Rudford's has always had a strange pull on the Missus, as light does a moth. I'm not quite sure what it is about the place……
Rudford's does have one thing going for it, in a town where most everything except chain restaurants close by 10 pm, Rudford's stays open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
And having been around for sixty years does say something about staying power, though I must say that many of the customers(and smells) eating at Rudford's seem like they've been coming here since 1949.
If you look up the definition of the word "Diner" in the American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, you'd read: "A small, usually inexpensive restaurant with a long counter…..
and booths……."
Say what you will, being around so long says something about staying power…… We found the staff to be mostly really nice folks, patient with the wide range of customers, from cranky old folks, to people obviously fighting psychological demons, to drunk, post nightclub kids. We found the younger Servers to be much more flexible than the two older women, with chain smoker complexions, who called everyone "honey" in a raspy voice……. tough birds both of them. Half the fun is the atmosphere.
The food ranges from good honest fare, to stuff that harkens flashbacks to the stuff I ate in my Junior High and High School Cafeteria. As I often say, "it's a fine line between comfort and really bad food".
So for better or worse, here's a rundown of a couple of dishes we've had at Rudford's…..
The Hot Roast Beef Sandwich ($9.25):
When I requested Fries with Gravy instead of mashed potato, the young man told me "no problem", and that's what I got. Perfectly fried steak style fries smothered in brown gravy….Sysco heaven! Ever since I visited Canada back in the 90's, I've loved Poutine. The roast beef was tender, but stringy, and reminded me of cafeteria fare, but it was not inedible. There's something about old fashioned white bread soaked in gravy that I enjoy as well….
The Missus ordered the Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs:
Though the pounded beef was very tender, it was super bland. The country gravy was like eating paste. The Missus did enjoy the O'Brien potatoes, and of course She rarely meets an egg She doesn't like.
One quick thing….what is it with these places and toast? They all seem to do toast right, dry but not crumbly, a good tool for sopping up egg, or other stuff…..
On another visit, I wasn't too happy with my Turkey Club Sandwich ($7.95)…. funny thing, to the day She passed on, my Mom always called this a "Clubhouse Sandwich", never a Club Sandwich:
I appreciated the perfect smear of mayo. It's a funny thing, I eschew mayo on most sandwiches, but must have it on my Club(house). I wasn't too happy with the processed turkey and for some reason the American Cheese threw the entire sandwich off.
Lucky for me, I requested and received this for my fries (crinkle cut Sysco-fied this time):
Yes…..brown gravy. Given to me, no charge… a meal saver…..
The Missus got the Monday thru Friday 2 Eggs, Potatoes, and Toast special ($3.79):
No complaints from the Missus……
On Sunday there are two dinner/lunch specials. Like all of these type meals it starts with soup. In this case a pretty decent chicken noodle soup. Noodles kinda mushy, but okay…..
The Missus ordered the Chicken and Dumplings.
Let's just say that for us, this was an example of the worst that restaurants of this ilk put out. Bland, poorly prepared, purely created for the "dead tastebud society". Ick………
I had the Turkey Dinner, which did look kinda cafeteria-like, down to the little thingy of cranberry sauce:
But the turkey was decent, moist and tender enough. I didn't care for the stuffing, which was very mushy. And of course, I got you-know-what-with-you-know-what. Do you see a common thread????
Stay away from the cooked vegetables if you can though, unless you just had dental surgery, or perhaps forgot your dentures. The veggies were also artificially sweet…..
Remember the peas you squished between your teeth with your tongue to gross people out???? Perfect candidates here…..
On one occasion, I tried the Chili and Scrambled Eggs with potatoes and toast ($7.95):
It turned out that the Missus really enjoyed the chili….. so She ordered it on a return visit, and got a bit of "chili revenge"…… She still wants more though……
At the end of the day, the food may ride the mediocre line, but the characters(on both sides of the counter) and attitude can't be beat. I think there's a place for Rudford's, a place where you don't concern yourself with words and phrases like "non commodity", "organic", "sustainable", "free-range", or "fair trade", and for some reason I find that kinda well, refreshing…… in a retro kinda way. I'll concern myself with those other issues on another day.
To quote one of the Server's when asked for Honey-Mustard Dressing; "I can give you honey, and I can give you mustard darlin', but we can't do honey-mustard…. we're old school!"
Rudford's Restaurant
2900 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA
Open 24 hours everyday