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!

 

Uncle John's Ham n' Eggs -- Downtown's Greasy Spoon and Chopstick

I never ate at the original location of Uncle John's Ham n' Eggs and after missing my window with "Jail Denny's" becoming Nibblers and now going back to "Jail Denny's," I didn't want to miss out again. The economy being what it is, places can disappear over night.

Now located next to and connected through the lobby of the Stillwell Hotel, I was surprised at how nice the interior was. I knew the reputation of Uncle John's as a greasy spoon and this did not match that. I hoped the new location had only changed the environment and not the content. Once the waitress handed me the menu my fears were allayed.



Uncle John's serves both American and Chinese food. The menu has Chinese dishes on one side and American ones (primarily breakfast but also some lunch items) on the other. Well, there is a little bit of bleed over from one side to the other. For example; most of the breakfasts have as an option either potatoes and toast or rice. The prices were very reasonable for a place known for large portions. Most of the entrees were hovering around $8 or $9.

Of course I had to try one of these...ugh, "fusions" for lack of a better word. I decided to go in a little bit different direction. I ordered the spicy fried pork chop (so spicy it had to have a chili pepper icon next to it on the menu) and eggs. I decided to go with the potatoes and toast option, rather than rice.



The pork chops were really good. Normally, I don't like breaded meats because the breading tends to be soggy and greasy, but surprisingly these were not like that at all. The breading was crisp and actually reminded me of chicken McNuggets (which is secretly my favorite fast food item). My eggs were undercooked and disappointing, though. The potatoes were pretty standard--not good, not bad.

I didn't find the portions to be anything out of the ordinary but I did wish everything had come out on a larger plate. It was just a big pile. I imagine the peppers went with the pork chop, but the scallions left me wondering. Were they part of the pork chop portion or were they supposed to be for the eggs? Maybe for the potatoes, since they needed a little something?

After finishing my meal I sat for awhile and enjoyed my coffee and--by god!--I paid for that full hour on the parking meter and I was going to use it. The staff kept my coffee full the whole time.

Uncle John's Ham n' Eggs is a decent greasy spoon with over a 30 year history. Not too long ago this was probably one of the few places in downtown that you could get a hearty breakfast that wasn't at a chain restaurant. I think it still services a need for folks who live and work down there. I mean, where else can you get some fried rice with your hotcakes?

Food: Decent
Service: Good
Price: $6-9
Pie: None.

Uncle John's Ham n' Eggs
433 W 8th St
Los Angeles, CA 90014
(213) 623-3555



The original location.

Stray Cat Cafe--No Rush

I'm going to complain about the newly opened Stray Cat Cafe. It will not be the usual track of complaining that comes about by LA bloggers over it. There's a whole controversy involving the wine bar The Must and Weenez (the hot dog joint that used to reside in this space) and shady business dealings. I'm going to complain because my lunch here cost me over $50. Let me tell the story.

I met my friend Marsha for lunch during the week. It is always kind of a hassle to go out for lunch, but it really does perk you up when you get to hang with friends in the middle of a workday. The worst is when you are on a tight schedule and you end having to wait for your friend to arrive. I parked just across the street of Stray Cat, in front of Bolt Barbers and walked in to find Marsha already waiting for me. I was the one holding up the show.

Stray Cat has only been open for a short while, but certainly long enough to not look like it is either still under construction or already going through a remodel. About half of the restaurant looks unfinished. Adorning the finished walls are oodles of cat art.



We looked over the menu and lamented that we had missed breakfast service; almost immediately our waitress came by and let us know that they were still serving breakfast. That was welcome news. We both eyed the Lemon-Scented Cottage Cheese Pancakes. I ended up deciding to go off my normal ordering routine and went with Marie's Frittata.



Our waitress took our orders and disappeared down that dark hallway.

She'd return from time to time, refill our drinks, bring other people's food. Marsha and I just chatted. Eventually, I started to get a little antsy. This was taking a very long time.



Marsha's Lemon-Scented Cottage Cheese Pancakes arrived. They were very good. They didn't even need any syrup. You could really taste how the addition of the cottage cheese had positively affected the batter. I've gotten cottage cheese pancakes before and they were plain and too tart compared to these.

But then we waited some more. In the meantime, Marsha decided she did need some protein and ordered a side of bacon.




After a bit more waiting, my fritatta came out. I didn't know it came with a toasted hoagie roll. I had asked for an English muffin for my choice of toast. The waitress assured me that the muffin was on its way, too. The frittata was also good. I love the Parmesan and egg combination.

At this point, I decided that I should go check the parking meter. I knew we had to be close to an hour by now.



As I was getting up, the bacon arrived. I paused to try some. It was good.

I went outside and sure enough: parking ticket. $50.00.

I went back inside to find my English muffin had finally arrived. My camera was already packed, so forgive the lack of the picture. You know what one looks like, come on.

Stray Cat Cafe's food was good and reasonably priced. They clearly have some issues with food prep. It took over a half an hour to get two relatively simple breakfasts. The fact that the food came out so staggered means their kitchen may be understaffed and/or in a far off location? I recommend holding off on your visit until the construction is complete and they don't have to disappear down dark hallways to get your food.

Food: Good.
Price: $6-$10
Service: Okay.
Pie: No, but a lot of cakes on the menu.

Stray Cat Cafe
500 S. Spring Street

Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 891-1144

Added:
They do change the art on the walls and as some of you might know when I'm not stuffng myself with breakfast foods, I am a roller derby referee. I was very pleased to see this new piece of art up on the wall.

Blue Star--Downtown LA - Closed

Blue Star is located in a sketchy-ass industrial zone just south of downtown Los Angeles. On this particular day getting from my work to the restaurant--which should have just been a straight shot down Alameda and then left on 15th--took forever due to the insane number of 18- wheelers and scrap metal pick-ups seemingly patrolling the streets.

I knew they closed at 3pm and I arrived at 2:45. After going through the harrowing ordeal of traffic, construction detours and double parked semis, when I saw the "CLOSED" sign in the window, I was livid.

"I'm going in!" I said to myself...out loud. That's how mad I was--I was talking to myself. Have I mentioned how much I hate traffic and driving in general?

I looked at the hours posted next to the door--yep, 3pm. It was not yet 3pm, what was up with the giant closed sign in the window? Did they even know what I went through to get here? I pulled open the door and was ready to tear it up. The two women at the table near the door looked up at me, like they knew I was about to unleash hell. Then a dude told me to sit anywhere I wanted. My ire now taken away, I quietly skulked to a table. At least they were willing to honor the posted hours.



Blue Star has been around for a few years now, but it seems like a design concept never coalesced. It's sparsely decorated; in fact, I think the only thing hanging on the walls that isn't a neon sign or a flatscreen tv, are some hubcaps. It's like a decorator said, "Hey these will look cool here" and called it a day.

They also serve beer and wine, which I found very strange for a place that closes at 3pm. What's the point--unless they are going for a hardcore mid-day drinker base?

I ordered a coffee, which was disgusting and tepid. They were closing and had clearly given up on this product sometime ago. I would have said something, but both employees disappeared into the back and by the time they returned, I was over it.

The menu was sort of torture for me. Some of the breakfasts sounded delicious, but they stop serving them at 11am. The lunch and dinner menu (again, they close at 3pm. "Dinner?") is pretty uninspiring. I asked my waitress which sandwich she recommended between the BBQ Chicken and the Chicken Pesto. She said the BBQ, so I went with that.



I was not expecting much. The coffee had set such an awful precedent that if they had brought me a chicken neck drenched in Heinz 57 on two slices of store-brand bread, I would have not been surprised. Ultimately, this sandwich was really, really good. The BBQ sauce was a good mix of tangy and sweet and the fried onions were a nice touch. My only critique would be that the chicken was a little thin. The french fries were like the best non-greasy fast-food style fries I've had in awhile. Worth $10.50? No.

I finished my meal and left. I was the last person inside who didn't work there. After I walked out, the waiter flipped the sign in the window over to "Open." He just hadn't paid attention to which way the sign was facing.

It all seemed very lackluster and I can see no reason to go back to Blue Star. There was no experience to be had and the price and the hours would definitely keep me away.

Food: Good.
Price: $9-$16.
Service: Okay.
Pie: None.

Blue Star Diner
2200 E 15th St
Los Angeles
213-627-2022
www.bluestarrocks.com

Nick's Cafe--On the Other Side of China(town) is America.

I knew it existed, but I didn't quite know where Nick's Cafe (not to be confused with Nick's Coffee Shop ) actually was. One day I took a slightly different way into work and just happened to glance the right way and, to my surprise, there it was, just before Chinatown.

I decided to leave for work a little bit earlier yesterday and get some breakfast. I knew the building was small, but I had no idea until I stepped inside. It's all counter with a single table on the far side, but I don't think anyone is meant to sit there since it was piled with boxes when I walked in.

I'm not shy about taking pictures anymore unless it seems obtrusive to the other diners; in Nick's it definitely felt obtrusive. We were packed in. I was sandwiched between two groups of guys, one of which was arguing about the Lakers and the other about parachuting--not civilian parachuting but Airborne/knifing Nazis in the throat--parachuting. I think either party would have been a little edgy about a camera snapping photos.

On the other side of the counter were two cops, and its creepy taking pictures of cops. It's creepy for them; it's creepy for me. They only get their picture taken when they are doing something wrong or when they are being targeted by the evil South Africans from Lethal Weapon 2.



I waited for them to get up before surreptitiously taking this awful picture.

Let me also say that when I got the coffee at Nick's Cafe and it awesome, I knew I was off to a good start.

Nick's is only open until 2pm (Mon-Sat, not open on Sundays) so the menu only covers breakfast and lunch. It is a solid diner menu: a dozen different egg specials, pancakes, waffles, sandwiches and soup--sadly no desserts. I saw that their corned beef hash breakfast was made with "fresh ground beef," so I wanted to give it shot.

I have to say, that this was hands down the best corned beef hash I have had in California (the best overall was at Jam in Portland). It tasted fresh, as fresh as a brine-cured meat can be. This was so far beyond the canned stuff I've had at most restaurants as to actually taste almost unfamiliar as "corned beef hash." There were no cubes of potato and there was no dog food sliminess. The only negative thing I could say about it was that it was shade too greasy.

The potatoes at Nick's are also amazing. They are shredded so fine that they must crisp instantly on the griddle. The only thing I can really compare them to are Chinese crispy fried noodles.

My toast also came with a homemade apple and grape jelly (I think that's what it was). I also assume it was homemade because it wasn't sweet enough for store bought jam. They also make and sell their own salsa, but there was nothing on my plate that I thought salsa would improve, so I skipped it.

By the time I was halfway done with my breakfast, everyone else had cleared out and it was just the cook, the server and me. The server and I chatted about scooters and vacations and Fall weather. It was very pleasant.

I really fell in love with Nick's Cafe. I can see myself going there at least once every two weeks or so, or whenever I haul my butt out of bed early enough to go before work. It's working class; it's simple; it's delicious; it's what a diner is meant to be.

Food: Great.
Service: Friendly.
Price: $6-$9. (Cash only, but ATM on premises)
Pie: No pie.

Nick's Cafe
1300 N. Spring st.
Los Angeles CA 90012

Spare some change for the Nickel Diner

I recieved a hot tip about a new diner opening up in downtown. Okay, it wasn't a real "hot tip." It was diner pal Paul forwarding me an article from an LA website about the opening. I knew that I had to go on the first day because how often do you get to go to a place on it's opening day? I've never experienced it, but I can imagine there's excitement, maybe some headaches and potential disappointment, but also potential amazement. It's a lot like the first time you have sex...with another person...or with yourself for that matter.


The Nickel Diner opened for its first shift on August 27th in one of those areas of downtown that's getting gentrified, but only jussssst barely starting the process. Imagine the area around venerable Los Angeles cafeteria, Clifton's, without the glitz of the jewelry district but with all the goodness of the homeless.

Joining me this time were #1 Diner Companion Antoinette and #1 Coworker Eveleen. Technically speaking, I crashed their lunch plans and convinced them to go to The Nickel. We lucked into parking right in front. A Meth head perched near the entrance provided us some parking advice when we encountered a broken parking meter,
"Don't worry, they don't bother checking." It was almost like valet!


The street locals did seem cautiously curious of this new eatery in their midst. Many of them would stop and gaze at the delicious looking baked goods in the window. None, though, even seemed to consider going in.




Arriving there at about 2 pm, I was pleased to see a healthy crowd still eating. Unless the waitstaff were total d-bags and the cooks put AIDS infected needles in the vegan tapioca, I want a place like this to succeed. I love diners of all stripes, even the nouveau diners, which The Nickel definitely embodies.

So the first of two headaches hit us pretty quickly. The menu implores you (with its placement and catchy name) to order the S'mac and Cheese (spicy with three cheeses, topped with tomato and bread crumbs). The waitress confirmed that the name was meant as a joke based on the neighborhood. The gals wanted to go splitsies on it and then the waitress had to say "Yeaaaa... we actually don't have that today."




The BBQ pork hash and eggs was probably the most old-school diner thing I could get on the menu by the early afternoon. (Pancakes stop being served at 11). It was a good choice: familiar, but with enough of a twist with the BBQ sauce and the seasonings that I felt like I was getting something brand new. I was a little disappointed with the portion. It was a reasonable portion. I am not going to lie. I like to have to make a choice about whether or not to clean my plate. I was left hungry. Luckily, I had some other delectable things to graze on.

The girls did go splitsies on some items.




The stuffed avocado couldn't be any more frou frou. It had quinoa in it. *I* only know what quinoa is because I bought an "Archer Farms" box dinner version of it from Target. It's like cous cous. I still don't have any idea how to say it. The avocado was not something I'd ever order on my own, but it was exceptionally good. I'm glad the gals got it: flavorful combination of red peppers, black beans, corn, and quinoa made this a hearty salad option.



They also got the chicken salad sandwich on wheat. I love chicken salad and although this was good, it didn't seem up the level of culinary detail I was begining to expect as part of the Nickel Diner's plan. I imagine it will go through some refinement.

The french fries were beyond belief. Thin cut, but not overly crispy, with a great flavored salt. I am going to make a "top 10 fries of all time" list, just so I can put these on it.

We were treated to a lovely display of the desserts available and even got to sample the maple glazed donut with bacon pieces (real bacon not the stuff you put on salads) sprinkled on top. Bacon and maple syrup are two things that need to be combined much more often in this world.

At this point, the second headache appeared: the credit card machine was not working and it was cash only. After trying to pool our cash and realizing we'd come up short, I jaunted out into the world to find an ATM. I lucked into finding one two blocks away in a liquor store where weird old men watched me suspiciously.

One week later, the three of us returned to see how things were going. The good news is that they seemed to be going well. We had the same waitress and asked about how business had been. She said steady and that they had gotten slammed over the weekend. I'm glad they are doing brisk business.

This time I ordered the polenta with chicken apple sausage and maple syrup.



I wasn't really sure what to expect. I had only ever had fried polenta before. This blew me away. Easily my favorite thing so far at the Nickel, I think I could eat this for breakfast at least twice a week.



The girls were finally able to get the S'mac and Cheese. Antoinette didn't feel like the three cheeses blended very well and just made a strange flavor--not necessarily a good or even an interesting one. The amount of bread crumb crust was a bit much.



Now the grilled cheese sandwich won the blue ribbon from the gals: "Phenom!" Roasted tomato and mozarella, perfectly grilled. I will note they also have another grilled cheese option with cheddar, bacon and tomato.

Still having some room for a dessert, we decided to peruse the dessert tray. Typically, I was inclined to get the delicious looking meringue, but the Berry White Cake could not be ignored.



Loyal readers will know that I am a hardcore pie man, but even I will admit that there are cakes that look like works of sugar art make kissy faces at your eyes. More often than not, they fail to actually do the same to your tastebuds. This one actually delivers on the visual promise with a deep and long perfect blend of everything from the amount of fruit, the thickness of the frosting to the amount of actual cake.

I'm very glad to have a diner near my day job so I can have easy access to my favorite style of food. An extra bonus is that this place is spectacularly good.

The only bummer: they still hadn't fixed the credit card machine.

Food: Super Great.
Service: Friendly.
Price: 8-14
Pie: Lemon Meringue (plus other desserts)

524 Main Street
Los Angeles CA
The website

The Pantry is for drunks.

I can rise early in the morning if I need to. I’m long past the days of being droggy when I wake up. I know everyone else says groggy, but droggy is worse. It’s like being drugged and groggy you’re so out of it. It’s easy waking up, stumbling around looking for shoes or my first tender cigarette of the day. I don’t actually smoke but the phrase “my first tender cigarette” just popped into my head and I wanted to use it. Nobody wants to wake up earlier than they have to though.
Co-worker Erin proposed getting together for breakfast to occupy her time between yoga class and work. I think she just wanted to be featured in a Dinerwood update as she is routinely mentioned on my personal blog. This all meant getting up extra early and trekking downtown while the sun was still rising. I took a preemptive shower the night before to cut down on the wake up time. Even at 7:30am in this town traffic sucks.
Erin and I decided on The Pantry for breakfast.

I neglected to get a picture of the sign so I've swiped this from the Pantry website. I thank them for it.


The Pantry’s slogan is “Always open, always a customer”. I would add to that “that one customer is always a drunk.” The Pantry is one of those places that I think you really need to be drunk to fully enjoy. Any place that gives you a little bowl of coleslaw when you sit at the counter is clearly a place for drunks. “Free coleslaw? *hic-cup* I loves it!” [It’s like the White Horse on Western where they give out free hot dogs. Why!] Although we didn't get any this time, I can say the coleslaw at the Pantry is pretty decent.

I work on the north end of downtown where the skyscrapers and art installations dwell- The clean and shiny downtown Los Angeles. The Pantry is at the other end- The homeless and brown recluse spider bitten downtown Los Angeles. It’s been there since 1924. Okay, not THERE there, they moved to this location in 1950. You can still visit the original location every time you use the nearby freeway on-ramp. The Pantry, like any good diner, holds to an older time. Forminca table tops, sweet globe light fixtures and a bird cage cashier. Until I had been to The Pantry, I thought that only existed in Robert Altman’s Popeye. Erin recalled that when she was a kid, that space used to be a cigar stand and her father would always get a stinky cigar each time they ate there.

Erin beat me there by a few minutes. When I sat down she noted that the waiter had delivered her coffee right away without even asking if she wanted any. She did of course but that is some gumption on Mr. Waiter man's part. He was also very flirtatious with her. That elderly diner waiter was nothing but gumption. I also ordered the coffee which I can honestly describe as having a robust flavor.



Perusing the walls where the menu is detailed-that’s right no actual menus for your hands, only for your eyes. We settled on some easy breakfast fare. I got the pancakes, two eggs and potatoes. Despite all the breakfasts I’ve been eating since I started the reviews, I don’t think I have ordered pancakes once. The food arrived right away which was nice for a breakfast rush. Unfortunately, butter did not arrive until about 5 minutes later. This left my pancakes wanting with only syrup to wear. When it did arrive we were treated to those ice cold pats of Darigold brand butter spread, which doesn’t spread because they are ice cold. Erin's toast was cold and burnt so there was little a bit of butter spread could do for her.




The late Mitch Hedberg observed that pancakes always seem like a good idea, but halfway through the first one you’ve had enough. My potatoes were bland and basically room temperature. My eggs were the only decent thing about my breakfast. But you know what? If I had been drunk I wouldn't have cared. So go drunk is my advice.

They do offer apple pie as well as an assortment of cakes. One time I was there they had a peach cobbler that was delicious. That was a special so don't count on it being there.

Price: $4-$15 (our breakfasts together totalled only 11 dollars)
Food: Not good.
Service: Gumptive.
Pie: Apple.

877 S Figueroa St
Los Angeles, CA
90017-2507
Phone: (213) 972-9279