Corky's, Where Life Goes On

UPDATED 5/30! Check out the end.



Corky's is a unique place. Off the 210 out in the sticks of Rancho Cucamonga, it is a locally owned and newly opened 24-hour diner. I've been to Corky's several times now: breakfast and dinner and late night hungry time. According to a waitress I spoke to, the owner saw the need for a good home cooking place to compete with Denny's.

Corky's has a lot going for it. Convenient location... I mean relatively. Clearly not convenient if you live in Santa Monica or...well anywhere other than Rancho Cucamonga. It is right off the 210 though, so on your way to or back from Vegas, it would be right there. It has wonderful homey decor. It looks like what you wish your grandmother's house looked like, instead of a pine box in the ground...or maybe that's just me. They bake their cookies and pie right there. It has just one problem: the food is pretty, but taste-wise can only be described as "meh."

Most recently, I had the Chicken and Dumplings, as it was the one item Diner Companion Antoinette recommended from her previous time there. She said after she sent it back the first time because of the still frozen dumplings, and it came back with unfrozen dumplings, it was the best thing she had had there. Well, I didn't have that problem because no dumplings were to be found at all in mine. I had the Chicken and Nothlings. The mashed potatoes were homemade and the brown gravy was pretty decent, though

.

Antoinette got the Pea Soup in a bread bowl. Some people can't stand pea soup, sometimes because of the "Exorcist," sometimes because it's kind of gross in theory. It's peas...mushed up...and made soupy. We both appreciated that that they included the scooped out piece of bread as a "sopper" and the soup itself wasn't half bad.

So overall this trip was mediocre at best. I really wanted some dumplings with my chicken. That would have been really nice.

A busy Sunday morning found us again at Corky's counter for breakfast. Sitting there, we were able to see some of the whirling dancing of the waitresses. A half dozen waitresses were busy shuffling around orders, slathering butter on toast, TWICE,once before it goes in the toaster and once after.

I wasn't all that hungry, so I ordered the oatmeal.




That's a lot of good fixings for oatmeal, which is great because you definitely need them; the oatmeal was mushy and bland.

Corky's was so busy that morning that food began to pile up at the kitchen window. Without heat lamps, the food just sat there cooling down. I did get to hear one choice gem from one waitress to the other:
Waitress 1 to pregnant waitress: How are you holding up? I was so horny when I was pregnant.

Antoinette got the eggs breakfast, the home fries were overly salty. The eggs were adequate.

On our first trip there, I ordered the Meat Loaf Sandwich. The meatloaf was too moist and tasted like meaty water. It also had green peppers, which overpowered the dish entirely.

The rest of the food was, well..... "meh."

The one saving grace for Corky's is their pie.

Apple pie, thin crust and packed full of apples that still taste like apples and not apple pie filling.



Eggnog Cream Pie. I love eggnog. Even without booze, I love eggnog. Now put it in pie form? That is good eating. I don't give a damn if it's near Christmas or not. I am firmly Pro-Eggnog.

Chocolate cream pie that had a smooth chocolate flavor with the only flaw being a rather bland crust that tasted like a store bought frozen one.


German chocolate cream pie that was nearly s good as House of Pies. And pumpkin pie that just punched your mom's pumpkin pie in the face.



I cannot, in good faith, recommend Corky's for anything other than these delicious pies. The food looks so good. It's presented beautifully, but it just fails to deliver on taste.

Corky's Bakery and Kitchen

6403 Haven Ave, Alta Loma, CA

(909) 941-8655


UPDATE-

A few weeks ago I received a very nice email from Mike, the owner of Corky's. He apologized that we hadn't been completely satisfied with our food and asked us if we would come back and give them another try. Trusted Official #1 Diner Companion, Antoinette, and I went back there last week.


The verdict?

The food was GOOD!



I had the Polish Sausage Skillet and it was freakin' delicious. Best way to describe it was "fresh."


Antoinette had the tuna melt on wheat, which was also good.

The best thing though, and I knew it would be, the new Mocha Toffee Swirl Cream Pie. Go call your mom and tell her that everything she's ever done for you has mattered not one goddamn bit because she never made you this pie. This pie is simply amazing.

So now I'll say, enthusiastically: try out Corky's.

On the Road: Spokane's Diners pt. 3 and 4- Dolly's Cafe and the Milk Bottle

I literally have 10 places to write about for this On the Road series. Expect more succinct but hopefully still fun and informative reviews from here on out until I get back to reviewing the SOCAL area.

The same day that we hit Frank's Diner, Jon truly surprised me by taking me to a place I had never even seen before. A quaint neighborhood diner called Dolly's Cafe. You can't miss this little shack of griddled goodness, the building is bright pink. And really part of the what I found charming about this place was the "shacky"ness of it. It was an old building. So old it would always looks just a little dirty and rough no matter what.


Jon, Stephanie and I sat down and made friends with a sweet and chatty waitress. She brought us water in giant coca cola classes and then disappeared. We then and ordered from our laidback "heeeyyy, maaann" waiter. He looked at my ancient digital camera (vintage '98 my friends) and marveled at how cool it was. I think he thought it was cool in a "Wow, technology!" way and not a "Wow! That's like walking in with an 8-track player." way.

He was honest when I asked for a recommendation. He asked if I was in the mood for a breakfast or a burger. I told him "Whichever you think you guys do the best." He straight up said "Eggs Benedict" So that's what I got. And lo and behold I think I may have discovered that Spokane has their own style of hashbrowns. These potatoes were just like the ones I got at Frank's. The eggs benedict was also delicious. The eggs were poached well enough that they didn't gush yolk everywhere when cut into.

(edited for correction) Stephanie got the country-fried steak. I don't have a taste for the country-fried steak since it was first inflicted upon me in elementary school. That can be very hard for a child. Oddly enough though I don't eat tostadas because the ones I had in elementary school were soooo good the real thing is always a disappointment.


Jon had a simple grilled turkey melt. He enjoyed it. I tried some of the fries and found them perfectly decent diner fries. Not too greasy but nothing to rave about.

The coffee was also pretty durn good. Not strong but smooth.

Price: $6-$9
Food: Good.
Service: Very friendly and chatty.
[Honestly, I forgot to make note of if they served pie or not, so I called them this morning;
Guy at Dolly's: Uhhh... good morning.. Dah-ummm... Dolly's Cafe.
Me: Hey, this is kind of an odd question. Do you guys have pie?
Guy at Dolly's: Ummm What?
Me: Do you guys serve pie?
Guy at Dolly's: Pot?
Me: Pie.
Guy at Dolly's: Uhhhhhhh.......let me check to see what we have.
Me: .............
Guy At Dolly's: It looks like.... umm... Chocolate?
Me: Great. That's all I needed to know.]
Pie: "umm... Chocolate?"
1825 N Washington St,
Spokane, WA 99205-4758
I'd give the phone number but.... you don't want to do that.

Now jumping forward to my last day in Spokane, before Jon took me to the airport we stopped at a cozy little place fans of Johnny Depp and/or quirky romantic comedies should recognise.

As seen in the movie Benny and Joon

(That's me on the right.)

Although the Milk Bottle offers a full menu of burger diner favorites, Jon and I were only in the mood for one thing; milkshakes. I got the peanut butter he got something with chocolate. In this picture you can't really tell them apart. They were good though.

The milk bottle is a cute neighborhood place, as well as being an historical landmark. Done up in an maltshop style, including a working jukebox and stainless steel everywhere, it's one of those places that just makes you feel happy. I don't feel like it's the kind of place I could ever be a regular at even if I didn't live 960 miles away. It feels like a vacation place and not a place to hang my hat.

Price: 3-7
Food: n/a
Service: Fine.
Pie: Tons of desserts to chose from including pie. Get a milkshake though.

802 W Garland Ave
Spokane, WA 99205
(509) 325-1772

Harry's Family Restaurant- No clever title

It’s Valley week in Dinerwood. I will finally review Harry’s Family Restaurant in Burbank. This review should have been written a long time ago closer to the date I actually went. I just found my notes again and the pictures have been sitting on my hard drive at work for weeks now. Now is the time.

This is a place I had seen dozens of times since I moved to LA. I would always think "I need to go there" but I just never did. Maybe something shiny distracted me. Maybe it was the lure of the Asian Seafood Buffett just down the street. Maybe it was having just had or just about to have to manuever through the scores of people wandering out of IKEA, which is just down the street. No one wants to eat after experiencing that throng.



This review will focus on my second time coming to Harry’s. My first time, I came in on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The place was quiet, coming off a lunch rush. I ordered the chicken salad sandwich. I was going through a chicken salad phase, don’t ask me why. Harry’s chicken salad was okay. The chicken wasn’t very flavorful but it wasn’t bad. I was thrown by the large piece of iceberg lettuce on the sandwich. I LIKE iceberg lettuce. It’s crunchy! I had just never had a chicken salad sandwich crunch before. I couldn't help but imagine crunching chicken bones with each bite. Sorry no pictures.

A few weeks later, I went in the morning for breakfast with my friend Shannon. At 10am the place was hopping. We apparently got the last booth as parties began to bunch up at the front after us. Harry’s is a lovely throw back the 70s in a seeming more authentic way than the 101 Coffeeshop; rock walls and gorgeous groovy turquoise covers on the booths. Where the 101 seems more like a conscious decision, Harry's seems more like a "Why would we change it?"


The menu is extensive since it’s going for more than just ‘diner’ and braches off into full restaurant. Really though, who orders the salmon at a place like this? The wide variety means that prices can range from as little as 5 dollars all the way up to 20. I ordered the Waffle and Two Egg breakfast. Shannon ordered the French Toast breakfast. I got the coffee and she got the hot chocolate.





The coffee was a little weak but our waitress was always there for a quick refill. The hot chocolate came with a mountain of whipped cream. Our food came out quickly, which was unexpected since, like I said, the place was packed. I had ordered my eggs over-easy, one yolk was runny and the other cooked solid. The sausage was a tad greasy but better than average. The waffle was very disappointing. It was like a giant Eggo waffle, soggy and not at all what I was hoping for. The chunk of orange was good. It peeled nicely and was juicy. I reviewed an orange! The French toast was “better than home” and the eggs were fine, according to Shannon. I do not recall what she thought of her orange.



The one thing I will gush about at Harry’s were the potatoes. I loved these potatoes. Similar to what I just got at Sitton’s, these were fried just a bit longer to give them some real crunch (as you will remember, I like crunchy) on the tops and the bottoms. They were perfectly buttered and salted.

I did order the pie… but sadly….I forgot to note what kind of pie and have since lost the picture to the internet ether. In my notes I just wrote “Pie- supermarket.” Not a ringing endorsement. The day I ordered the chicken salad sandwich, I also got the peach pie, and that I remember liking. It wasn’t spectacular but it was good.

Price: $5-$20
Food: Middling
Service: Good
Pie: Yes.

920 N San Fernando Blvd
Burbank, CA
91504-4325
Phone: (818) 842-8755

Joe's Diner- Dirty sounding dessert!

Having to take an unexpected trip out to Santa Monica on this past Monday led me to quickly search out a diner to review. Why squander a trip outside my usual neighborhood when there are diners aplenty to seek out? A quick google search later, I found Joe’s Diner. How about that! It actually has ‘diner’ in the name. That might be a first for the diner blog.

On this trip, I took along my friend Greg who is visiting from Washington state. He's a clown who does birthday parties and burlesque shows... I hate his life because I covet it. Anyway...

Joe’s Diner is located in the middle of an old storefront block in Santa Monica that has been thoroughly gentrified. It is nestled between a sushi restaurant and trendy clothing boutique. We entered Joe’s through a rickety screen door and took a booth right inside. I noticed something immediately that makes me have to disagree with Joe’s website- "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place". The lighting was down low to near-romantic levels, this, as well as the soft music playing, gave the diner an out of place “date” atmosphere. The dining area itself reminded me of an old apartment I once had. A fresh coat of white paint and a mopped floor but it still looked dirty. Please don’t think that this is a place with cockroaches on the floor or rats using butter pats to skate on the griddle, that’s not it at all. Sometimes old buildings are just always old. And old equals dirty.

Our waitress hit us up quickly for drinks. We both got the coffee. She apologized for being a bit frazzled, apparently that soft music we were listening to had been the same soft music playing in the restaurant for some time. The cd player had been stuck on repeat and “High Life” was starting to drive her bonkers. She left us menus and retreated to the back to try to fix the problem. After a moment she returned with our coffees and the new Amy Winehouse started to play. The coffee had a smoky flavor, it reminded me of a bonfire at the beach for some reason. I’m ashamed to say that it wasn’t until later that I realized that that meant the coffee was probably burnt.

Gazing over the menu we noticed a vegetarian section which should please a lot of folks. This and the fact that they had an item called “Zone Diet Salad”, lead me to conclude that this place was a nouveau diner with way too much avocado and healthy alternatives. This conclusion was blasted away when I saw the “John Wayne’s Eggs”. This was a MEAL, a man’s meal, a “don’t call during Ninja Master on G4” meal. Chilli on top of two eggs, on top of home fries, on top of a flour tortilla with sausage-Like I said, “a man’s meal.” I imagined this would be similar to the Devil’s Mess I got at Millie’s. Greg was willing to take one for the team and let me order for him. That way I could get a closer look at another item. The Santa Fe Melt sounded like a good choice- Jack cheese, turkey, green peppers, tomato and avocado served on sourdough bread.

My confidence in our food was bolstered when I noticed it would be an aged man in a paper hat preparing our meals. C'mon, a paper hat!

We inquired about desserts. I saw that they had apple pie as the sole representative from the Pie food group. Greg asked about a massive ice cream dish that was described as having 10 scoops of ice cream. Our waitress admitted she was completely unfamiliar with the desserts. I asked if she knew if the pie was made in house. She said it was made somewhere else but baked at the diner. Greg then ordered the second most pornographic sounding dessert I have heard of-the first being the fudgeanna at Frankie Doodle’s in Spokane Washington- Greg ordered a Frosty Brown Cow with a Vanilla Sidecar. Our waitress also admitted she had no idea what that was. We broke it down and figured it was a blended root beer float served with a glass of vanilla syrup and soda water. We adjourned our dessert conference and she went off.

After only a short wait, she brought out our meals.
Greg commented that it was refreshing that the turkey had been heated all the way through. Normally a hot sandwich (one not served open face of course) suffers from the fact that most places heat the sandwich all at once on the grill or toaster or (heaven help us) the microwave. This usually means the core of the sandwich doesn’t get as hot as the rest of the sandwich. Joe’s had clearly heated the meat separately guaranteeing a even temperature throughout. The fries, which were surprisingly curly, were good. Not crunchy but not soggy either. The pickle still retained some semblance of a cucumber flavor.

The John Wayne’s Eggs did not disappoint. The chilli, worked great with the eggs and the eggs worked great with the home fries. Originally I dismissed the inclusion of the tortilla at the bottom, but found that it helped mop up the leftovers from the top layers. The sausages were basic breakfast links, more crispy than you usually get but really plain. This was such a man’s meal I, a man, couldn’t even finish it all.

We did have to remind our waitress of the desserts after we were done with our meals. She quickly brought out the pie and left to get retrieve Greg's ensemble. The pie was straight-up good apple pie. A nice flaky top and a strong cinnamon taste to the apples that I enjoyed. She returned with the three glasses that made up Greg’s dessert. One for the frosted brown cow, one metal cup from the milkshake machine, and one glass with the vanilla sidecar. After some deliberation we decided that sipping through two straws, both the brown cow and the sidecar, was the most reasonable and delicious way to drink it.



We left Joe’s with full tummies and some leftovers. Definitely check it out.

Price: $10-14 for most entrees
Food: Tasty.
Service: Personable but not necessarily on-the-ball.
Atmosphere: Old.
Pie: Apple and definitely good.
2917 Main St, Santa Monica - (310) 392-5804

UPDATE: Joe's has changed. It has become more trendy and added a wine menu. I drove past it and didn't even recognize it. It has a totally different feel now.

Spy in the House of Pies

Let me say one thing first- I love House of Pies. This is my favorite establishment in all of Los Angeles. I dare say my favorite establishment since the establishment of democracy in Greece. Let me say a second thing second- I do not go to House of Pies for the food. I go for the pie.
The food at House of Pies can be good, don’t get me wrong. It can also be awful. It can be a great patty melt with delicious crispy french fries. It can also be a hair fried into a Monte Cristo sandwich. I’ve had breakfast lunch and dinner, morning, noon and night and you never know exactly how it’s going to be.

These are the things you can always count on at House of Pies-
Coffee. This coffee comes from God’s own South America. It’s always good. Strong and never burnt. The staff is always there to fill your cup. If I lived closer to the House of Pies, I would come in everyday just for the coffee.
Pie. The best pie this side of the Hollywood sign to be sure and possibly the whole state. I've never had a disappointing slice of pie here. The fruit pies are heavenly. The cream pies are devilishly good. They recently added a peanut butter cream pie that is so wonderful I often wish I could abandon my human form and become a slice of it. Why would I do this? Sounds strange doesn’t it? The reason- I know that I could never bring as much joy to another person as I’d give if I were that pie. That’s how fucking good this pie is.

These are things you might experience when you go to House of Pies-
Service of various quality. Your service at the House of Pies depends entirely on your waitress. This isn’t like the 101 Coffeshop where you can count on bad service because that’s how they do it. At House of Pies I’ve had good service and I’ve had lacking service. I hesitate to use ‘bad" to describe it. I’ve had times where getting the check was an ordeal. It tends to be very consistent with specific waitresses. There’s the older lady with the bum leg who is great up until its time to get the check or order another slice of pie (Yes, I said ANOTHER slice of pie). There’s the obese woman who reminds me of an unhealthy version of my mom who is sweet and never forgets about you. There’s the young Latina with the tight curls pulled back in a severe ponytail who always seems just two steps behind.

Closed for health code violations. A few months ago it was unexpectedly closed for a few days. If that isn’t hardcore diner eating I don’t know what is.
And finally, Captain Pimp. He is an elderly black man with a sweet leather jacket with small chains hanging off it and a captain’s hat and large sunglasses.

This particular morning I sat at the counter. I don’t do that but today was a day for counter service I believe. I was there early enough for the Early Bird special. These are meals for old people. Usually an egg, an english muffin, plain omelet, etc. Light stuff and cheap at under five dollars. I got the diced ham and egg and english muffin. The eggs were a little slimy as usual but certainly edible and enjoyable.




When it came for pie, I had to figure out what kind of mood I was in. Fruit of cream? I’m most often squarely in the cream pie camp. I thought about a chocolate cream pie, which I had not had in some time. The pull of the peanut butter cream was too much and I had to have it.


They serve the peanut butter cream pie with two pecans on top. Why? No clue. Am I curious enough to ask? Nope. This is an incredibly rich pie. The peanut butter flavor might be too much for some but those people are weak so disregard them. If you are one, I have disregarded you. The crusts on the cream pies are crumbly, not flaky. This is how I prefer my pie crusts. Without a tall glass of milk I just can’t do a flaky crust. I have been known to leave the crust uneaten if that’s the case.

Two interesting things from this particular time at House of Pies- An old man put pepper on his cottage cheese. I had never seen that before. I'm sure that man was CRAZY.
A woman sent back her chicken fried steak because she ordered it well done. Which is completely her prerogative, however she also thought her chicken-fried steak was actually chicken, so there you go.


UPDATE: 7-15-2010


I went to House of Pies with my friend Skylar last night. I had not been there in a couple of months and I recieved quite a shock.

What the hell was this? They completely redid the counter. They added two flat-screen tvs and lights and silver. It looks incredibly out of place and bizarre. I can't tell if this is just an odd design choice or if this is the first step in a slow conversion of House of Pies into Ten-Forward from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The pie was as good as ever. We had the fresh peach and the german chocolate cream pie. The peach was amazing. It had thin slices of fresh layered peaches and was naturally sweet. I always forget that the cream pies they serve you are basically a fourth of a pie. It was rich and I only ate about 3/4 of it.

I am starting to dislike the whipped cream tops on the cream pies though. It's too dense and I often find myself scraping most of it off to get to the good stuff beneath it.

Price: $6-14 for most entrees
Food: Hey, it's your call dude.
Service: You take the good, you take the bad.
Pie: Well, yeah!


1869 N Vermont Ave
Los Angeles in the Los Feliz - Silverlake District
(323) 666-9961

Thoroughly Morning Millie's!

Millie’s opens at 7:30am according to the sign in the window. I walked in a shade before 8 and found the handful of staff still doing prep work. Shade umbrellas were going up for the outside tables, food was still being brought in from the delivery truck, and only half the tables had menus and utensils put out. For a solid minute, I was the only person actually inside the restaurant. I sat myself.
Millie’s is very small. No more than eight tables in the dining room, about six chairs at the counter and a few tables outside. It is cramped by modern standards. Now I have nothing to back this up, but I imagine that back in 1926, when Millie’s was founded, “intimate” diners and coffee shops like this were the norm. [From what I understand though Millie's has only been in this location since the 50s.] Another holdover from the grand old days of neighborhood diners, as seen in Hopper’s Nighthawks, is Millie’s massive storefront window. It faces out onto Sunset Blvd and only a quarter of it is covered by concert posters for local venues.
I was their first customer of the day, clearly. For this reason, I cannot speak about what the service would be later in the morning or around lunch. I will say that although I went through my meal largely invisible because of the kitchen prep, my coffee was refilled regularly, my check came without me asking and that’s really all that matters.
I had three cups of coffee. My first one had a solid smooth nutty flavor. My second cup did taste a little burnt. If you are used to Starbucks coffee you would probably find no problem with it. My third was back to the first flavor. I did like that cream was already on the table and it did not come in little plastic containers.
Millie’s specialty is the “mess”, think of a more precise “scramble”. Like an egg pancake in the proper round shape. Like a pancake you get at restaurants not the lopsided “Look it’s a dinosaur!” shape you make at home. I chose the “Devil’s Mess”- 3 eggs, spicy Cajun turkey sausage, cheddar cheese and topped with salsa, sour cream and guacamole. It comes with rosemary potatoes and a home made biscuit.

From where I sat I could see into the kitchen and noticed that a large tray of biscuits was already prepared. This lead me to believe that although these were “home made”, they were not “fresh.” I then saw that the rosemary potatoes were already warming on the griddle. I wanted to believe that whoever opens the restaurant in the morning immediately makes the biscuits and preps the potatoes.
When my food arrived after a very short wait- I was still the only patron in the restaurant- I checked out the biscuit. The biscuits at Millie’s are made in muffin tins giving them a muffin shape. I tore off the biscuit top and took a bite. It was cold but maintained the doughy moisture that I love in some breads. I love that hint of raw dough. Hell, I love raw dough period. I have been known to crack open a tube of Pillsbury and go to town. I now believe that Millie’s biscuits are probably made at the end of the day and fridged over night. The potatoes I have no theory about. They were simply tasty.
The mess was also thoroughly tasty. It was a giant of an egg pancake. It was light but not fluffy. I think sausage’s presence precluded “fluffy” from being part of the equation. The sausage had a kick to it without overpowering the cheese and egg. The salsa added a fresh, clean flavor overall. I was surprised at how well the guacamole-which I am usually cocking an eyebrow to when it’s included in a meal that doesn’t involve black beans or chips-worked with the flavors. It was a lot of good food. I even had to leave a few bites on the plate, it was so filling. I literally went all day without filling hungry again.
It was 8:30 before any more people showed up in the restaurant. From what I understand it is often packed to the gills later in the morning and for lunch. It closes in the mid-afternoon so it is a no-go for the dinner and pre/post bar scene.

I saw no desserts on the menu which of course means no pie, which in turns means I cannot fully endorse Millie’s. It was however a great diner experience. I highly recommend it.

Price: $10-14 for most entrees
Food: Healthy and Good
Service: Adequate
Pie: No pie.

3524 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, 213-664-0404