Dinerwood on the Road: Hash House A No-No? San Diego and Las Vegas

I have mentioned on this blog sporadically that if I go to place to review it and what-whatever happens and I don't get to writing the review until much later, I will often just stash it away. The reviews tends to suffer with too much distance from the experience. I've been staring at this half-written review for a long time and I just recently found my notes again, so I'm going to give it a try.

A long, long time ago, I was in San Diego with #1DC Antoinette and her brother Alex. I had heard such great things about Hash House A Go Go, that I had to make a point of going there.

After a bit of a wait outside, we finally made it in. I was surprised at how upscale it seemed. I envisioned something more mod or flashy with a name that ended with "A Go Go." Art prints of tractors were not what I expected.

The menu offered a lot of intriguing options. Everything seemed to be trying too hard to get my attention. They were all yelling ,"pick me! pick me!" I did like that there was a lot of variety within the categories, like eleven different flavors of flapjacks or five different kinds of Benedicts. Nearly everything is served with mashed potatoes and a biscuit. I was trying to settle on one of the hashes or a pancake dish. I decided to go with whatever the waitress suggested.

She suggested the Sage Fried Chicken Benedict. I was surprised as that was not really at all close to either of the things I was considering. It did sound good, so I went with it.

#1DC Antoinette and Diner Lad Alex went for less frou-frou menu items. Or in #1DC Antoinette's case, what she THOUGHT was a less frou-frou item.

As soon as our food arrived, we learned that it was all about presentation at Hash House A Go Go.



It looks like someone has been watching too much "Dexter" on Showtime. This dish is a crazy mess. That's the simple sounding Granola with Milk and Fruit. Yes, that appears to be an whole unpeeled banana and a whole peeled banana. It looked pretty, but those splatters could prove disastrous for someones clothing.


(sorry for the blurry picture)

Diner Lad Alex ordered the Tractor Driver Combo. That's a big, big-ass pancake.



The first time they brought this out, I took a few bites and realized that the chicken was dangerously undercooked. Not quite squawking, but certainly kill-me-if-I-had-eaten-any-more-of-it level preparedness. The waitress took it away and soon returned with one that ended up not killing me.

Let me correct myself, at Hash House a Go Go, it's not all about presentation, it's also significantly about portion.







We couldn't finish any of our breakfasts.

I do wish that as much thought was put into the flavor of the food as was put into presentation. Part of why we didn't finish was that the food wasn't all that good. We could easily stop ourselves as there was no desire to get more of that flavor onto our tongues.

They very sweetly took my meal off the bill, which I did appreciate. If they hadn't the bill for the three of us would have been nearly fifty dollars. That's a bit pricey for the quality but not for the quantity. If you really want to go there, definitely order something to share.

Food: Not that good.
Service: Friendly.
Price: Expensive. 12.95-16.95
Pie: None.

Hash House A Go Go
3628 Fifth Ave, San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 298-4646

While Las Vegas, I went with some friends to the Hash House A Go Go there. The food was only marginally better here.



I just really wanted to include the picture below since I find it hilarious and kind of gross.



This looks like a sombrero vomited up some scrambled eggs. Yum!

Brandon's Diner- Far far away.

Brandon’s is a sweet little place out in Rancho Cucamonga (just try saying that word without smiling). Located discreetly in a strip mall, it might be easy to miss if it weren’t for the usual scads of people found there during the day. Don’t worry though, turn over is quick here due to its ample seating and full staff.


A few weeks ago, my diner companion, Antoinette, and I hit Brandon’s on a Sunday at about 11am. We were worried when the night before Antoinette had seen fire and smoke coming from the general location of Brandon’s. Did one of the few diners in the area burn down? As we pulled in to the parking lot we passed first the partially charred remains of a paper store (a likely culprit and/or truly unfortunate victim of the fire), bakery (again a likely culprit), and a massage therapy office. Luckily Brandon’s was safe. We soon learned that the fire had started at the massage office when a relaxation candle had been left burning.

There were several parties hanging out around the front of the diner and a few waiting patiently at the entrance. We saw that several seats at the counter remained opened, so we breezed through the line of people and sat there. Grabbing our menus from their holders at the edge of the counter, we got down to work. The large amount of diner comfort favorites and a great selection of Mexican breakfasts can be almost overwhelming. Sitting there at the counter, we were treated to a parade of dishes making their way out of the kitchen. Several times, we stopped each other mid-sentence with “Look at that!” One in particular we discovered was the strawberry lemonade which looked more like a desert than a drink. I was amazed at a gravy boat of peach compote being delivered to a nearby table. We also were able to see that unfortunately the muffins come from packages and that they put a lot of ice in their drinks. It’s that great crushed ice, though, that reminds me of Taco Treat in my home town.

The menu claimed that their plate sized flap jacks were famous. This made my decision easy. I am a fame whore. Antoinette ordered the Cinnamon French Toast breakfast. A refreshingly unconventional thing to note about Brandon’s is that they allow you to “opt” out of elements of their breakfast combos and will accordingly adjust the price. Say you want the Two Eggs and Sausage combo. It comes with potatoes and toast. Don’t need the toast? Tell them to hold the toast and they’ll hold the toast and the price of it off the bill. It seems an easier and cheaper system than ordering a la carte.

Our food came out quickly even with the throng of people populating the place. I counted no less than five servers for a place roughly half the size of House of Pies.

Antoinette especially loved the french toast. It was like a cinnamon bun with frosting cooked into the center of the bread. After reading the original posting, she insisted I gush more about how amazing it was. She REALLY liked this french toast.



I especially like the home fries, chopped up and buttery flavored rather than being greasy, although they could have used a bit of seasoning to make them really stand out. The eggs, we both ordered scrambled, were moist, but not wet, in the middle. They were browned nicely on the tops and bottoms.



My flapjack was what makes an American style flapjack what it is: extremely large. This made buttering the bottom jack a bit of a problem. I slathered the butter on the top and poked holes with my fork into to the two layers hoping the butter would seep through. I then poured a generous helping of syrup all around. Brandon’s famous flapjacks didn’t necessarily blow me away, but they were good—nice and light.



For those of you who do not know, flapjacks in England are more like a large cookie. In the states they are a larger than normal pancake and seek to be a bit crispier and less like a dough pillow. This usually staves off the “pancake regret” I mentioned in an earlier review.

You may never find yourself all the way out in Racho Cucamonga, but if you do, come check out Brandon's. If you are on your way out to Vegas or on your back, it's not too far off the freeway, just take the Carnelian exit and head down to Baseline.

Final notes: Even though they grind their own beans at Brandon's, I did find the coffee a bit weak. They also have their liquor license so feel free to booze up while here.

Price: $6-$10

Food: Good.

Service: Good. (A note behind the counter reads "Don't forget- Customers Come First"

Pie: Apple. (and churros!)

8609 Baseline Rd.
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
(909) 989-2256 Fax: (909) 944-9806.