Harbor House Cafe - A tale of two visits.

Finally, Dinerwood has come back to Long Beach. I just don't make it down there often enough. For months my friends Tony and Victoria had been singing the praises of the Harbor House Cafe. Life finally worked out and one night and I made a special trip down just for it.



Harbor House is covered in movie posters and movie memorabilia. Being this far from Hollywood, this design theme seems out of place and unnecessary. There's no residual shine from the glamour of "Hollywood" all the way down in the LBC. I would have, however, accepted a nautical theme since it does overlook the ocean.



The main building is a little place that more closely resembles a bar than a diner. At some point in the building's lifetime, an enclosed patio was built to expand the dining area. We were led through the patio and back to an area that looked more like the entrance. It had dark wood with real tables and chairs, unlike the patio that housed plastic lawn furniture. For some reason we were placed right next to the only other people in the area. I estimated that this couple was only on their second date or perhaps they were just coworkers testing the waters. Their conversation was awkward but earnest, and we got to hear all of it.

It wasn't all that interesting.

The Harbor House menu didn't seem deep at the time, but when I think back on it, it really covered a solid range. Breakfasts, burgers, sandwiches, Mexican and oddly, Chinese are all given their own section with several items listed under each of them. I definitely felt like a late night breakfast so that's where I focused my attention.

I am always iffy on omelets. I've had a lot of bad ones in my life. So I surprised myself with how quickly I honed in on the Hawaiian Omelet with pineapple and ham. It sounded like such a risk; would it be worth it? I was also given the option of subbing in biscuits and gravy in place of my toast choice for a nominal fee. I decided to go for it. Let's hear it for diner dinner risks!



While we waited for our food, we tried to figure out what this item in the picture above was. The wall was covered in them. I had vague childhood memories of being given these to play with as a child while in bars in Montana. Yes, childhood memories in bars. It's not odd, trust me. My parents aren't bad people, we're just from Montana.

The awkward girl in the awkward couple on the awkward date was telling an anecdote about being ripped off by a male friend for a large sum of money, while the awkward boy sat and nodded. A large family in both number and stature then joined our small seating section, leaving the patio still mostly empty. I do not understand the seating thought process here at Harbor House.

After trying to arrange themselves around one of the small round tables, they crowded too close to the couple and broke any air of passion that had been fostered. The awkward couple left awkwardly. I never found out if she got her money back from her friend.


When our food came, it looked delicious right from the start. If Charlie had been with us, he'd have had captured that. As is, the food just looks okay in these pictures.

The omelet was quite possibly the best omelet I have had in a very long time. (The best omelet ever was a smoked salmon omelet in a Sheraton hotel restaurant in Ellensburg, Washington). The eggs were wonderfully layered, almost like tamago, but without the sliminess. The mix of sweet from the pineapple and the salty of the cheese and ham worked amazingly well. Unfortunately the "hobo potatoes" as they call them failed to impress me as much. The unique addition of mushrooms to the mix of tomato, onions and peppers didn't add anything for me as the tomatoes were too overpowering.



I really enjoyed the biscuits and gravy. The biscuits were a bit dry, but the gravy was so good it made up for that default. That plate of biscuits and gravy was only an additional 65 cents.



Victoria got the cheese and potato soup. It was soup. Mmmm, soup.



Tony ordered the hot crab sandwich with onion rings. As good as my omelet was, Tony won this food battle. The sandwich was amazing. Real, high quality crab and not even the questionable placement of avocado on the sandwich could take away from it. The onion rings reminded me of more monstrous versions of the onion rings you can get at A&W fast food restaurants. The breading wasn't oily; it was nice and crusty.


Victoria faked us out with her paltry soup order. She ended her meal by ordering a scoop of ice cream. I failed to capture the scale of this "scoop" in the picture. It was a bear-paw sized scoop of ice cream in an otter sized world.

Our bill came out to only a hair over $32.

Harbor House had lived up to what Tony and Victoria had built it up to be. It was good food at a good price. I liked it so much that a few weeks later, when my parents were visiting and we happened to be in the area, #1DC Antoinette and I took them there. Could it stand up in the harsh light of day?

Sadly, it did not.



I went with the pecan pancakes, thinking that the genius of the Hawaiian omelet would transfer across the breakfast section. I was wrong. The pecan pancakes were regular spongy restaurant pancakes with bits of pecans poured over them. Meh. Even IHOP would do something like have a special syrup or even blend pecans into the batter. This was sorely disappointing. My side of bacon was adequate.

I didn't even bother to take pictures of what my dad got, since it was basically what I got minus the $2.00 of pecan bits.

My mom got the crab sandwich, and luckily that was as good as it was on the previous visit.



#1DC Antoinette ordered the cheesesteak sandwich. It was more like a hot roast beef sandwich with slices of meat, and not that great. The fries were mushy and gross.

I really oversold this place to my family. This wasn't quite as bad as when I chose "4 Rooms" as our Christmas Day movie (note: I do not get to pick Christmas Day movies anymore), but it was supremely disappointing. What I can conclude from my two visits is that Harbor House is a mixed bag. (2nd) Best omelet of my life one visit, disappointing pancakes the next.

And... it turns out, it's not even in Long Beach!

Harbor House Cafe

16341 Pacific Coast Hwy
Sunset Beach, CA 90742
(562) 592-5404

Food: Mixed but mostly good.
Service: Friendly.
Price: $8-$12
Pie: Case of homemade pie.



It does have this outside the front door, so that's pretty cool.

KJs Diner and Restaurant--Gutter ball.

I was really excited when I pulled up to KJ's Diner. It is attached to a bowling alley--how great is that? Growing up, we had a Chinese restaurant attached to our bowling alley. Sadly, KJ's proximity to the lanes was the greatest thing about it.



I got there a bit early and as I waited for Charlie to arrive, I ordered a coffee (weak) and looked over the menu. It covered the standards, but also had an "International Breakfast" section with chilaquiles and lox--not served in tandem. An Asian themed menu was located on little laminated placards at the counter. The dinner menu was broken up by different "Flavas:" Spanish Flava, Italian Flava, and Savory Flava.

A nice couple chatted with me a bit about motorcycles and scooters (I had ridden my scooter from Silver Lake). They were enjoying a slice of apple pie with grated cheddar cheese on top. It's a Northeast thing.

Once Charlie arrived, we got down to business. When our waitress asked what we wanted, I asked if she recommended anything. "After eating here? Nothing! Hahahaha." I was really hoping she was just kidding--really hoping. I ordered the Cream of Wheat Pancakes and Charlie ordered the Ham Pan Sandwich, without the pan but with french toast instead.

A nearby table featured a dad and a gaggle of pre-teen girls celebrating a birthday. Divorced Weekend Custody Dad really needs to step it up. Bowling and a diner for your girl's 11th birthday? That's tragic. The staff did sing "Happy Birthday" in awesome oddly accented English.



It didn't take long for our food to arrive. I was surprised that I was paying over $8 for a stack of four pancakes. I assumed there would be hash browns or bacon or a slice of orange. The pancakes started off well, albeit a little undercooked, but as I continued down the stack they got more and more grainy and runny.



Charlie's french toast was okay and the ham slab was dry.

When we were finished, I asked our waitress what pies they had. She said "No pies, just cake."

Now, I knew they had pie. I had seen it. A slice of pie had been within five feet of me. I looked up at the counter and I could see a pie in the display case. Only one, so I could safely assume it was apple pie, which I wasn't in the mood for. Why would the waitress lie about the pie? She had told the truth about the food. Why lie about this? I shrugged it off.

KJ's Diner is not a place I'd recommend. If you are already bowling, pop over for some flava, but don't make it a destination. It's definitely not worth it.

Food: Disappointing.

Service: Okay.

Price: $6-$12, but ask exactly what you are getting for the price.

Pie: Yes, but they lie about it.

KJ's Diner

8731 Lincoln Blvd.

Westchester CA 90045

(just a short distance North of LAX)

http://www.kjsdiner.com/

Dinerwood on the Road: Las Vegas's Tiffany's Cafe

White Cross Drugs is the oldest still standing business location in Las Vegas. We all know what the oldest profession in Vegas is. That's right:



...Crazy Old Prospector.

Our first night in Vegas, Charlie and I, led by our host Laurenn, cruised into the White Cross Drugstore pretty late. Well, regular people and regular city late. It was positively early by Vegas standards, which meant that there was nobody eating at Tiffany's Cafe. Tiffany's is open 24 hours; in fact, it was Vegas's first 24 hour restaurant, but it really is meant for an after-hours crowd.



Tiffany's is an amazing throwback to the classic greasy-spoon: a little dirty, a little messy, but you know the crew has their system down. The matron behind the counter was wearing a white t-shirt with a leopard print bra underneath. She was manning the grease trap and she had better things to do then worry about fashion.



Tiffany's also has some very bizarre artwork on the walls. The above landscape is thrown into disarray as the floating head of the outlaw Josey Wales descends from heaven.



Charlie ordered the Manhattan Burger. It's a regular burger with a sourdough bread bun.



Lauren ordered the BLT. It came with some home-made steak sauce. It was awful. It was VINEGAR with a little Worcestershire, and maybe some rat poison mixed in. While the cook was making the sandwich, I noticed that after frying up the bacon, he then wiped it off with a towel.



I ordered the Tiffany Burger. I figured I couldn't go wrong with the signature dish. It was a basic mushroom burger, that when I bit into it, sprayed grease all over Laurenn.

All of our french fries were slightly stale tasting.

Tiffany's was not all that good. Sometimes it is not about the food, though. The majesty of "setting" really pulled this place from out of the "DO NOT WANT" bin. It has such a classic feel and with the added benefit of the artwork, the place becomes wonderfully surreal in a town that is often depressingly surreal. It would be worth checking out, but know what you are getting into food-wise.

Food: Greasy
Service: Adequate.
Price: $8.00-$14.00
Pie: Various, located in a pretty display case at the entrance.

Tiffany's Cafe in White Cross Drugs.
1700 Las Vegas Blvd. S
Las Vegas, Nevada

Dinerwood On the Road: Las Vegas' The Cracked Egg

My first time in Las Vegas was a little over a year ago. I asked the concierge desk at the Planet Hollywood Casino (where I was staying) where to get a good breakfast. After suggesting the in-hotel restaurant, I stopped him. "No, where do you real people get breakfast?" He paused- "The Cracked Egg." A little while later, I asked one of the bellhops the same question, "The Cracked Egg" he said. Now I didn't make it there during that trip, so I made a point to schedule it in this time.

The Cracked Egg has a few different locations around Vegas. Charlie and I went to the location on Rainbow Road, out in the hinterlands of South Vegas. I was surprised that it was in a strip mall. Once we went inside, I was pleased that there were no hints of "VEGAS!" here. It was very homey and decorated in faux-colonial style and accented with knick-knacks, but also had exposed duct-work which seemed out of place but fine.

The menu at Cracked Egg isn't deep. It covers some solid ground with pancakes, skillets and omelets. Price-wise, it read as entirely reasonable. They also have a gluten-free menu, which you don't see a lot of places.

I asked our waitress what she recommended and she replied confidently, "Anything smothered in gravy." I didn't feel like gravy but as I knew this would probably be my main meal of the day, I needed something filling. I went with sweet and heavy--the Peanut Butter French Toast. Charlie ordered the Mexican Skillet.

We both also ordered the fresh coffee cake, which the waitress brought right out. I took a bite and was surprised to find , a melty chocolate chip in my mouth. They routinely experiment and change up their coffee cake recipes, and this week was chocolate chip coffee cake. It was very rich.

Our food followed quickly.

The portions were pretty ample. I definitely felt like I received $9.50 worth of french toast. It was sweet and heavy, just like I wanted. The bread was split and filled with peanut butter blended with cream cheese. This would be to keep the peanut butter from getting too melted and liquidy and spilling out of the bread. The syrup and the bananas also added a nice balance of flavors.

Charlie's Mexican skillet was good but basic: chorizo, cheese, jalapenos, and salsa. The chorizo wasn't too spicy or too mild.

The Cracked Egg was a very good breakfast experience. The friendly wait staff helped remind me that there are regular people in Las Vegas. I highly recommend it if you find yourself there and want a quick reminder of what normal life is like.

Food: Good.

Service: Great.

Price: Reasonable.

Pie: No Pie.

The Cracked Egg
6435 S. Rainbow, #100
Las Vegas, NV 89119
Phone: 702.220.6449
Fax: 702.221.9310
http://www.thecrackedegglv.com/

Sunny's Family Restaurant: Underdogs, not undercooked.

You'll have to forgive the less than stellar pictures on this one. #1DC Antoinette and I went out for breakfast with my parents and we forgot our digital camera. These were taken with my fifty dollar Wal-Mart phone...and they are horrible.

My parents are antique dealers and will often come down to Southern California to visit us and go to different flea markets. This past Saturday, we all went to the Golden West Flea Market in Huntington Beach. Across the street was a quaint looking place called Sunny's Family Restaurant.

After spending several hours at the flea market and finding some neat treasures, we finally headed over to Sunny's for breakfast. The first thing I noticed while walking in, was a dry-erase board asking us to compare them both in taste and cost to places like IHOP and Coco's. Sunny's had something to prove. Inside, it was a very warm and friendly place with three distinct dining rooms. One of them was assuredly a smoking section back in the day when restaurants had those. I have no idea what the third section would have been for.

Interestingly, the walls were decorated with a real hodge-podge of different framed images. One wall had all Superman pictures while another was dedicated to Mohammad Ali. There were also a large number of random movie stills. One was of the kids from Harry Potter. I have no idea what the connection was, except maybe the owner just likes movies.

The manager sat us at a table and within a handful of minutes three different waiters asked if we wanted anything to drink and/or to make sure someone had taken our drink order.
We all ordered the coffee and agreed that it was above average. All of the servers were downright festive. They all had smiles and easy-going manners that didn't seem forced. There was a team spirit there.

The first thing that I saw when I opened the menu was the Butterscotch pancakes. My eyes and stomach fell in love and no matter how much I scoured the rest of the menu, I could not seriously consider ordering anything else. Although the menu didn't specify, our waiter did explain that even with the specialty pancakes you can get the combo (which includes eggs and sausage AND bacon) for less than two dollars more.

We also noticed a particularly amusing menu item: Hooker fries. Named after the Union general who captured New Orleans? Hooker fries are french fries covered in melted cheese, bacon and other toppings. I think they may have gotten their name from the fact they will F*** your arteries up.

Antoinette, feeling a bit under the weather, inquired about the soup of the day. Our waiter informed us that at this location (there are two Sunny's Family Restaurants, both in Huntington Beach) they only ever have vegetable soup, but that it is made fresh daily.

My mom ordered the cinnamon roll french toast combo with eggs and a ham steak. She had never had cinnamon roll french toast and her mind was blown by the concept. I've had it before at other places (Brandon's Diner, for instance) and often the problem with it is that it is incredibly sweet. Sunny's wasn't overly sweet and I appreciated that. The ham steak was juicy and surprisingly huge.



My butterscotch pancakes did not disappoint. They were simple enough, just the butterscotch baking chips poured into the batter. For the most part they were melted throughout but occasionally I'd find a few chips that had escaped the heat by huddling inside the delicious fluffiness of the pancake.

The picture of my eggs and pork sausage didn't turn out, unfortunately. The sausage I found overly greasy but the bacon was quite good. My scrambled eggs were a little too wet but otherwise good.



My dad ordered the Chef's Special Cake: three buttermilk pancakes, two eggs, two sausage and two pieces of bacon. He agreed with me about the sausage.

Antoinette ordered the chicken quesadilla and a piece of corn bread, a refreshing break from the parade of traditional breakfasts the rest of us chose. The quesadilla had flavorful peppers but could have used more chicken. The cornbread was wonderful--moist and cakey, with just a hint of sweetness.

Sunny's was a friendly and enjoyable eating experience. We all liked the food but would agree that it wasn't mind-blowing. There was an underdog energy to Sunny's--they were really trying hard to compete. As the dry-erase board out front asked us to, we compared it to a Coco's or an IHOP and hands down Sunny's was cheaper and better than your typical chain. On its own merits, it was just a good place to eat. I'm sure the next time my parents come down to go to the nearby flea market, we'll be eating at Sunny's.

Food: Good.

Service: Friendly.

Price: $6-$10

Pie: Not at this location. They do have lots of ice cream desserts.

Sunny's Family Restaurant

7148 Edinger Ave

Huntington Beach, CA 92647

(714) 841-9934

Dinerwood on the Road: Aunt Emma's Pancake Restaurant, San Diego

Sometimes you turn a corner and BAM! you find something you weren't expecting--maybe it's a twenty dollar bill you find on vacation and your parents let you blow it on Masters of the Universe action figures; maybe it's an old friend who just got a job working the counter at the questionable "bookstore" you frequent; maybe it's driving around your hotel your first night in town and seeing a sign that says "Aunt Emma's Pancake Restaurant." Sometimes it's that last one.

It was closed at the time we drove by (it's only open from 6am to 3pm), but in the dark it looked pretty awesome. We woke up early the next day and headed over.



It wasn't too crowded inside but this was also a Friday morning. I imagine it is busier on weekends. The interior felt newly remodeled. There was a pretty keen half circle counter up by the kitchen which was mirrored by a half circle lowered part of the ceiling. It made me imagine that at one time this place may have had a bit more style and design to it. Now it was decorated in warm earth tones and hotel room art.

We were seated in the span of no more than three minutes, then three different waitresses asked what we wanted to drink. We tried to explain to the later two that someone had already asked but they whizzed away so quickly that we failed. Two of the waitresses came to the table at the same time carrying our two glasses of water and a coffee. Aunt Emma's is the kind of place that leaves you your own pot of coffee on the table, and loyal readers will remember that I love that. After this and taking our order we hardly saw our waitress again.



The menu was very deep and traditional, and of course there was one item that was dominant: the pancake. This is a breakfast joint where the pancake is king and the king is a dessert.



There is a mess of different pancakes on the menu and nearly all of them involve whipped cream. It being only 8am, I wasn't in the mood for dessert so I ordered the corn pancake, described as "Corn flavored with corn topping."

#1DC Antoinette ordered a strawberry crepe (the foreign cousin of the pancake) and we shared eggs, turkey sausage, and fruit.



It is strawberry season so it was a bewildering that they used frozen strawberries. This might be the most 'foodie' critique I've ever made of a place, and although they were fine tasting, it was just such a cheap restaurant cop-out. The crepe was a little rubbery but tasted all right.

The eggs could have been good but were lukewarm when they arrived. The fruit bowl was a bit plain and the sausage was typical. Although I neglected to take a picture of it, I also ordered hash browns, which were actually pretty gross.



When the menu said "corn flavored" I imagined it may be a corn meal pancake which would have been nice. When it came out and it seemed to just be the regular pancakes with some corn niblets on top, I was a little disappointed. The pancake did have some sort of vague corn flavor, but I wasn't sure if that was just flavor transference from the corn topping. And that white mess on the plate that looks like a wadded up napkin? That's the plop of butter they put on the plate.

Aunt Emma's wasn't the treasure I had hoped it would be. It was adequate and reasonable. I may go there again just to try the dessert pancakes, but it's not a place I can give a gushing recommendation.

UPDATE- 7-27-10

One year later, I was back in San Diego and staying at the same hotel. This time, #1DC Antoinette stayed home and old Dinerwood friend Greg was with me. Although unimpressed on the first trip, I wanted to give it another try.

When we walked in, the waitress very apologetically informed us that the booths were full. We saw about a half dozen empty tables in the center.

"Can we have a table?" I asked.
"Oh, sure" and then she took us to a table.

I was really confused by this until I heard two other parties refuse tables and choose to wait. When we left there were even more people waiting for booths while tables sat empty. Those booth seats must be freakin' amazing.

The coffee was pretty weak, which was unfortunate. I could really have used a pick-up.

Our waitress told us about the $3.99 breakfast specials. We could not refuse that price.

I went with a standard egg and pancake breakfast. Eggs and sausage were pretty standard. I used the strawberry syrup on pancakes and it was shockingly good. The pancakes were very dense, almost like shortcake. With that syrup, it made them taste almost like strawberry shortcake.

Greg had the chicken fajita omelette and it was very good. The chicken was juicy big chunks with a nice seasoning.

The best part was the final bill. That's a cheap breakfast.

I still somehow forgot to take a picture of the sign.

Food: Okay. -update- I'm going to call it 'Good' now.
Service: Fine.
Price: $6-10
Pie: Various. -update- I didn't see any listed on the menu.

Aunt Emma's Pancake Restaurant
700 E St.
Chula Vista, CA 91910
(619) 427-2722
http://www.auntemmaspancakes.com/

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: