Conrads in Pasadena "We Serve to Serve Again"

 

 

Conrads is one of those places that just exists. No one ever talks about it, but everyone knows about it and just kind of shrugs. You maybe get a "Oh, I think my grandparents took me there once."
There are two locations, one in Glendale and one in Pasadena. The Pasadena location we have driven by dozens of time, but it just vibed too strongly as a chain restaurant to make me really want to experience it. Recently, we finally gave in to our curiosity.



It really does look like a "once with my grandparents" place. Those mauve seat cushions really POP, don't they? I want to believe that at one point the burnt orange of the lettering outside was found inside. In my imagination the wood grain walls and that groovy orange would have been been magical. Now here in the real world, the main dining room looks like the lobby of a Sheraton in North Dakota.

 



 

'Family restaurants' cater to a nightmarish family that must be impossible to please or incredibly large. Conrads is a family restaurant and the menu casts a wide net. There is something for everyone and then some.

 

Breakfasts have become a bit of struggle for #1DinerWife and I since we are pursuing something close to a low-carb lifestyle. A full breakfast out anywhere is nearly half-carbohydrates. We struggle to find satisfying workarounds.

 

Lately my breakfast of choice has been Canadian Bacon and Eggs. It's not just the best pizza topping, it is also a great way to mix up your "ham and egg" routine. What is the difference between ham and Canadian bacon? Nothing really when it comes down to it. Different parts of the pig but they pretty much taste the same. Where I am finding the benefit in getting the Canadian bacon is that it is the perfect size for an English muffin. Now how does this jibe with our new low-carb lifestyle. Well, it's more of a 'suggestion' then a lifestyle sometimes. I have gotten quite apt at balancing one half of the muffin with a slice of Canadian bacon and part of my eggs on top. In place of the potatoes, I subbed in some cottage cheese.   

Remember, I said low-carb "suggestion." #1DinerWife Antoinette ordered the fried egg sandwich with bacon. This fried egg sandwich was pretty simple, slightly too simple. The bread was buttered lightly but not toasted. It was just bread, a well-fried egg and some bacon and it was good. She opted for the side of fruit which was surprisingly decent.   

Conrads is a perfectly adequate place. Truth be told quality-wise, its not any better then a Denny's or Carrows. Maybe even a little below those chains if it came right down to it. If you've read this blog at all, you know I am a big proponent of local business and local restaurants, which is why I'd rather come here for a B- breakfast over Carrows and get only a B+ one.

"Why go there at all?" you might ask since there are places near there where you can get a solid A to A+ meal. It's more than just the quality of the food, it's the quality of the experience. Conrads' had attentive and friendly service. The awful interior decorating of the main dining room aside, it feels nice in there. Also, the lounge is a lot more vintage classy than the main room, and I definitely recommend eating in there if you have the chance. There's no picture because, well, we were there around noon and the lounge already had some regulars at the bar. I kind of think if you are at a bar at that hour, you probably don't want your picture taken.



Food: Good
Price $7-12
Service: Attentive.
Pie: Yes.

Conrads Pasadena
861 East Walnut Street
Pasadena, CA 91101
Conradsglendale.com

Dinerwood On the Road: CAFE 222 Downtown San Diego

Every year I make my way down to San Diego for the San Diego Comic Con. This past year, I had the good fortune of being able to stay at one of the hotels right by the convention center. This did mean that I missed out on Family House of Pancakes, but it also meant I got to enjoy more meals at Cafe 222.

Cafe 222 is located right in down town San Diego, not more than 3 blocks from where I was staying. It is most famous for its Peanut Butter & Banana Stuffed French Toast, which was gushed over by Bobby Flay on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate." I've had it, and it is quite good... it also is daunting and damn hard to finish. It's good to split. There are tons of pictures online of it if you are curious.

I've always had attentive and courteous staff at Cafe 222, but they make no secret about needing to turn over tables--that's more a side-effect of the SDCC crowds though. At regular times, I'm sure it is quite different.

I have to say, no matter how long I've been going to SDCC, the sight of cos-players doing mundane things like eating breakfast never gets old. Now, would be a perfect time to post a picture of Sexy Chewbacca and one of the characters from 'Death Note" eating pancakes... but I don't have one. Sorry. I just Bing image searched "Sexy Chewbacca eating a pancake"and hoped to get lucky...I did not. And seriously, I used Bing, for realz....no one paid me to say that...yet.
 

This is their Eggs Benedict, which is delicious.



This is a Sweet Cornmeal Waffle and a side--YES, A SIDE-- of Griddled Potatoes with gravy.
I have to say, everything I've had is good, but the potatoes are just always awesome.

Cafe 222 is a great way to start the day.  


Food: Good
Price $7-10
Service: Good.
Pie: No pie that I recall, but they do make other fresh baked goods.


Cafe 222
222 Island Ave,
San Diego, CA
Cafe222.com

(the website features some recipes you might want to check out)

Happy National Pie Day!

Celebrated at Moffett's Chicken Pie Shop

Sambo's Santa Barbara- The First and Last

Going to Sambo's is kind of a big deal for me. I've wanted to go to one before I even knew there was only one of them left.

Okay, you can kick the dirt and look around nervously when you talk about the name and history. Wikipedia it if somehow you don't know what I'm talking about.

The inside of the restaurant is adorned with murals and decorations detailing the original Sambo story.

That's adorable!

They give you a basket of mini-muffins to start out with. They were really tasty.

We had an incredibly helpful waitress that guided our menu selections.

Antoinette had the chorizo scramble with potatoes and a side of pancakes. The potatoes were the star--they were perfect. The chorizo scramble was delicious but the pancakes were a little bland.

I had the Bengal Tiger Special. The french toast and bacon was good. The eggs were really interesting--they were shredded? I have never had eggs like that. They were good...just interesting.

That's a lechery looking Tiger.

Food: Good.

Service: Helpful. (but not to good with the refills)

Price: $10-15.

Pie: Sometimes.

Sambo's Restaurant

216 West Cabrillo Boulevard

Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 965-3269

San Marino Grill Coffee Shop

We had been wanting to try this place for a long time. It looked so cute and old-fashioned on the outside.

The inside was just as cute and old-fashioned and really cozy. We immediately felt at home.

I'm pretty sure the old guy on the right was famous but I'm not sure. I kept thinking Pat Boone, but it's not him.

The menu is very simple. It's just this one page and few specials written on the board above the counter.

We started with some coffee and boy was it bad--like brown hot water bad. It did not improve with subsequent cups.



Antoinette ordered the pumpkin oatmeal and a side of bacon and sausage for some protein. The sausage was a little under-cooked but it tasted pretty good and I didn't get sick so that was good. The pumpkin oatmeal needed more pumpkin.

I got the crunchy strawberry french toast which was decent, if a little bland. There was some strawberry jam as a topping but I think I would have actually preferred real syrup. (I thought that but when we went back again a few weeks later I got pancakes and the syrup was nearly tasteless.)

We then looked around and saw that other than us, the place was populated by a decidedly older clientele. Older folks tend to prefer blander food and I think San Marino Grill and Coffee Shop knew on what side their bread was buttered.

Like I mentioned above, we gave it another chance a few weeks later. Bland but oh-so cozy. If the place had good coffee I'd recommend going just to sit peacefully for a bit. But it doesn't, so I can't.

Food: Bland.

Price: $6-10

Service: Nice.

Pie: It's on the menu, but I suspect store-bought.

San Marino Grill Coffee Shop

2494 Huntington Dr
San Marino, CA 91108

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!

 

Dinerwood on the Road: Las Vegas' The Egg and I

I thought The Egg and I was the sister restaurant to The Cracked Egg, which I reviewed a few years ago. The Cracked Egg was a brightly colored, whimsical nouveau-diner, I expected something similar here. I was totally wrong--not saying that the Egg and I is bad. It is just more traditional. (The Egg and I is affiliated with Egg Works, which I have not been to.)



When I walked in they asked if I wanted to sit inside or outside. This was Vegas in August. I didn't appreciate being threatened like that. I chose to sit inside. Save for a farm mural along the wall, the interior felt more like a sports bar. That felt a little incongruent with the breakfast nature of the restaurant.



Not quite sure why they emphasize the Cincinnati Chili.



I liked this feature. I could see how on a busy morning this would be infinitely helpful to your server.



This egg looks totally hiiiigh.



The waitress was especially attentive. When I flipped over to the sad "needs attention" egg to take this picture, my waitress was there in seconds asking if everything was okay.



I ordered the Stuffed French Toast. I thought the country potatoes were amazing, perfectly seasoned and crispy. I didn't care for the french toast and egg together. I ended up separating them. Good french toast and good scrambled eggs.

Food: Good.
Price: $8-11
Service: Great.
Pie: No pie.

The Egg & I
4533 W Sahara Ave #5
Las Vegas, NV 89102