**** Johnny's R has closed
Yes, it's really Johnny's R not Johnny R's…….. If you've been driving on El Cajon Boulevard, how many times have you passed this place? It's right down the steet from Rudford's which has a strange pull on the Missus. It's pretty good when in the mood for a trip to "Diners-ville". Because of that, the Missus decided that we should try Johnny's R, you know, equal time, and all that stuff……
I gotta say, Johnny's R looks a bit prettier than Rudford's, the folks are very friendly, and the attitude is very laid back.
Perhaps a bit too laid back…… we watched as three tables got their food after we placed our order completely finish their meal, pay the check, get into their cars and drive off and still no food. As you can see, the place wasn't very busy. And it's not like we ordered anything too difficult, the Missus got two eggs (over-medium), hash browns(the menu says "home fries", but this ain't that), with rye toast dry($5.50)….they didn't even have to butter the bread.
The toast was perfect, the eggs done adequately, eggs were perhaps a bit under-done for over-medium, but better for soaking up with the toast. The hash browns were terrible….have you ever tried making O'Brien or Hashbrowns in a non-stick pan? Or perhaps with just a touch of cooking spray? You'll never develop a nice crust and your potatoes would be dry as heck, which is what this was. Also, there didn't seem to be a grain of salt on anything at all.
I ordered the Hot Roast Turkey Sandwich ($8.40):
The fries were purely SYSCO, but were fried decently, but lacked salt. The gravy seemed to come from a jar, but was (barely) passable. Who doesn't love white bread soaked in gravy?
The Missus was feeling pretty sorry for Her hashbrowns and Herself, until She saw me pull out my three thin slices of "turkey". As you can tell, calling this "turkey" might be a stretch, and "roast turkey" an even bigger stretch:
Grey, bland, flaccid……. not a great combination. I was quickly wondering what species of turkey this came from. The oddest thought entered my cabeza while looking at this….you know how we're taught to cut "with the grain" or "against the grain", what do you do when there is no "grain"? It really looked like that stuff in packs selling for 79 cents in the deli section. I've had my share of processed turkey, but this was over-processed turkey…….. I rarely add salt to anything I order, mainly because I like to taste the food as served. But in this case, I had to add a ton of salt….though I couldn't bring myself to eat that "turkey". As I stared at my mystery meat, the Missus said to me, "you know, there's a Coco's right across the street….. and I know you've never set foot in a Coco's." (And the Chicken Pie Shop next door, Rudford's, and even a Denny's nearby….)
While we were having our meal, we noticed that most of the customers seemed to be regulars. It's too bad our meal didn't turn out. Even with the very slow service, the folks here are so very, very nice.
In the end, unless we get some great rec's on something from this place, Johnny's not (ou)R Family Restaurant.
Johnny's R Family Restaurant
2611 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104