Dinerwood on the Road: Night and Day Cafe, San Diego

On our first night of our yearly trip to San Diego, we headed over to Coronado, the posh island community nestled off the coast of downtown. The Night and Day Cafe is a 24-hour broom closet of a place and provided one of those most bizarre eating excursions I've had in awhile.

Night and Day Cafe is tiny--maybe fifteen feet wide and no more than 30 feet long. It consists of a modest narrow counter and a cook station with some nominal storage in a back room. When we arrived, the counter was nearly full and we took the last two seats right at the front.

The walls are decorated with some choice artwork and photography. There is also a very modern jukebox mounted on the wall, which I couldn't get a good picture of as I would have had to crawl over the counter and stand on the griddle. Yes, that last picture is a guy with a fish sticking out of the bottom of his shorts and the second to last picture does say "Belgium Waffle."

The cook who was working not only looked but also acted a lot like the character "Cheddar Bob" from Eminem's "8 Mile." If you've seen the movie you'll know what this means. If you haven't seen the movie, well what do you imagine a character named Cheddar Bob is like?

He handed us menus and asked if we wanted anything to drink and then went back to cooking and chatting with what appeared to be regulars. Note: he asked what we wanted to drink, which was a soda and two waters, and then went back to cooking.

#1DC Antoinette and I were both shocked at the prices. There was very little under 8 dollars and if you wanted something extra, like fries, it tipped the modestly proportioned (we could see what the other patrons were eating) meals over into the 12 or 13 dollar range. Clearly, Night and Day Cafe had been corrupted by the affluence of the area. A place like this couldn't have started out way back when with these premium prices.

I wanted a patty melt and Antoinette had settled on the salad when the late night cooked wandered in to relieve "Bob" and told us that we had the wrong menu. He then handed us the "Graveyard Menu." Graveyard because you'll DIE looking at these prices! Seriously, their late night menu cuts several of their cheaper items (like the chili) and ups the price on others by nearly two dollars. For instance the tuna melt is normally $7.75, after 9pm it raises to $9.50.

Thrown for a loop, Antoinette had to rethink her order. To his credit, the late-night cook did offer to basically make anything for her and run over to the Vons across the street to get any ingredient he didn't have on hand. She ordered a grilled cheese (which was on menu) with bacon and tomato (which was not). I stayed with my patty melt (which had a small price jump on the graveyard menu). We decided to split the fries. We then again ordered a soda and two waters, which eventually the new cook did bring us.

By this time, some space at the counter had opened up and a trio walked in and sat next to us: two bros and a girl who was riffing off Marilyn Monroe, down to her peroxide hair and white halter dress. Our new cook was seriously taken by her. Even though she was clearly spoken-for by one of the dudes next to her (it was unclear which one), the cook proceeded to do his best to seduce and delight her. He put some Chuck Mangione on the juke box so the sweet jazz trumpet sounds would enthrall her. When she ordered fries, he offered and then went on to make her fresh french fries, cutting new potatoes just for her.

After a nominal amount of time our food came up.

My patty melt was very good. It consisted of two patties and lots of cheese and it was grilled just right to make it all come together nicely. It wasn't the best patty melt I've ever had and it certainly wasn't worth the late night price.

Antoinette's grilled cheese was sublime in its simplicity. It's a great combo. The tomato helps cut the grease from the bacon and cheese. They also used garlic butter to grill the bread, which was a nice complement.

He delivered our second-rate not freshly cut fries. I asked our cook/waiter for ketchup. He said, "sure," and went to the back to get a bottle. He then delivered it to the counter:

Oh, not to us. He put it in front of Marilyn Monroe, whose fries were still crisping in the fryer. He very rarely took his eyes off of her. It was especially bizarre because everyone on our side of the counter knew and understood it was weird and all we could do was awkwardly laugh at how awkward it was.

The fries weren't that good anyway. He totally wasn't getting up her skirt using those.

Night and Day Cafe was really bizarre. Good, but not good enough for the price. When we finished and paid, we waved goodnight to the cook. He didn't notice. I can't imagine we'll ever go back.

Food: Good.
Service: Likes blondes.
Price: $8-$13

Pie: NONE.

One final endearing trait:

Pete's Burgers Family Restaurant.- Burger stand or more?

We had driven past it several times. It says 'family restaurant,' looks like a burger place, but also touts its eggs and bacon breakfast and fried chicken dinners...but it looks like a burger place! Mysterious? #1DC insists that it must have been an old Long John Silvers with the bell tower and widow's walk on the roof. I maintain that it looks like a haunted Kentucky Fried Chicken thanks to the rundown and tattered look of the exterior and the red and white color scheme.



We finally decided to to try it out for lunch one day. When we walked inside, it was pretty squarely a burger joint: all booths, ordering at the counter, one giant ketchup tub dispenser, with no public restrooms to top it all off. I don't normally review places like this, but since we were here, I soldiered on.



I'm glad we did, but not because it proved to be a magical experience or anything. There was more to Pete's than just how it looked on the outside. It has a pretty extensive menu for what looks like a divey burger shack. They have omelets, burritos, sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, pastrami, salads, and a selection of dinner specials.



While in line to order, I snapped this shot of the kitchen staff. Although most reviews of Pete's that I've seen have referenced its being cash only, I saw a credit card machine by the register. Maybe it is decorative? Or perhaps it's a haunted credit card machine that they don't like to use because of the y'know, haunting.



Antoinette says that all that she remembers about the tuna melt was that it was crunchy. Not good, not bad, just crunchy.



My hamburger looked nice and thick when I first unwrapped it. I then saw that this was because of the hunk of iceberg lettuce in the middle. The burger patty was a decent size, but the bun was toasted a bit more on the burnt side than it should have been. It tasted alright.



We agreed that the fries were the only really noteworthy part of our visit to Pete's. They were pretty good, came seasoned, and were just a little soggy.

So in conclusion, Pete's is a burger shack that also happens to have other kinds of food--much like Jumbo's Clown Room is a bar that happens to also have strippers. I can't imagine you'd want to specifically seek this place out, but if you are stuck in the area and need some variety, Pete's can supply it.

Food: Okay
Service- Serve yourself.
Price $4-7
Pie- No pie, but they do have milkshakes.

Pete's Burgers
2400 S. Hoover St.
Los Angeles CA 90007
6:00am-11:00pm

Frank's Coffee Shop - STEAKS!

#1DC Antoinette and I happened to be in Burbank one Saturday and passed Frank's by accident. She had never been and I hadn't been in several years. My first favorite thing about Frank's is how complicated the sign is. It's a whole mess of different styles going on there.


As we have learned from the Foxy's review, you can't always trust what is listed on the sign. There were no steak outlets nearby, just an apartment complex that shares the parking lot. I can't imagine a more wonderful living arrangement for myself. A coffee shop right outside my door! The apartments did look a little shady though.

The other amusing thing about the sign is that it may be inaccurate--the building itself reads "Frank's Restaurant," not "Frank's Coffee Shop." Which is it?


I do not have a panoramic camera; just take my word for it that the "urant" is there.


Frank's is a wonderful 70's throwback: long counter and plush Naugahyde booths that will surely remind you of ol' uncle Jimmy's easy chair in the den. The large windows flood the place with brightness that can only be outshone by the sunny dispositions of the waitresses. There's no snark there. They were really nice and friendly.


We started off with coffee, which came in a hilarious hodge-podge of thrift store mugs. My mug celebrated 'tee-time' while #1DC Antoinette's had a lovely seascape. The coffee itself was nice and smooth but could have been a little bit stronger.

#1DC Antointte noticed an odd number of italian dishes on the menu, and not just standards like spaghetti or lasagna, but more elaborate (for a coffee shop) dishes like homemade wild mushroom ravioli and gnocchi.

She theorized that the cook or the owner (I assume, Frank) may be Italian. Neither of us were in the mood for Italian, though thus the quality will remain a mystery.

We were in the mood to splitzies and ordered the two items we had both been eye-balling. We decided on the Fish and Chips and the Beef Melt.


The chips were crunchy, thick steak fries and the fish tasted fresh, even though it most likely wasn't. The crust wasn't oily and was more like the kind you'd find on chicken strips. In fact, I'd call it more of a breading, than a crust.


The beef melt was one of the best sandwiches I've had in a long time. I honestly wasn't expecting much but this really exceded my expectations. It had roast beef, bacon, avocado, tomato and cheese. It had a perfect amount of all the ingredients. I ordered the coleslaw, since we were getting fries-er, chips already. The coleslaw was decent and not soggy at all.

Now my second favorite thing about Frank's, after the sign of course, is that it is populated with these little guys.


They are every where. Drunk little tuxedoed goombahs. Stay classy Frank's.

We both really enjoyed Frank's. It's a place you don't expect much from just looking at it, but it will surprise you. There are some good diner choices in Burbank, but Frank's really is the best.

Food- Great
Service-Nice and friendly.
Price- $7-$10 for most dishes.
Pie-Yes

916 W Olive Ave (at Olive and Victory)
Burbank, CA 91506
(818) 845-2216

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

Richie's "Diner"- The word doesn't mean what you think it means.

This place is too shiny, and not East Coast Diner shiny, like dads with sandals and socks and daughters with low-rise jeans shiny. It's suburb shiny. Calling it Richie's Diner makes my teeth ache. There are hints there that it used to be something special, that somewhere there might be an original Richie's that doesn't grate on my sensibilities. [And apparently there is- http://www.richiesdiner.com/ two locations in northern California where the pictures seem a bit more faux-authentic. Oddly the website does not list the location I went to in Rancho Cucamonga.]


It was a busy weekend night when we strode in, might have even been the opening weekend for Richie's here. There was that kind of ridiculous energy in the air; the kind you might find at a Wal-Mart opening or a Gottschalk's sale. We put our names on the list and waited.

And we waited in the cramped lobby where they teased us with an apple cider dispenser and tiny Dixie cups, only to find no unused cups and an empty jug of cider.

Richie's also sells salt water taffy by the sack. Sure, why not. Do what you gotta Richie's.

It became quite clear after half an hour or so that we had been skipped on the list. We approached the frazzled man at the counter. When he realized that he had skipped us, he tried to say he had called our names, but the looks on our faces and his realization that we had never been more than ten feet from the counter made him quickly abandon that tactic.

Normally, with even that much time invested, I would have hit the bricks, but Ritchie's promised me something. On their crowded front counter were an assortment of unique sodas, including my old favorite, Green River Soda. Part of my childhood all the way up to high school, the Green River Soda was MY drink. I haven't had a Green River, especially from the bottle, in a long time. Too long, old friend. I had to stay.



Finally, we were taken to a table through the generic, could be a Chilis, could be a Macaroni Grill, could be the third circle of hell, dining room.



Looking over the menu, we found the traditional American favorites with only the occasional TGIFriday's influence.

One of us ordered the open faced meatloaf sandwich, substituting french fries for mashed potatoes. The other ordered the pot roast sandwich. We had been waiting so long and were so hungry, I actually forgot to take a picture until we were nearly done. Neither of these meals were impressive, or reall all that good. Plain and generic tasting. And please note; they messed up and gave us both french fries.



But oh sweet Venus, my green bottle love came to me and I did drink her up. Sugary syrup with tiny champagne bubbles. Sigh, what dreams may come.



We waited a very long time for our check, so long we decided to ask for it. What a foolhardy move that proved to be. Our waiter had forgotten to print it out. We could have walked out and there would have been no evidence except for our left over food stuffs...Yes, I did take the Green River bottle with me.

I cannot recommend Richie's Diner because I won't recommend any chain restaurant to anyone for a meal. You can call it a "diner" all you want Richie, but that don't make it right. And do not get me started on what the hell "Real American" means.

Food: Meh!
Service: Feh!
Price: Gah!
Pie: Nah!... okay they had some overpriced desserts with pie-like stuff.

Victoria Gardens
8039 Monet Ave
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739

On the Road: Spokane's Diners Pt. 5- Hogan's. Nostalgia and broken glasses.

One of the first questions I asked when I found out we'd be going to my old neighborhood in Spokane was if Hogan's was still open. Hogan's was the closest thing to a Peach Pit or The Max my high school friends and I had. Well, that's not true; we hung out more at Senor Froggy's and Baskin Robbins, but that was because half of us worked at one of those places. Hogan's was special, though. It was our kitsch.

Various groupings of us would head there after school on Friday and get Green River sodas and an order of french fries with a side of hollandaise sauce. And without fail, every time we were there, we'd hear the shattering of a glass. Someone in the back had butter fingers. Jon said that even the last time he was there a few months prior, a glass had broken. Could the streak still be alive?


Bill, Jon and I went to the grand old spot in the South Hill Shopping Center, and for me the only things there that hadn't changed were Hogan's and 2nd Look Books, where Bill worked in high school. Everything had remodeled or moved out or closed down.


We sat down and I immediately asked our young, yet familiar looking* waitress if they still served Green River soda. She had no idea what I was talking about. I then spontaneously grew a three foot long beard that tapered off to a point at the end. One of the bus boys happened by at that moment and I asked him if he remembered Green River. He said that he did and that Hogan's had stopped serving it years ago. My beard then shrunk down to a tasteful Sam Elliot style mustache.

When our waitress came by again, I tried to sound as creepy as possible. "This is weird but you look really familiar. Did you have an older sister who went to Ferris [High School]?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, what was her name?"
"Shelby blah blah."
Jon, Bill and I looked at each other. No bell's rung.
"Yeah. That's not familiar at all. Sorry for sounding creepy."
"Oh no problem!"

Jon ordered the biscuits and gravy. This kid must be going through his own B&G phase. The plate was smothered with greasy goodness.



I ordered the meat loaf sandwich because I was hankering for some brown gravy. The gravy was thick but edged on too salty, but the meat loaf was perfectly moist. I asked for french fries instead of mashed potatoes, as mashed potatoes are a side dish I'm never in the mood for.



Yes, the keen the observer will note, those are mashed potatoes on my plate and not french fries. When our waitress realized the mistake, she brought out a jumbo basket of fries. We also inquired if we could get Hollandaise sauce for our fries. It was missing from the menu, but the waitress had no problem bringing us out a little dish. You can tell from the picture that it wasn't of the highest quality, but it was still good enough to assuage our sense of nostalgia.



The real star of the meal was Bill's order of the "Big Bopper." It's a load of food. Three pieces of toast (Why three? Simple math. Three is better than two), hash browns (unfortunately not the Spokane-style I was hoping for), two eggs and some bacon. Toss a couple of pancakes on there and you get...well...a LOAD of food.



It was fun being in this old haunt again. Oddly, a lot of the places that held significance for me in Spokane aren't around anymore. The Denny's on Sprague is now some Mongolian Grill. The place where we had dinner before prom has burned down. It was good to see old Horace Hogan depicted on the interior wall, greeting me with a burger.



There was only one disappointment during this little trip down memory lane: Nobody dropped a glass.

Food: Good
Price: 6-9
Service: Friendly.
Pie: Yes.


2977 E 29TH Ave,
Spokane, WA 99223-4811
Tel: (509) 535-7567


This bring us to the end of the Spokane portion of the "On the Road" journey. I'm making a quick sojourn back to Los Angeles to review a place and then I'll continue with my Northwest reviews. Look for Wenatchee Washington's Prospector Pies soon.