste. It was a nice experiment, but I don't think I will ever go down that road again.

I'd be really sad if the new Goody's just didn't feel right or if the food was bad. Luckily, it was basically the same as it was that first time; it was just in a new location--"old wine, new bottle," so to speak. It's a little too far for us to make it a regular stop, but I'm glad it's out there in the world. I hope it's there for a long, long time.

Food: Good.

Service: Friendly

Price: $6-$11

Pie: Yes.

Goody's Restaurant

11357 Valley Blvd.

El Monte, CA 91731-3227

KJs Diner and Restaurant--Gutter ball.

I was really excited when I pulled up to KJ's Diner. It is attached to a bowling alley--how great is that? Growing up, we had a Chinese restaurant attached to our bowling alley. Sadly, KJ's proximity to the lanes was the greatest thing about it.



I got there a bit early and as I waited for Charlie to arrive, I ordered a coffee (weak) and looked over the menu. It covered the standards, but also had an "International Breakfast" section with chilaquiles and lox--not served in tandem. An Asian themed menu was located on little laminated placards at the counter. The dinner menu was broken up by different "Flavas:" Spanish Flava, Italian Flava, and Savory Flava.

A nice couple chatted with me a bit about motorcycles and scooters (I had ridden my scooter from Silver Lake). They were enjoying a slice of apple pie with grated cheddar cheese on top. It's a Northeast thing.

Once Charlie arrived, we got down to business. When our waitress asked what we wanted, I asked if she recommended anything. "After eating here? Nothing! Hahahaha." I was really hoping she was just kidding--really hoping. I ordered the Cream of Wheat Pancakes and Charlie ordered the Ham Pan Sandwich, without the pan but with french toast instead.

A nearby table featured a dad and a gaggle of pre-teen girls celebrating a birthday. Divorced Weekend Custody Dad really needs to step it up. Bowling and a diner for your girl's 11th birthday? That's tragic. The staff did sing "Happy Birthday" in awesome oddly accented English.



It didn't take long for our food to arrive. I was surprised that I was paying over $8 for a stack of four pancakes. I assumed there would be hash browns or bacon or a slice of orange. The pancakes started off well, albeit a little undercooked, but as I continued down the stack they got more and more grainy and runny.



Charlie's french toast was okay and the ham slab was dry.

When we were finished, I asked our waitress what pies they had. She said "No pies, just cake."

Now, I knew they had pie. I had seen it. A slice of pie had been within five feet of me. I looked up at the counter and I could see a pie in the display case. Only one, so I could safely assume it was apple pie, which I wasn't in the mood for. Why would the waitress lie about the pie? She had told the truth about the food. Why lie about this? I shrugged it off.

KJ's Diner is not a place I'd recommend. If you are already bowling, pop over for some flava, but don't make it a destination. It's definitely not worth it.

Food: Disappointing.

Service: Okay.

Price: $6-$12, but ask exactly what you are getting for the price.

Pie: Yes, but they lie about it.

KJ's Diner

8731 Lincoln Blvd.

Westchester CA 90045

(just a short distance North of LAX)

http://www.kjsdiner.com/

Jerry's Coffee Shop

On our way out of town for the recent holiday weekend, #1DC Antoinette and I had planned to go to the historic Munch Box in Chatsworth. Being crazy Huell Howser fans and having just watched the episode where he went there, we were really looking forward to it. When we arrived, though, the place was shuttered and there were no signs of it opening soon or ever again. Seriously, no hours posted, no 'open' or flipped over 'closed' sign, no nothing.

We asked GPS what we should do and GPS said "Jerry's Coffee Shop" in that snooty accent of his.

GPS took us out to Simi Valley, which I only know from the OJ Simpson trial...or was it the Rodney King trial? Either way, it was something having to do with injustice.



The moment we pulled up, I knew this place was something special. It looked like a dump, and dumps are either the worst or the best.



Jerry's is small, having maybe ten tables (with a few picnic tables outside). The carpet is stained and frayed, and the kitchen, which you can pretty easily see from the tables, is cluttered and messy.

The most interesting thing is...



...saran wrap on the radio and covering the outlets.



A lot of the booths have these really fascinating chairs. They look like they would have been a semester long project in a high school shop class or a side project by the Bauhaus...no, not that Bauhaus, this Bauhaus.

The coffee was only $1.65 and it tasted like $1.65 coffee. It was decent but a bit weak.

The menu was short and simple but had all the traditional favorites.

Antoinette ordered a simple breakfast of two eggs and a ham steak ($6.50). She liked the eggs. The ham steak, which looks obscenely phallic in that picture, was good but the some of the fat should have been trimmed off of it. The home fries were great.

I ordered the pancake sandwich ($5.50). The eggs were a greasy, which I predicted they would be. Despite that, they were pretty good. The sausage patty was a nice change of pace.

The biscuit was drier than I like and that was a whole lot of gravy for just one biscuit. Antoinette did not like the gravy at all, but I really liked it. It tasted--my hand to God--exactly like peppered beef jerky.



The pancake was close to perfection, like the best pancake you ever made at home on a Sunday morning. It was wonderfully moist and doughy.

After we finished eating, Antoinette got up to use the bathroom. I was probably spacing out thinking about lovely things or gas mileage or something, when I noticed someone staring at me. I shook out of it and realized it was the cook. He gave me the cook head nod that always means "Was the food okay?" I gave him a thumbs up. He smile and nodded and gave me a thumbs up back.

Jerry's was a great out of the way find. Because of its distant location, I can't imagine we'll ever be back though.

Food: Very good.
Service: Very nice.
Price: Very reasonable.
Pie: Very no pie.

Jerry's Coffeeshop

4817 E Los Angeles Ave
Simi Valley, CA 93063

(805) 526-1652

Spy in the House of Pies

Let me say one thing first- I love House of Pies. This is my favorite establishment in all of Los Angeles. I dare say my favorite establishment since the establishment of democracy in Greece. Let me say a second thing second- I do not go to House of Pies for the food. I go for the pie.
The food at House of Pies can be good, don’t get me wrong. It can also be awful. It can be a great patty melt with delicious crispy french fries. It can also be a hair fried into a Monte Cristo sandwich. I’ve had breakfast lunch and dinner, morning, noon and night and you never know exactly how it’s going to be.

These are the things you can always count on at House of Pies-
Coffee. This coffee comes from God’s own South America. It’s always good. Strong and never burnt. The staff is always there to fill your cup. If I lived closer to the House of Pies, I would come in everyday just for the coffee.
Pie. The best pie this side of the Hollywood sign to be sure and possibly the whole state. I've never had a disappointing slice of pie here. The fruit pies are heavenly. The cream pies are devilishly good. They recently added a peanut butter cream pie that is so wonderful I often wish I could abandon my human form and become a slice of it. Why would I do this? Sounds strange doesn’t it? The reason- I know that I could never bring as much joy to another person as I’d give if I were that pie. That’s how fucking good this pie is.

These are things you might experience when you go to House of Pies-
Service of various quality. Your service at the House of Pies depends entirely on your waitress. This isn’t like the 101 Coffeshop where you can count on bad service because that’s how they do it. At House of Pies I’ve had good service and I’ve had lacking service. I hesitate to use ‘bad" to describe it. I’ve had times where getting the check was an ordeal. It tends to be very consistent with specific waitresses. There’s the older lady with the bum leg who is great up until its time to get the check or order another slice of pie (Yes, I said ANOTHER slice of pie). There’s the obese woman who reminds me of an unhealthy version of my mom who is sweet and never forgets about you. There’s the young Latina with the tight curls pulled back in a severe ponytail who always seems just two steps behind.

Closed for health code violations. A few months ago it was unexpectedly closed for a few days. If that isn’t hardcore diner eating I don’t know what is.
And finally, Captain Pimp. He is an elderly black man with a sweet leather jacket with small chains hanging off it and a captain’s hat and large sunglasses.

This particular morning I sat at the counter. I don’t do that but today was a day for counter service I believe. I was there early enough for the Early Bird special. These are meals for old people. Usually an egg, an english muffin, plain omelet, etc. Light stuff and cheap at under five dollars. I got the diced ham and egg and english muffin. The eggs were a little slimy as usual but certainly edible and enjoyable.




When it came for pie, I had to figure out what kind of mood I was in. Fruit of cream? I’m most often squarely in the cream pie camp. I thought about a chocolate cream pie, which I had not had in some time. The pull of the peanut butter cream was too much and I had to have it.


They serve the peanut butter cream pie with two pecans on top. Why? No clue. Am I curious enough to ask? Nope. This is an incredibly rich pie. The peanut butter flavor might be too much for some but those people are weak so disregard them. If you are one, I have disregarded you. The crusts on the cream pies are crumbly, not flaky. This is how I prefer my pie crusts. Without a tall glass of milk I just can’t do a flaky crust. I have been known to leave the crust uneaten if that’s the case.

Two interesting things from this particular time at House of Pies- An old man put pepper on his cottage cheese. I had never seen that before. I'm sure that man was CRAZY.
A woman sent back her chicken fried steak because she ordered it well done. Which is completely her prerogative, however she also thought her chicken-fried steak was actually chicken, so there you go.


UPDATE: 7-15-2010


I went to House of Pies with my friend Skylar last night. I had not been there in a couple of months and I recieved quite a shock.

What the hell was this? They completely redid the counter. They added two flat-screen tvs and lights and silver. It looks incredibly out of place and bizarre. I can't tell if this is just an odd design choice or if this is the first step in a slow conversion of House of Pies into Ten-Forward from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The pie was as good as ever. We had the fresh peach and the german chocolate cream pie. The peach was amazing. It had thin slices of fresh layered peaches and was naturally sweet. I always forget that the cream pies they serve you are basically a fourth of a pie. It was rich and I only ate about 3/4 of it.

I am starting to dislike the whipped cream tops on the cream pies though. It's too dense and I often find myself scraping most of it off to get to the good stuff beneath it.

Price: $6-14 for most entrees
Food: Hey, it's your call dude.
Service: You take the good, you take the bad.
Pie: Well, yeah!


1869 N Vermont Ave
Los Angeles in the Los Feliz - Silverlake District
(323) 666-9961