Sambo's Santa Barbara- The First and Last

Going to Sambo's is kind of a big deal for me. I've wanted to go to one before I even knew there was only one of them left.

Okay, you can kick the dirt and look around nervously when you talk about the name and history. Wikipedia it if somehow you don't know what I'm talking about.

The inside of the restaurant is adorned with murals and decorations detailing the original Sambo story.

That's adorable!

They give you a basket of mini-muffins to start out with. They were really tasty.

We had an incredibly helpful waitress that guided our menu selections.

Antoinette had the chorizo scramble with potatoes and a side of pancakes. The potatoes were the star--they were perfect. The chorizo scramble was delicious but the pancakes were a little bland.

I had the Bengal Tiger Special. The french toast and bacon was good. The eggs were really interesting--they were shredded? I have never had eggs like that. They were good...just interesting.

That's a lechery looking Tiger.

Food: Good.

Service: Helpful. (but not to good with the refills)

Price: $10-15.

Pie: Sometimes.

Sambo's Restaurant

216 West Cabrillo Boulevard

Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 965-3269

Annia's Kitchen -- El Monte

Remember when I said Dinerwood would change formats? We'll call this more of a new-format review. Enjoy the pictures.

I've tried several times to write a more thoughtful and expansive review of Annia's Kitchen. I even went here twice to try to absorb more of the feel of the place. It just never happened.









The dining room is small and not very well air-conditioned. It's uncomfortably warm inside. I recommend sitting on the patio, because not only is it cooler but on the patio you get to see these...



..Airplanes! Did I mention that Annia's Kitchen is at the El Monte Airport?



Annia's has a very extensive menu. Everything is a little bit more expensive than I'd like it to be.



I liked the biscuits and gravy, although the gravy was a little flour-y.



The pancakes were good, but really heavy. Pancakes like this usually are, but these felt even more so. The sausage was over cooked, but the bacon was done quite well.



The chorizo and eggs was decent.



The pot roast breakfast was really great at the time. It came back to haunt me in the afternoon. I'm not sure if it was the gravy or the eggs that did me in. I ordered both eggs over medium and one was cooked perfectly while the other was over hard.



I really wanted to like Annia's Kitchen, I gave it two chances after all. The most positive thing I can say is that I do really like their menu, I just haven't been wowed by their execution. If the idea of eating breakfast while watching small planes take off sounds awesome, then by all mean go for it.

Food: Decent
Price: $6-13
Service: Good
Pie: Yes

Annia's Kitchen
4233 Santa Anita Avenue # 18 (El Monte Airport)
El Monte, CA 91731

Dinerwood On the Road: Las Vegas' The Cracked Egg

My first time in Las Vegas was a little over a year ago. I asked the concierge desk at the Planet Hollywood Casino (where I was staying) where to get a good breakfast. After suggesting the in-hotel restaurant, I stopped him. "No, where do you real people get breakfast?" He paused- "The Cracked Egg." A little while later, I asked one of the bellhops the same question, "The Cracked Egg" he said. Now I didn't make it there during that trip, so I made a point to schedule it in this time.

The Cracked Egg has a few different locations around Vegas. Charlie and I went to the location on Rainbow Road, out in the hinterlands of South Vegas. I was surprised that it was in a strip mall. Once we went inside, I was pleased that there were no hints of "VEGAS!" here. It was very homey and decorated in faux-colonial style and accented with knick-knacks, but also had exposed duct-work which seemed out of place but fine.

The menu at Cracked Egg isn't deep. It covers some solid ground with pancakes, skillets and omelets. Price-wise, it read as entirely reasonable. They also have a gluten-free menu, which you don't see a lot of places.

I asked our waitress what she recommended and she replied confidently, "Anything smothered in gravy." I didn't feel like gravy but as I knew this would probably be my main meal of the day, I needed something filling. I went with sweet and heavy--the Peanut Butter French Toast. Charlie ordered the Mexican Skillet.

We both also ordered the fresh coffee cake, which the waitress brought right out. I took a bite and was surprised to find , a melty chocolate chip in my mouth. They routinely experiment and change up their coffee cake recipes, and this week was chocolate chip coffee cake. It was very rich.

Our food followed quickly.

The portions were pretty ample. I definitely felt like I received $9.50 worth of french toast. It was sweet and heavy, just like I wanted. The bread was split and filled with peanut butter blended with cream cheese. This would be to keep the peanut butter from getting too melted and liquidy and spilling out of the bread. The syrup and the bananas also added a nice balance of flavors.

Charlie's Mexican skillet was good but basic: chorizo, cheese, jalapenos, and salsa. The chorizo wasn't too spicy or too mild.

The Cracked Egg was a very good breakfast experience. The friendly wait staff helped remind me that there are regular people in Las Vegas. I highly recommend it if you find yourself there and want a quick reminder of what normal life is like.

Food: Good.

Service: Great.

Price: Reasonable.

Pie: No Pie.

The Cracked Egg
6435 S. Rainbow, #100
Las Vegas, NV 89119
Phone: 702.220.6449
Fax: 702.221.9310
http://www.thecrackedegglv.com/

Rae's Restaurant

It had been quite awhile since I had been to the west side. Charlie lives there and recommended Rae's as a good example of an unheralded breakfast joint on that side of town. He was available to shoot pictures, so off we went.

We rolled in for a late Sunday lunch and I was surprised that it wasn't very crowded--not a ghost town by any means, but not packed. It turns out that the restaurant is deceptively large. Its main counter and booth space is augmented by an annex full of tables in the back. It was also decidedly non-douchey with a healthy mix of hipsters, locals and families. The douchey quotient is kept down by the proximity of places like Snug Harbor and Bread & Porridge, which act as a magnet for those types (Not saying there's anything inherently douchey with those places; they just happen to be more popular.)


Rae's was clearly an older place (est. 1958 according to their menu) and luckily hadn't a seen a renovation in quite some time. The colors change from a green and blue to a decaf shade of orange at the booths. Architecturally, the interior is all hard angles with the globe light fixtures and counter edges being the only exceptions. We sat in front of the picture window by the door. The large window let soft afternoon light just pour in, which gave everything a nice glow.



First off, I ordered a coffee, which was incredibly good--nice and strong without any bitterness. I found it very amusing that they served it in plastic mugs made to look like classic ceramic coffee cups.

The menu is small, comprising only one page. It covers the staples well and is peppered with interesting items and odd section placement. Under "Sandwich Specialties" it lists sundaes and malts and ice cream topping for sodas. I was sorely tempted by something called the "Denver Sandwich" which consists of two eggs, ham and pineapple. Now eggs and ham go together and ham and pineapple go together. Eggs and pineapple though? Why call it a Denver sandwich? Apparently it's a thing, although the pineapple appears to be an exclusive to Rae's thing.

Ultimately I went with the other most intriguing option: the bacon topped waffle.
Charlie ordered the Chorizo.



The chorizo had a mild spiciness to it, just enough to give it a tiny kick.



I expected to just find bacon bits sprinkled on top of the waffle, but what came was even better. The bacon had been added to the batter and cooked into the waffle itself. The syrup was nothing special but overall the combination was very good. My potatoes were adequate.

Something we both noticed about the food is that it is perfect "drunk food." It looks decent when on your plate in the daylight, but would look amazing if you were really drunk and trying to sober up. The slight sheen of grease would look delightful reflecting in the streetlights from outside.



At the end of our meal I decided to indulge with the blueberry pie. The edges of the slice were dry and sticky, which happens to fruit pies when they have been sitting out for awhile. Once I got closer to the center, it was much better.

Rae's was an enjoyable place. It had a nice atmosphere and decent food, but its biggest asset may be the price. For two breakfasts, coffee, orange juice and a slice of pie, our bill came to only $19.00. I look forward to going back there and enjoying more of that great coffee and maybe trying that Denver sandwich.

Food: Decent, bordering on good.

Service: Very friendly.

Price: $5-$8

Pie: Various.

Rae's Restaurant
2901 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 828-7937