Roady's- Excellent!

Now, I'm sure the residents of this little town can fill volumes with the fabulous history of San Dimas, California, but let's explode this bomb first to get it out of the way: we all know San Dimas as the home of Ted Theodore Logan and Bill S. Preston Esquire.



And we all know that San Dimas High School Football rules!

Faithful readers, I will now tell you something you didn't know about San Dimas. Located in ridiculously cute downtown San Dimas, there's a little storefront diner called Roady's.



I was invited there by legitimate journalist and fellow blogger David Allen. This place was a complete mystery to me. David said he only makes it out there about once a year.



It was cute and quaint inside and had a an honest small town feel. It wasn't packed full of kitsch, but there were the obligatory Coca-Cola signs pinned to the wall. I imagine it was originally just the one small shop space with the kitchen, counter and a few booths. At some point, they took over the space next door and outfitted it with some choice wood paneling and pictures of Native Americans on the wall.



Wood paneling and pictures of Indians? That's the recipe for my childhood home's den. It felt like going back in time and going back to Montana. All it needed was a snooker table, a bison skin hanging on the wall, and a suit of armor. Yeah, I grew up in a weird home.



I started off with the coffee and was pleasantly surprised at the quality. They had great coffee. Between our regular waitress and the other gal making the rounds, I never found my mug empty. I drank easily six or seven cups.

It didn't take too long to make our way through the menu. It's small but covered the basics of what you'd reasonably order here. I had to try the Chuckwagon Breakfast and David went with the patty melt.



The Chuckwagon Breakfast had some serious diner food going on. I could tell this meal was going to sit in my stomach and hang out for awhile. The bacon was very crispy--shatter into tiny pieces crispy, which is not normally how I like it, but it still had a good flavor. The sausage was also good. The biscuit wasn't so much a biscuit as a piece of bread with the texture of rustic sourdough. That was different and not necessarily bad.

The gravy was interesting. It tasted doughy, not floury. It's an easy difference in flavor to be able to catch when you've eaten as much white gravy as I have. You can tell a pre-mix gravy because it tends to be thinner in consistency and flavor. If it tastes like flour, it is usually because the roux (the fat and flour mixture) wasn't cooked long enough. I believe the dough taste must have been from the fat to flour ratio being off. I like a doughy flavor so this didn't bother me, but your mileage may vary.



David got the real winner. It didn't seem like much when it arrived at the table. The sandwich was rather thin for a patty melt, but this really was the key. It was thin like a grilled cheese and this made the bread grill just right and the cheese melt just right and the meat blended in perfectly. It was easily in the top five patty melts I have tried.

We then hit the pie course. They had about six to choose from. I went with apple and David ordered the lemon meringue.



The lemon meringue was good, but unspectacular.



My apple pie was the best slice of apple pie that I have had since Mama Kat's in San Marcos. It was perfect. It burst with flavor and sweetness and the crust was amazing.

Overall, Roady's was a very nice experience. It felt like an ideal small town diner, almost too good to be true. It was clean and bright with waitresses who were sweet and engaging. The food averaged out to good. I could see myself going there about once a year, too.

Read David's review HERE.

Food: Good.
Service: Nice.
Price: $7-$10
Pie: Yes. OMG the apple!

160 W Bonita Ave
San Dimas, CA 91773

(909) 592-0980

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:

Silver Spoons: West Hollywood. - Closed

I don't do West Hollywood. It's a big 'ole hassle of a neighborhood full of parking permits, douchey stores, and crowded clubs where I don't like the music and nobody asks me to dance. I have no reason to ever go there.

While looking for a diner in Beverly Hills one Saturday morning, we found the google maps directions woefully unhelpful at navigating the ridiculousness of the area. We gave up and headed back to the east side via Santa Monica Blvd.

#1DC Antoinette's eagle-eye noticed the sign for "Silver Spoons." Because I was speeding by in order to get back into familiar territory, I had to flip the car around to get into the parking lot. Now, a dedicated parking lot in this area of town speaks to the length of time Silver Spoons must have been around.

Sorry about the lack of a photo of the sign for Silver Spoons. For some reason, the picture I took with the digital camera didn't turn out. The sign is pretty massive and cool and I must have driven past it dozens of times and missed it somehow. Instead, here's the title shot from the classic 80s sitcom:

Walking up to the building, I was full of trepidation. It was boxy and uninviting, almost built like a fortress. A canopy covered what I assumed was a patio that somehow served to make the building even more closed-off--like a turtle in a shell.

Once inside, the feeling immediately washed away as the first sound we heard was the hearty laughter of a man and background smatterings of lively conversation. Turning the corner to face the counter, we saw that the laughter belonged to one of the waiters who then approached us.

He had the look of a career waiter. Not passing time while waiting for pilot season and not broken down after twenty or so pilot seasons had passed. This man clearly loved being a waiter and he showed genuine care and friendliness.

Man, I look like crap in that picture. Anyway, the walls of Silver Spoons are adorned with movie posters and head shots. Head shots are fairly common in Los Angeles, but full on posters (most of them autographed) is unique. A lot the signatures are personalized to Silver Spoons, making me think this place is even more of a Hollywood landmark than I had imagined.
If you glance over my shoulder on the left, you'll see a poster for an Ice Cube movie. Remember Ice Cube from such powerful performances as "Boys in the Hood" and "Three Kings?" Also remember Ice Cube from such films as, "Are We There Yet" and "Barbershop 2: Back in Business?" He's all over the place in terms of quality, but that poster there represents a new low for anyone. That poster is for:

Now, too small to see on the poster is the name of the director. The director:

Fred Durst.

This was the snippet of conversation we overheard going on behind us when the patrons at the table located under that poster asked the waiter about it.

Patron: Like the Limp Bizkit guy?

Waiter: Yeah.

Patron: Did he do the soundtrack?

Waiter: No. He directed it.

Patron: He's a director?

Waiter: Yes. He just finished his second movie. He comes in all the time. He's a friend.

Patron:...Oh.

As we looked over the menu, nothing really jumped out at us. No moment of "Hmmm, that sounds interesting." Silver Spoons offers very standard fare--nothing you couldn't get at Astro Family Restaurant or a Spires or any number of other similar restaurants. The prices aren't going to kill you nor are they going to save your soul.

Antoinette ordered the patty melt with fries and coleslaw. The rye bread was really good, as were the fries, which even retained a hint of real potato flavor. Antoinette thought the onions could have been grilled a bit longer. I thought the patty melt didn't have enough cheese, while Antoinette thought it had too much...That probably means it had a perfect amount of cheese.



I ordered the "old fashioned sandwich," which is turkey, ham, and thousand island dressing. It was pretty good. The dressing was slathered on, but wasn't overwhelming to the point of not being able to pick up the sandwich.

Now the coleslaw; I first found it bland, but Antoinette noticed an odd flavor to it. It took me several tastes and some time, but I eventually realized that the coleslaw had the distinct flavor of old cantaloupe. It wasn't gross by any means; it was just weird.

The meal at Silver Spoons was decent. It's a nice, comfortable place with big booths, dark wood interior that makes you feel you're in a nicer place than you are, and a good staff to bolster that feeling. I'd recommend it if you are nearby and looking for American comfort food, or if you want to see some cool movie posters and maybe a celebrity. Here's a link to the "Seeing Stars" website page about the restaurant. Stalk away creepos!



Food: Decent.
Service: Hearty Laughter!
Price: A little high.
Pie: Check out the revolving dessert case by the front counter.

8171 Santa Monica Blvd.

West Hollywood, CA 90046

(323) 650-4890

UPDATE- Silver Spoons closed back in 2011 and is now a seafood restaurant.