Tommy's Restaurant--Everything to Everyone.

Tommy's Restaurant is one of the few non-chain breakfast joints in Monterey Park. It's located right next to a shopping complex with both an IHOP and a Carrow's nearby. As a supporter of local restaurants, I was glad to see that on a Saturday morning, it was very crowded.
And as a supporter of local restaurants, I just wished Tommy's had proven to be better.



#1 Diner Companion Antoinette and I luckily caught the eye of a waitress when we first walked in, before we could check in with the host. The waitress grabbed us and sat us down at a table that could easily seat 4 or 5. She said if anyone asked to just say we were waiting for more people. She proved very friendly and attentive throughout our meal, but a little spazzy. I think she sat us down there to keep a larger, more difficult to deal with party from being seated in her section.

We both ordered coffee. I found it a bit weak, but Antoinette really liked it. They only had sugar and sweet n low, but they did have real milk available on the table. The servers were very quick and very frequent when it came to refills, which was nice. A few times, I hadn't even taken a sip of my fresh cup when someone came around and poured just an eensy-weensy bit more into the cup.



Looking at the menu, I started to get worried. There was a full "family restaurant" menu AND a full Mexican restaurant menu. There was just too much going on there. There had to be some dilution in the quality of the food. Shortcuts like microwaves, canned goods and decidedly un-fresh ingredients had to come into play.

I gambled that any place that had put that much energy into having a Mexican menu was probably better at that then at regular diner fare. There are a lot of diners that are secretly Mexican restaurants but haven't made the changeover yet. Was this the case at Tommy's?



Antoinette ordered the polish sausage and eggs with a side of home fries. She liked her eggs and the home fries, even though the latter were room temperature by the time she got them. I thought they were a little uneven and some were underdone. The sausage was very good--it had a really robust flavor with some real char on it. She did say that the toast had too much butter on it.



I ordered the Chilaquiles breakfast and it was kind of a mess. The rice was bland--really bland. The beans were okay; I'm just not a fan of refried beans in general. The eggs were oily. The chilaquiles were drenched in a rather boring--I suspect canned--enchilada sauce.

So clearly Mexican was not the way to go with ordering. This was not their secret strong suit. This was more of a case of a place expanding their menu to appeal to the larger neighborhood. I always think of Monterey Park as being predominantly Asian but down near the 60 freeway, it becomes just as much a Latino neighborhood.

Antoinette liked Tommy's Restaurant far more than I did, but she concedes that my breakfast was bad. I'd be willing to give it another shot, but I can't imagine when I would ever go back. If I was ever in the mood for "diner or Mexican" food, I'd go to Bun n' Burger (if they ever get consistent with their hours) which is right in our neighborhood and has much better food of both varieties.

Food: Poor to Okay.
Service: Very Good.
Price: $6-$9 most items.
Pie: Yes.

Tommy's Restaurant
1150 W Riggin Street
Monterey Park, CA 91754



I have never ordered Albondigas because it sounds slightly dirty.
"Check out the albondigas on that one!"

Bun n' Burger - Fun n' something that rhymes with "burger"

Bun n' Burger is a place I was really excited to try. It's right in my neighborhood and has a delightfully cute art-deco exterior.



I had read an article about this place in the Alhambra newspaper and the picture that was included only showed the main dining room. It's an all-around classic design with booths lining the storefront windows and an oval counter taking up the middle.

Until my folks and I walked in that morning, I had no idea that there was a full room just out of sight. A room that can only be described as...



...the most-insane-yet-somehow-adorable-dining-room-in-existence. It's like the world's coolest flea market threw up inside.

Not a lot of diners have firearms displayed. I don't even remember seeing one at Revolver, where it wouldn't have been at all out of place.

There's a series of these pictures hanging up on the wall. They have an R. Crumb meets Norman Rockwell quality that I really appreciated.

One of the things Bun n' Burger is well-known for is their menudo soup. It's only available on weekends so that makes it more special. If you haven't had menudo soup, it's a Mexican soup made from a tomato base with hominy and tripe. You can garnish it with onions and cilantro as they have done here. Menudo is my chicken noodle soup when I have a cold. I buy it in giant cans at the ethnic market. This would actually be my first time ordering it at a restaurant. Bun n' Burger's menudo was pretty good, but not spicy enough for me.

My dad ordered the ham, bell pepper and Monterrey jack cheese omelet. It was less omelet and more folded over scramble. It was also delicious. They use honey baked ham in it so it's unexpectedly sweet.

My mom ordered the waffle breakfast. It was a pretty standard waffle. Her eggs were good but the bacon was a little chewy for my taste. It was a good cut, but just needed to be crisped up a bit.

I regret that this is where the food portion of the review turns sour. I did not like my breakfast. Chilaquiles can go wrong. They can be mushy and bland and just outright gross. Sadly, these were the chilaquiles that I had this morning. The potatoes were no better; they were, in fact, worse. They were drenched in peanut oil and were equally mushy and bland. I barely touched them. My eggs were very good, though. They must have been cracked and poured simultaneously into a circular mold to get them to look like that and be cooked evenly.

Bun n' Burger was just so adorable and pleasant that I would go back again just to look at more of the weird stuff they have on the walls. Despite how disappointing my breakfast was, my folks' food was good enough. The staff was friendly and the coffee was good. Overall, it is definitely worth a visit.

Food: Okay* (see below)

Price: $5-$8. Cash only.

Service: Friendly.

Pie: Yes, several.

Bun n' Burger

1000 E. Main Street

Alhambra CA 91801

(626) 281-6777

Take a look at the menu:

*UPDATE 7-14-10: We have since been back to Bun n' Burger a few times now and our food has been either good or great, but oddly, I have yet to try the pie.

A word of warning though-- if you plan on going in the evening definitely call. They seem to be really inconsistent with their hours, which is not a good sign.