On the Road: Olympia's Black Bear Diner.

Okay, I know I said I'd return to Los Angeles to do a quick review of another Dinerwood home base place, but I'm having some issues with pictures right now. Therefore, we shall continue on our Northwest adventure for a just a bit longer.


I went to college in Olympia, Washington. I lived there for four years and for several years afterward, I made nearly weekly return trips there to perform with my improv troupe.



The location that is now the Black Bear Diner used to be a Coco's. A Coco's I had never once visited. I don't think I had ever actually eaten at a Coco's until I went to Japan. Yes, Japan, but that's a story for another time....



If you've never been to a Black Bear Diner, you are really missing out. It's a chain of diners in the greater Northwest that is not run like a chain. The first one I ate at was, I believe, in Bend, Oregon. The menu stated that each Black Bear Diner prepares things a little differently so don't go expecting the same thing at another Black Bear somewhere else.















Black Bear Diners are going for a rustic atmosphere. In fact, if it weren't for the fact they call themselves a "Diner," I might dismiss it for just the surface elements. It's nice. It's cozy. It feels like home...you know, if you lived in a restaurant.




















Part of this homey-ness is that the menu is presented to you like a newspaper. The place mat gives you the history of the chain and its establishment in 1969.

On this day, I was treated to just how unchain-like a Black Bear Diner can be. The heater was broken in the restaurant and it was getting quite a bit chilly in there. I heard someone order a fresh squeezed orange juice and be informed that the juicer was broken and they only had regular juice. When it came my time to order, I was debating between the Beary Crunch French Toast or the Praline Pecan Sauce French Toast. I asked my waitress which one was better. She replied "We don't have any pecans so you have to get the crunchy." Yes, she said I "HAD" to. I wasn't going to argue. She clearly knew her stuff.

"What makes it crunchy?" Don't get ahead of yourself, Turbo. Let me first add that these are three slices of sourdough bread, battered and then rolled in crushed cornflakes. My god! This was delicious. It's probably one of my favorite things that I'd had on this entire trip.

Food: Great.

Price: 6-11

Service: Friendly.

Pie: Technically no, but look at all this cobbler!

PS- the menu does suffer from a little too much "bear" cuteness, like my Beary Crunchy French Toast or the Beary Nice to Meet You Eggs Benedict (okay I made that one up).

955 Black Lake Blvd SW

Olympia, WA 98502

(360) 352-1219

Ronnie's Diner... I think K-Fed was our waiter. (updated with more pics!)

While seeking out a way to promote the Dinerwood blog, I stumbled across a handy website for restaurant listings. Why don’t I post the link? Because I want you to come here to Dinerwood to find your information, not to some soulless mega website devoted to Los Angeles eateries in general. Okay maybe if I’m nice I’ll post a link in the links section.

On this website I found Ronnie’s Diner in Culver City. My comedy group works out of Culver so I am getting to know the area well. I suggested we have our Saturday brunch meeting at Ronnie's and surprisingly everyone agreed. Or if they didn’t agree they kept their big mouths shut.

Ronnie’s is in a strip mall. Well, it’s not really a ‘strip’, it is more of a courtyard. Parking was a bit difficult since the courtyard consisted of several other restaurants and a bar having a private party… at noon. Seriously. We did manage to snag street parking nearby, right in front of “Shady Dan’s Mafia Front Garage and Murder Den” (name changed as to not offend) Ronnie’s was busy, it being lunchtime and all, but we luckily managed to snag a table. Ronnie’s does offer patio seating if you are so inclined. I am usually not inclined considering I hate the sun.

Our waiter was a young man with a cocked baseball cap and baggy clothes. He spoke in an amazing out of place drawl. His accent was similar to my brother-in-law’s Louisiana accent. Apparently part of that accent is calling everyone “man”. My sister's husband will say “Hey man, you go see any shows in LA?” or “I just got me a Playstation, it’s cool man.” It’s really disconcerting when he calls my nieces by that. “Breanna put down the sugar, man.”
So K-Fed- that’s what I’m calling our guy. I don’t mean it as an insult. Honestly! - took our drink orders and brought them back quick as you please. I got the coffee, of course, which was adequate. The mugs were the good, heavy kind you buy your dad for Father's Day. When I found grounds at the bottom of my mug, one of my friends said "That means it's good." I think it means they need a new filter on the coffee maker.

Two things about Ronnie’s reminded me of the 101 Coffeeshop. First of all, the globe light fixtures, for which I am a sucker, and the bizarre out of place photograph that adorns their menu. Much like the pictures that adorn the walls of the 101, we are left without any context to the image below. The poor Cowboys kid surrounded by Rams fans, he seems lost and despondent.

Looking over the menu, I settled on the Louisiana Royale. How could I not? Not only would it be homage to our waiter but also it also sounded delicious! Check it- eggs scrambled with hot links and tomatoes, served over Spanish rice. Doesn’t that sound so crazy it just might work? It did! Like the Devil’s Mess at Millie’s, this was a surprising (not surprisingly, note the difference) delicious meal. My one critique of it would be that by the time it got to me it was not as piping hot as I’d have liked it. I just chalk this up to K-Fed having to bring our whole table’s dishes out at once.

Everyone enjoyed their meals. They will vouch for their sandwiches being tasty, their fries long and crispy and their french toast with marmalade being "good, actually".

I asked K-Fed about pie. He said they might have some chocolate cake left. “Left” really threw me. Like ‘left’ over from Jose’s birthday party last week? Do they usually have cake that they burn through by 12:30 on Saturday? And really, if you break it down, nobody really likes cake that much. It's like an obligation. People will say "I love cake!" but if you press the issue, it is soon revealed that cake takes a back seat to pie, milkshakes, cobbler(the kind with fruit), milkduds, and cobblers (the kind with shoes).

Overall, we enjoyed Ronnie’s. It lacks atmosphere (except for those sweet globe lights!) but the food is good. As a diner experience, it is middle of the road. If you are in the neighborhood and you’re hungry, or you are getting your car serviced/meeting the guy who knows the guy who can kill your wife for less than two grand, stop in.

Food: Good.
Service: Decent bordering on Good.

Price: $7-$12P
ie: No. Left over cake though.

Ronnie's Diner
12740 Culver Blvd #J,
Los Angeles 90066
At Braddock Dr