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!

 

Cindy's Coffee Shop--Two Visits, Two Years Apart UPDATED - Third Visit now years later

(new bits at the end)

Back in the summer of 2008, #1DC Antoinette and I went to Cindy's in Eagle Rock and took this picture. Somehow it has odd grain to it, which makes the picture look far older than it is.



In July of 2010, I took this much crisper picture. On this visit, my friends Chip and Marc came with me.



I've talked about it before--sometimes I go to a lot of places in a short period of time and the log of reviews and pictures gets backed up. Some stuff just has to be put on the shelf. That's what happened to Cindy's.

I just never got around to writing the review, and I needed to go back and refresh my memory. I also have a much better camera now and the difference between when the pictures were taken will be obvious.







Cindy's is a surprisingly small place. From the outside, it looks like a decent sized restaurant, but once you step in you realize that you can see the whole restaurant through the store-front windows. There is no "back" of the restaurant--it's all right there.

Cindy's had to close for a time back in 2007 when a drunk driver plowed into the restaurant and did pretty significant damage. You can see pictures of the destroyed Cindy's at the Boulevard Sentinel. (scroll down)



They definitely had redone the menu since my last visit. I think I would have remembered something so out of place. This was a slick, generic menu that could be used by any family restaurant. Dinosaurs decorate the kids' section of the menu. Dinosaurs, man! That's straight-up Dennys!



On both visits the coffee was a bit of a problem. Chip is a big coffee drinker and bad coffee can totally ruin a place for him. This coffee needed A LOT of help, it was thick and burnt. I am a "two sweeteners and it's good" kind of guy. For this, I was hitting the flavored creamers. Refills either came in close succession or with wide gaps in between.



On our first visit, I ordered the chili omelet and home fries. My notes say "It's alright. Chili is good. Potatoes lack flavor."



Antoinette ordered the waffle and eggs and bacon breakfast. My notes read as thus; "Waffle - EGGO? Squiggly bacon!" Wow. I'm amazing at documenting these experiences.

I really should have consulted my notes before going back because I had completely forgotten what I ordered the first time. I asked about the "biscuit sandwich" on the menu, hoping it was an actual sandwich, but suspecting it was just like a pancake sandwich (which is NOT sandwich). My suspicions were correct. I had to quickly choose something else.

Yep, you guessed it!

I ordered the same damn thing that Antoinette ordered two years before. The bacon was less squiggly and there was less of it, but it was good. The eggs were rubbery. The waffle was less EGGO this time. It wasn't toaster soggy and I swear it must have been incredibly porous since it seemed to absorb all the syrup I poured over it. Needless to say, it was very sweet by the time I took a bite.

Chip ordered the pancake and eggs and sausage breakfast. Chip liked the pancakes; they were fluffy and sweet. He recognized the sausage as being Farmer John brand. He's a man who knows his sausage.

Marc ordered the eggs, hash browns and ham. The hash browns were undercooked and mushy. I'm pretty sure I saw an Ore-Ida bag in the kitchen. The ham was thin and fatty.

In fact, we all agreed that everything seemed "thin." Not just because of a thin pancake or waffle or ham steak, but portion-wise everything seemed thin and kind of skimpy.

We did sit and talk for a good hour after our meal was finished. It was only in the last twenty or so minutes that the wait staff stopped checking in with us or refilling our waters and coffees. We weren't taking up a table that they needed at the time but the lunch rush was presumably coming soon. I think they were using siege warfare to drive us out by thirst.

Cindy's is a place that I really wished was better. It has everything going for it in terms of location and aesthetic; it's just that the food isn't all that interesting or good. It took me two years to come back here and I could easily go two or more before coming back.

Food: Okay.
Service: Okay.
Price: $6-$8
Pie: Supermarket pie.

Someone at Cindy's loves turtles.

----------
UPDATE 9.10.14

New owners recently took over Cindy's and gave it a much needed revamp.

LA Eater.com article about it.

#1DinerWife Antoinette and I returned recently to try it out.

New retro interior suits Cindy's perfectly. 

I had the Brisket Hash and Antoinette had the BLT. Both were great. The side of fries was also good.

I tried the chocolate pecan pie and loved it. I think this was the first pecan pie I had had since judging in the pecan category at the America Pie Championships back in April. 

Antoinette had the chocolate cake. It was moist and rich without being off-putting. 

DEFINITELY give the new Cindy's a try. I think it will be well worth it.

The classic Cindy's sign is in disrepair and they are running a kickstarter to raise the funds to bring it back to its former glory. 

Kickstarter Campaign - Ends on September 16th! 

Flo's Aiport Cafe- Prisons, planes and pancakes.

Over a year ago, I received a recommendation to check out Flo's Airport Cafe in Chino. It's a diner by the airport and by the prison. It really should have been at the top of my list, but for whatever reason, I only just recently made it out to this little gem.

Photog Chu, Dinerpal Paul and I busted our way out of the city and into the barren wastes of Chino. We followed the banners hung on the chain link fences along the main road. We turned left at the prison and right at the airport. The thought process that went into putting a prison next to an airport is beyond me.

It was a busy morning at Flo's, but I imagine every morning is busy at Flo's. It's a local's place. Even with the signs on the main road, you really aren't going to stumble upon it. Even when you pull into the industrial park where it is located, it is not abundantly clear which of the nondescript buildings it is. You can only figure it out by the cluster of people waiting outside.

We waited for a few minutes outside. I flipped through the pages of an airplane parts magazine called Trade-A-Plane, which seems like the Penny Saver of airplane enthusiasts. Seriously, 100 pages of parts and planes for sale. Factory Refurbished Magnetos only $667!



Inside of Flo's deceptively large interior, the walls are decorated with a hodge-podge of pictures and posters, a lot of which are of horses and planes. I got the odd feeling that Vietnam vets eat here. There were also a lot of printed signs hung up with messages like "Ice Cold Water $1.00."

When asked what she thought was the best item of the menu, our waitress was thrown for a loop. "I couldn't even begin to answer! It's all good." Now, I am seasoned enough at this review game that I can tell a fibber. Her answer was just a variation of the stock answer I usually get. But, she was telling the truth; whether or not we would agree with her still remained to be seen.

We looked over the menu--which charmingly used a lot of clip-art--and it covered all the standard diner faire. We were intrigued by the "Red Cup Orange Juice," so along with our coffee (which was good by the way) Charlie ordered it. I predicted that it would come out in one of those Christmas Red Coke glasses you get at pizza parlors and lo and behold:

Check that out! I called it.



The food breakdown: Charlie ordered the Corned Beef Hash and Eggs. I ordered the French Toast Sandwich, which Flo calls the Fran Sam. And in a dramatic twist, Paul ordered the Paul's Platter.



The gigantic french toast had a pretty interesting feature. The top slice of bread had an indentation in it that the butter (well, margarine) had pooled into. It provided a delicious dipping area. The bacon was salty, fatty, and good.



The hash browns were really good. The potatoes were thin cut and just the edges were crispy. The gravy that covered them was a little thin. The ham was delicious. The breakfast sausage was decent.



The corned beef hash was oddly rectangular, but still tasted good. Shape doesn't really effect flavor. Just don't tell the Japanese, they have a big market for that kind of thing.



The crowd at Flo's was very chatty. There were dozens of boisterous family meal conversations going on. The most exciting one that we could hear was by the Chino prison guard and his family seated behind us. He shared a few fascinating stories with his family--delightful tales of tasering a dead prisoner and a recent suicide by a Chino cop. Fun times.

At the end of our meal, we were all stuffed and satisfied. It didn't blow us away, but it was good. I wouldn't make the trip all the way out for just the food, though.

When I went up to the counter to pay--$32.57 for the three of us, so not too shabby-- I noticed the dry-erase board that listed their pies. I counted over fifteen types of pie. I felt like Bowman in "2001." My god, it's full of pie. There was one kind of pie that I didn't recognize on the board: Millionaire Pie.

It's basically a layer of cream cheese over a pecan pie. Decadent and rich. Get it!



So if you are ever flying a small plane out of Chino or visiting your dad at the prison, go ahead and enjoy a fine meal at Flo's Airport Cafe.

Food: Good.
Service: Nice.
Price: Reasonable.
Pie: Lots!

Flo's Airport Cafe

7000 Merrill Ave
Chino Airport
Chino, CA 91710

(909) 597-3416



This is just a beautiful picture. I had to include it.

Dinerwood on the Road: Keith's is now Aunt Emma's?- San Diego

Update 7-28-10: In this modern world, sometimes things change. The bottom becomes the top, what was right is now wrong, your aunt becomes your uncle, your uncle becomes your aunt.
Keith's in now an Aunt Emma's.





Original review-
Dammit, Keith make up your mind! Are you a restaurant or a coffee shop?

Either way though, you're pretty cool.

Last year when I was in San Diego for (NERD!) Comic Con, I saw the sign for Keith's from the freeway several times but never had the chance to stop. This year, however, I made it an agenda item to hit this place.

Keith's is something like a chain with two locations in the San Diego area. Number 1 Diner Companion Antoinette, her brother, Diner Lad Alex, and I hit the one in south San Diego off the 5 freeway. Technically it is in National City. It's kind of weird to have a town named National City so close to an international border. Seems almost hostile.



Keith's is a locals place. Neighborhood folks walk over for breakfast or stop here after church. Because it's this kind of place, you'll find a homey charm and a genuine friendliness to the staff. I will say that at 9am on Sunday it wasn't very crowded. Was it a sign? We were sure we liked the atmosphere but atmosphere does not equal quality of food.

And of course, they have a crane machine by the door. #1DC Antoinette noted that the claw was too loose to really grab anything. Save your dollars.

Regular readers will remember that I go ga-ga over places that start off with a coffee mug on the table and all you have to do is turn it over to indicate your desire for coffee. Keith's does this. And their coffee has a nice mellow flavor. Diner Lad Alex ordered the hot chocolate and said "This is the best hot chocolate in the world....at least at the bottom." He's 13, he doesn't like anything, but he likes the bottom... of this hot chocolate. A lot. They gave him a hot chocolate refill for free, which was great and rare for any restaurant.



He also liked his simple bacon and cheese omelet.



I ordered the biscuits and gravy with one egg and hash browns. It didn't blow me away, but it was good. Walking in, I knew the food at it's best would be "good." I was just glad it wasn't awful. At this point Keith's was just so enjoyable, I didn't want it ruined by the food.



#1DC Antoinette was especially hungry this morning and went with eggs (scrambled well), bacon and an apple and cinnamon waffle. She was really impressed with the waffle. It's far more common to have a disappointing waffle.

The pie was served warm and had delicious flaky crust (I'm not usually a fan of flaky crust) but it did get mushy toward the bottom. I liked that I could tell that the apple cinnamon from the waffle was not the same recipe as for the pie.



Keith's was a no unnecessary frills, comfortable place. You're not going to get any surprises here--well unless you manage to get something out of that crane machine. You'll have a decent meal in a friendly environment, along with some good coffee.


UPDATE-

I saw the sign from the freeway and thought- "Whoa- I don't remember being able to see an Aunt Emma's sign from here...now where's the Keith's sign...Ohhhh.. Oh." My fears were confirmed when we drove up.

I asked the waitress how long it had been since the change-over and she said almost a year exactly. So basically right after the last time we ate there.



Greg ordered a Monte Cristo. The sandwich was good, but didn't come with any jam. He used the strawberry syrup in its place and that made up for it. The hashbrowns were not every good, not crispy and cold on the inside.



I ordered the special which was "bisteak ranchito." It was chunks of steak in a pico de gallo like sauce with re-fried beans, an egg and tortillas. It was really awesome, quality chunks of meat and really flavorful.

Food: Good.
Service: Good.
Price 6-12
Pie: Yes. -UPDATE- NO pie!

214 National City Blvd,
National City, CA -
(619) 477-4358‎

Teahouse Coffee Shop - Imperial Palace, Las Vegas. Why was I here?

Vegas is not my friend. Last time I was here, it robbed me a of a month's rent. This time, it kept me up for 24 hours straight. At 7 am, half drunk and wandering the Imperial Palace casino floor, I was the last of my tribe in sight. Not terribly hungry but needing food, I searched for the sign that would tell where to go to get some food-- Teahouse Coffee Shop. A coffee shop? An opportunity to make it mean something to be up this late... this early?

I staggered, out of exhaustion, not inebriation, to the escalator and took immense pleasure in not having to move for the ride up. I stood by the entrance for moment before I startled the hostess with my presence. Apparently my staggering was stealthy. This woman would not survive the zombie apocalypse. Despite the hour, the staff was all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I guess they hadn't been in the Mai Tai bar off the lobby since midnight.

Maybe it was just me, but I couldn't tell what they were going for decor wise. It's at the Imperial Palace, which is Asian themed (it vacillates between Chinese and Japanese) and the place is called the Teahouse Coffee Shop...there's a lot going on there. Basically what you get is a pastel-ly, strip-mall looking Japanese restaurant that doesn't serve Japanese food but rather American diner favorites.

I call this face "Uggh."



So first thing I did after sitting was order a coffee. I then inquired if they had any breakfast specials. I had just missed the cheapo Vegas-style full meal for 6.99 by 30 minutes. I ordered the Silver State Skillet. Two eggs served over a "casserole" of sausage, pork and bacon on a bed of hash browns. It sounded like such a good idea. That's a gang of pig!

First the coffee came...straight from the pit of hell. This was the hottest cup of coffee I had ever been in uncomfortable proximity to. Was it good, though? No idea! It was so hot I could barely sip it. It seemed weak though. I guess casinos don't like you to be alert.

Then the food came. Awww, a flower. That's precious.



The food sounded like a good idea. In truth, the food was fine. Nothing special, nothing to recommend. It's a Vegas casino breakfast. It put food in me and it didn't come back to haunt me.


The only disappointing thing were the "biscuits." They sucked. Get a load of the scale of these tiny dust-tasting things. Almost 3 bucks for that. I got a better return on my investment of three bucks into the video poker machine that I randomly pressed buttons on for a minute before I crapped out.

Food: Meh.
Service: Friendly.
Price: $7-20 (it's Vegas)
Pie: Nope.

3535 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada

UPDATE!

Imperial Palace Teahouse Coffee Shop is now a Hash House A-Go-Go.

Still not that good.


The interior is completely remolded to fit in with the Hash House A-Go-Go aesthetic.



The food is still presentation over quality. Although, I do really like their biscuits. That right there is an improvement over the previous version of the restaurant.