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.

Dolores. "We never clos"

“You just go to diners?” the stranger at the party asked.
“Pretty much,” I replied. “I write reviews. Y’know, for the internets.”
“Have you been to Dolores? It’s awful!”

When someone tells me a place is awful, this is supposed put me off that place. Tell me that Mexican place on Sunset next to the barbershop is ‘for shit’, I’m not going to go—but tell me a diner is awful. It’s my job* to find out for myself.

Then the stranger added.
“Every waitress there is over 70.”

Is it creepy that it was THAT claim that sold me on HAVING to go as soon as possible to this place? Since Paul was present, I roped him into yet another diner adventure while he’d probably much rather be sleeping.

Dolores is on Santa Monica Blvd in that odd wasteland between West Hollywood and Santa Monica, the beachy place. I went through a Nuart theater phase and am shocked that I never ventured the simple four or so blocks west to the restaurant.



Pulling up to Dolores, I was instantly struck by the decrepit sign that towered above the place. This to me was a good (forgive me for saying) sign. The sign was so weathered I could believe no seventy year old waitress had been up there to spruce it up.




For this pic I offer special thanks to: http://www.latimemachines.com/new_page_3.htm

Walking inside I instantly fell in love. The homey décor mixes an odd sense of the 1970s with brown and golds with the pastels of the early 80s. After I instantly fell in love, I also instantly knew I had been lied to. Our greeter might have been rocking an outfit way too young for her but she was not a near octogenarian. We briefly breezed past display case full of giant pastries and muffins on our way to the booth. This booth gave us a great view of the counter and the nearby dessert cabinet. Delicious looking pies and cakes were found inside. Delicious cakes my friends! You know cakes aren’t my thing but these looked delicious.

The menu at Dolores is concise and simple. The largest extravagance I found is the cheese blintzes. Oddly, where you usually find a collection of Mexican dishes on an LA diner menu, Dolores has Italian choices. That’s how old school this place is.

Our waitress came by quickly and sweetly put up with my silly questions.

“What’s a ‘Cherry Lime Ricky’”
“It’s like a Shirley Temple. It’s really sweet.”
“What do you recommend?”
“What are you in the mood for?”
“…Breakfast.”
“Our omelets are good.”
“Do those come with bread? Like a muffin?”
“Yeah.”
“If I get the muffin, is it one of those giant muffins in the display case?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll get that!”

I ordered the omelet with Parmesan cheese and Italian sausage. Paul ordered the eggs and bacon with a cinnamon roll. From my seat, I could lean back and stare longingly at the dessert case. Paul left to pee, which gave me more desert ogling time. He returned shortly and informed me of the old timey baseball game machine by the bathrooms.



By then, our food come out bursting out of the kitchen. The omelet was a little light on the Parmesan cheese but the Italian sausage was tasty. The egg of the omelet was perfect--not wet or sloppy but cooked evenly throughout. Unfortunately, Paul found his eggs runny, but liked the amount of bacon they gave him. The potatoes were thinly sliced and greasy. They did maintain a good potato flavor, though.



Our muffin and cinnamon bun were in fact-- HUGE. Too big, in my opinion. My blueberry muffin was too much like an oddly shaped piece of cake. The raisins in the cinnamon bun seemed as big as prunes. Paul and I working together couldn’t finish it. I did appreciate that the butter pats that they served had been warmed. For once, I could actually spread butter on my bread.




I had warned our waitress that I may indeed still order pie even with the muffin and cinnamon roll, so be sure to drop by before bringing the check. And like every other time that I have made this request, the waitress brought the check without stopping by. I had to get her attention to order a slice of apple to go. She then of course had to pick up our check and redo the whole thing. She did give me the largest slice of pie from the case though. That was sweet of her.

Later that evening I enjoyed the pie. The crust really weirded me out, I must say. It was perfect, I am not talking about in terms of taste but structurally perfect. Like this pie had come out of God’s own pie pan. Flavor-wise it was a perfectly good slice of apple pie.





Price: $6-$14
Food: Good
Service: Very Good
Pie: Creams and Fruits.


11407 Santa Monica Blvd- At Purdue Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310 477-1061


(*yes, this isn’t my job job-type job, but it should be.)

UPDATE-Feb 2009!

Dolores recently got a new owner. He invited me back to try out the new menu.
#1DC Antoinette and I took him up on the offer a few weekends ago.

There’s definitely a new coat of fancy on Delores. It has shifted away from the roughshod style that made it endearing. That’s no sin, just a little sad if you like the rundown aesthetic.

Being there for dinner, we decided upon classic dinner entrees. Antoinette ordered the Turkey Dinner and I ordered the Meatloaf.

We were both so incredibly impressed. The food was amazing. The turkey was nice and juicy thick cuts, the stuffing was made in a delicious chicken stock that gave it a uniquely home cooked taste. The meatloaf rivaled my mother's in its flavor and presentation. Rarely do you find the melted cheese in the center of the loaf. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever had it anywhere other than at my mom’s house.

The corn bread was the best we had ever tasted. Amazingly soft and sweet, bordering on cake consistency, but staying safely within the bread family.

The new owner is definitely trying new things. He and his staff are exploring and innovating the standbys, and from what I can tell, it is successful. These things do take Delores away from its roots, but sometimes it's time to move on. So if you are looking for that old LA classic feeling, you can probably skip Delores now, but if you want a straight-up good dinner, you should definitely check out Delores. They still never clos.

Sitton and shadup! Sitton's NO HO Diner

Late Saturday afternoon I sat around my dingy room and was hit with the pang of realization that I had not eaten anything since 8am. A bowl of off-brand cereal and just barely enough milk to dampen the wheat chex was all I had. I was hungry. It was time to eat. It was “DINER TIME”. That’s right, I used all caps. Feeling like heading to the wrong side of the Hollywood hills, I googled “Burbank, diner”. I found Sitton’s North Hollywood Diner. I mapped it, jotted down the address and headed out.



Located right off the freeway on the edge of a busy stretch of Magnolia Blvd, Sitton’s has something that is very rare in the LA area- ample parking. A “gang” of parking as the youths say. I parked, passed the two life-size waiter statues guarding the door and headed inside.

Décor-wise this place will confuse you the moment you walk in. “This is a diner?” Sure they have the counter right there and the stainless steel counter behind it with the coffee maker and glass case for pie but that is all they have to establish the diner-ness. Otherwise this looks like a bizarre blend of a Shakey’s and an East Coast Italian restaurant. Photographs of dead and dying film stars adorn the walls.



I was greeted, gruffly, by the waitress. “Just one?” I nodded and she made a noncommittal wave which I took to mean sit anywhere. I took a table near the counter and in the direct path of the waitress. In a drive-by wait on she asked what I wanted, “Coke, sprite, diet coke?” For some reason (low blood sugar?) I couldn’t speak clearly but was able to stammer out “Coffee” before she left earshot. She came back momentarily with a cup of coffee. A cute li’l cup of joe, about 4 regular gulps. Luckily my waitress was quick with the refills. She was literally there the moment I put down my empty cup, a bonus of sitting where she HAD to pass my table regularly. The coffee itself was serviceable. A little weak but with a smooth flavor.



I ordered a simple breakfast of two eggs, two pieces of pig, hash browned potatoes and toast. I got my eggs scrambled, the sausage link and an English muffin. I didn’t have to wait long of course, this is a five minute prep meal after all. My eggs were a tad slimy but still tasted good. The sausage links were basic Jimmy Dean. The potatoes were of the boiled potatoes quickly seared on the griddle variety. I prefer that over the crispy crispy spud shavings. The English muffin was ridiculously good. She brought it out already slathered in butter. I spied on the counter a gigantic dish piled high with a mound of butter. I put a little packet of jam on one half of the English muffin. The jam combined with the melted butter into a sweet messy ocean on tip of the cratered surface of the muffin.

Although I warned her that I would be ordering pie, my waitress brought my check halfway through my meal. As she came by to fill my coffee cup again, I ordered a slice of the Chocolate Cream pie. It looked amazing in the glass case behind the counter. I was sorely tempted to order one of the delicious frosted doughnuts they also had back there but I stuck to the pie. The pie looked good but was quite disappointing. Too much cream and not enough chocolate. It was a grocery store pie.




Final notes:
Sitton’s was a perfectly fine experience. The place is open 24 Hours so that must make it a pretty good scene after the valley bars close. They offer patio dining if you are into that. The staff was friendly and clearly has regulars.


Price: $5-$18 (my meal with coffee and pie only ran 10.83)
Food: Decent.
Service: Very Good
Pie: Basic Creams and Fruits.


Neighborhood: North Hollywood
11329 Magnolia Blvd
North Hollywood, CA 91601
(818) 761-3341