Diner – Page 3 – mmm-yoso

Talkeetna – Lunch at Talkeetna Roadhouse

June 30, 2018 mmm-yoso Alaska, Bakery, Diner, Travel

We left Seward fairly early in the morning. We had a two hundred-fifty or so mile drive up to Talkeetna where the next part of our trip was taking place. An acquaintance who has been to Alaska several times advised me to be ready for a fairly time consuming drive because of roadwork. And indeed there were two stretches along the way; the first right past Girdwood; where road work created a single lane along the highway almost 7 miles long. And on the Parks Highway, right before Talkeetna Spur Road, where the entire road was….well, gone. Vehicles would escort a line of cars over the dirt and gravel while the road was being rebuilt.

Still, we arrived at Talkeetna too early for check-in. We found some parking along the rustic roadside. Talkeetna is quite quirky. Part frontier town, part an outdoor-artsy haven, part tourist destination, with a definite "hippy" vibe. One thing that was universal (except for the young lady working at our lodge) was that everyone seemed so friendly…..happy even.

Half the fun is people watching.

People were so nice; we didn't mind spending some time (and money) in the arts and gift shops that line the one main street that is Talkeetna.

I'm not sure how many times we were asked where we were from…….and how many times those same folks mentioned visiting San Diego; being last year or several decades ago. From what I gathered, many shops close down during the winter, hence the reason we found people working several jobs during the high season.

After killing a good hour-and-a-half, we headed over to our accommodations. We were still early, so we parked our car and walked up the half mile or so to the mile 13 marker turnoff. We were told the view here is amazing. And yes it was…..

While enjoying the view we heard "hi…….". It turned out to be the two young ladies who sat next to us at Seward Brewing Company the night before! They were here enjoying the view….and chatting up the nice looking young man sitting on the bench. More on these two in a later post.

Let's just enjoy the view, shall we?

We then walked back into Talkeetna….yes, I was definitely getting my exercise, even with the car!

We decided to get something to eat. We figured that we'd grab a late dinner….remember; the sun wasn't setting until 11 pm during this time. And Talkeetna Roadhouse seemed like just the right place. Part "Roadhouse", thus the shared rooms and bathrooms, with a large dining room, this place oozes charm.

It still functions as a "roadhouse" with shared rooms and bathrooms….

Though these days, it probably caters more to tourists like us.

We went simply with the Hungarian Mushroom Soup and the Reindeer Chili.

The mushroom soup was nice and hearty, with a good, earthy flavor of mushrooms….but it was barely past lukewarm.

The reindeer chili was quite bland.

And almost room temp….not very pleasant. It needed some heat and seasoning.

What we were really impressed by was the bread; which was warm, yeasty, and so comforting.

This was so good……to the point that we understood what we needed to do in terms of pastries while in Talkeetna.

Talkeetna Roadhouse
13550 E Main St
Talkeetna, AK 99676

Talkeetna is such an interesting and "colorful" town……….

After lunch we walked back to the lodge which was located on the Susitna River. It was a beautiful location.

And Alaska was turning out to be even more beautiful than we imagined………..

Tommy’s Restaurant (San Clemente) after a visit to the Mission San Juan Capistrano

May 27, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Diner, Orange County, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for reading this food blog named mmm-yoso!!! Kirk has been away for a few days, resting and Cathy has been taking some 'staycation' time and is writing today.

Having an out of town guest is always a reason to also do something out of the ordinary. We want to show friends how and where we live and not do too many typical touristy things. The Spanish Missions in California are a strong part of our history and always fascinating as well as educational. We thought a short drive up the coast would be fun. Mission San Juan Capistrano, the "loveliest of the Franciscan ruins",provided us with insight as to how the missionaries and indigenous natives lived and built their self sufficient compound, with gardens for food, vineyards (for wine used during mass), a baking area, stables and all in all a small city
with a church next to the cemetery. (This is the second church built on the grounds, the original 'Great Stone Church' with its Greco-Roman style architecture was felled by an earthquake on December 8, 1812).

A great day of walking, listening to a well recorded self guided tour and learning so much.

Mission San Juan Capistrano Website

We left just after 1 p.m. and although hungry, didn't want to stay in town, instead driving a few exits south to the signage we had seen so many times over the years.Yep. Tommy's Restaurant. We had always been curious but usually were 'almost home' so had never stopped.
The view from the parking lot is of the ocean.
Inside…well..look for yourself…

A 50's diner with beautiful upholstered booths and a fresh flower on each table. We had just missed the 'lunch rush'.
The menu accommodated each of us. The "2x2x2" breakfast ($8.99) had some really great, sweet fluffy and tender pancakes along with perfectly over easy eggs and two slices of quality, thick meaty bacon.
The Monte Cristo ($9.99 plus $1.50 for substitution of onion rings) was really well made, with plenty of ham and turkey (and melted Swiss) on a nicely fried eggy french toast. The rings were surprisingly good; whole onion slices in the crispy corn batter.
The 1/2 sandwich (with soup or salad, $7.99) was a wonderful choice. The clam chowder (soup of the day) was definitely made from scratch, had a clam juice based broth, filled with clam pieces as well as finely minced (yet still crispy) celery and with several (but not too many pieces of) skin on diced potato. Tuna salad on marble rye bread with lettuce, tomato and pickle was a great sandwich. It wasn't a 'solid' tuna, which meant it accommodated the various ingredients and had more flavor.

We will definitely stop here again.

Tommy's Diner 1409 El Camino Real San Clemente, CA 92672 (949)498-7000 Open Daily 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Website

Bonny’s Cafe-Breakfast in El Cajon

May 7, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, What Cathy Eats!

Here you are, back reading mmm-yoso!!!, wondering where Kirk has been. Well, he's at work. Cathy is writing this post.

Lately, the days have been busy and going out to breakfast seems the easiest; not too crowded, everyone can order what they want, the day is off to a good start. Of course, local standbys are most interesting (Perry's, Izzy's) compared to chains (although I have a few posts about chain breakfasts, too). I realized that I had never posted about Bonny's Cafe, even though we've been here many times

In this location for about 24 years, Bonny's is a breakfast-lunch diner with a bit of a decoration 'theme'.

Primarily 1950's America. This is but a small glimpse; the dining area was packed at 8 a.m. on a Wednesday.

A short stack ($6.50), add bacon and two eggs (scrambled) ($2.95) is quite enough breakfast. The from scratch pancakes are slightly sweet, fluffy, large and cause cravings. The bacon is thick and meaty.

The chicken fried steak meal ($10.75) comes with a choice of toast or biscuit and gravy…oh and the gravy here is magical- smooth, not salty, containing a lot of house made sausage bits and just enough black pepper. More gravy on the house made fresh, fluffy biscuit was a bonus. The chicken fried steak here is *wonderful*- a crispy, lightly seasoned coating on very tender cube steak, cooked just so perfectly. The hash browns were crispy on the top but fairly raw/plain in the center; only the edges were consumed.
French toast, thick slice of a good quality sausage patty, and eggs over hard ($7.95) Why eggs that way?
The salsa. I've never asked if it is house made or a certain brand, but gosh is it good! With the hard cooked eggs, it's quite a burst of great flavors. I sometimes crave a bit of sweet (the French toast) with a generally savory meal. This combination is just right.

Bonny's is a great, local, fun place. Look at those plates!

Bonny's Cafe 596 Broadway, El Cajon 92021 (619) 579-3464 Open Wed-Mon 6 a.m.-2 p.m. CLOSED ON TUESDAYS

Montreal – Jean-Talon Market and Schwartz’s Deli

March 15, 2018 mmm-yoso Canada, Canada Food and Restaurants, Diner, Markets & Grocers, Memorable Meals, Montreal, Sandwiches, Travel

I knew we needed some exercise after our zillion calorie meal at Au Pied de Cochon. So I had planned on hoofing it up to Jean Talon Market but it was drizzling so we decided to catch the metro instead. When we arrived the place was pretty much deserted.

It was pretty quiet and we weren't going to be doing any self-catering during our last evening in Montreal, so we just kind of wandered around.

Nothing caught our fancy, so we decided to head on back to Mount Royal area.

Jean-Talon Market
7070 Henri Julien Ave.
Montreal, QC H2S 3S3, Canada

It was a pretty good walk.

There are some pretty interesting buildings in the area, like this one.

I couldn't figure out what it was, so when we returned I looked up the address and it's named Musée des pompiers de Montréal. It's the firefighters museum; which is only open on Sundays from 130pm to 4pm.

It was still a bit early for our lunch destination, so we decided to grab a cup of coffee and relax. We found this very modern-hipsterish looking shop named Dispatch Coffee.

I got some espresso and they served it up right….with sparkling water.

Dispatch Coffee
4021 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montreal, QC H2W 1Y4, Canada

By this time our early lunch destination was ready for business.

I'd heard countless times that you "need" to go to Schwartz's when in Montreal. It's an iconic purveyor of Montreal smoked meat….don't be calling it pastrami in MTL. While similar in in terms of being seasoned, cured, and smoked, classic pastrami is made with beef navel, the front or "ventral" part of the beef plate. Montreal smoked meat like corned beef is made with the brisket. You can read more about the differences at a load of sites; some of them humorously opinionated. I was here to eat.

One quick thing about Schwartz's. You'll see the opening hours listed as 8am; you can get stuff next door to go at that time. But if you want "hot meat", you'll have to wait until 1030.

We got in right at 1030 and sat at the counter. The young man who served us was great; friendly, helpful, in that truly Canadian way.

The place filled up pretty quickly.

The young man pointed out that the "classic" Schwartz's combo was a Smoked Meat Medium Fat, Fries, Dill Pickle, and a Cherry Soda……we got fifty percent of that, the dill pickled, crisp, nicely balanced in flavor and the Smoked Meat Sandwich Medium Fat (9.75 CAD – about $7.40/US !!!). We watched with anxious anticipation as the meat for our sandwich was hand cut.

Man, this was good!

It's not very often that a place delivers on all the hype and expectations. Schwatrz's did this and more. From the surprisingly tender and moist texture, to the balanced seasoning, not too salty, but with more "umph" than most pastrami sandwiches I've had, the wonderful savory tones really shone. The bread was soft, but stood up well to the pastrami with the flavor of caraway, that malty-nutty-spiciness, bringing things together. The mustard added just enough acidic-pungency to cut any richness.

The Missus is still talking about this sandwich.

There was a line forming outside the deli as we left. I can see why…..

Schwartz’s Deli
3895 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montreal, QC H2W 1X9, Canada

A while not everyone would agree, I'd say Schwartz's really delivered. We left, satisfied and not stuffed, just perfectly happy.

Elijah’s (breakfast)

October 10, 2017 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Diner

This is mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is taking a break from blogging to concentrate on his job, which is crazy busy this time of the year. Cathy is writing.

A few weeks ago, Kirk wrote about sandwiches at Elijah's after mentioning breakfast here a few months earlier. The Mister and I were curious, in the area one weekend morning, so dropped in for breakfast. As Kirk Mentioned, it's the former Players Sports Bar, located just next to Niban, mentioned in the middle of this post (in that post, there are links to three other Niban posts). Even though we are in this area a lot, we've never tried Elijah's.

There's an additional dining area behind the main area, for parties, meetings or large crowds. Neat, clean with friendly and efficient people working. Coffee ($2.25) and water were kept filled the whole time we were here.

Deli Scrambled eggs ($9.95) (with corned beef in this case; pastrami or turkey were other meat choices) was filled with meat mixed in with the large amount of eggs, served with that square of hash browns (or home fries if you chose) and a toasted bagel (a variety were offered) with butter and cream cheese.
I ordered the Smoked White Fish Platter ($16.95), because I had a craving for it, recalling the Smoked White Fish Platter that I had in August at D.Z. Akins. You might notice some fine bones in the smoked fish; that was my only complaint. The lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives and capers as well as the rye toast were all fresh, complimentary and so tasty with the nicely smoked white fish.

Elijah’s Restaurant & Delicatessen 7061 Clairemont Mesa Blvd San Diego, CA 92111 Website Open Daily, 8 a.m.-9 p.m.

2017 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road testing and breakfasts: Chuck Wagon (Corona); Rod’s Grill (Arcadia); Silver Dollar Pancake House (Corona)(revisit)

November 20, 2016 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Ontario/Riverside/San Bernadino, CA, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog. Kirk is not writing today, neither is Ed(from Yuma). This is just another Cathy posting.

Chuck Wagon has closed. In February 2023, Rod's Grill closed but will open under new management. Both are sadly missed.

This year has been different. In addition to having a tremendous amount of friends and neighbors die (I stopped counting in mid February, after there had been 23), I tried to keep things more or less normal, writing a post about the first Float Road Test for the 2017 Rose Parade. The Mister and I drove to subsequent monthly road tests (and afterwards, breakfast) and took photos. This post is a summary of what we ate and some of what you will see on television on January 2, 2017 (there's never a parade on Sunday).

Trader Joe's will have another three part float in the 2017 parade, (parade theme is Echoes of Success), titled 'All Aboard! 50 Years of Serving the Best'. The American Armenian Rose Float Association road test in August showcased a magnificent looking float. The road test two months later showed the color outlined (coloring outlines are there to help decorators as well as help if there are any problems with decorations during the actual parade: you'll still see color) fully expanded float, titled "Field of Dreams", depicting the 'Echoes of Success' of the American Armenian diaspora success story.

I'll take some breaks from floats and road tests, interspersing breakfasts enjoyed driving home.

Because we got stuck in traffic (again), we stopped at a place we have been passing for several years. The old fashioned sign (which must look very cool at night) is a friendly welcome to the naugahyde, paneled, not recently updated interior; half of the building is a 'bar' area, open in morning hours. The breakfast menu is served all day. Let me preface this by saying that we took home a lot of leftovers. The 'Chuck Wagon Country Breakfast' ($11.95) was absolutely wonderful in quality and flavors! Three eggs (poached, of course), two (large, flavorful) link sausages, two thick pieces of smoked meaty bacon and a slice of country style ham with a side of thinly sliced, crispy home fries topped with green pepper and onions. There was also a choice of toast or pancakes with this plate. Ever since the summer road trip and meals across the USA with either my brother or nephew, pancakes have become a slight obsession. The ones at Chuck Wagon are notably good; from scratch flavors, slightly sweet, fluffy with a delicate crust .
The perfectly prepared, real cube steak chicken fried steak was lightly breaded and fried perfectly ($11.50). The flavors were fresh, the country gravy (again, from scratch: there were flour lumps) and even the crispy hash browns were wonderful. The fresh made from scratch biscuit-flaky layers with the golden, crispy crust- was great.

Another really great Corona restaurant.

Chuck Wagon Cafe 1070 6th Street Corona, CA 92879 (951)737-7162 open daily 6:30a.m.-10 p.m.

Returning to some float road tests… Rotary International's float, 'Doing Good in the World' is just so cute even without the coloring outlines added! Shriners Hospitals for children, 'Anything is Possible', is adorable! From the artist rendition(see end of post for a link), it looks like the mascot, Fezzy Bear, will be riding on the float in January. Union Bank has again teamed up with the American Heart Association for the float 'Keep the Beat Alive'. Last month, we didn't even bother going on the freeway to get home, took side roads parallel to the 210 and noticed Rod's, a corner coffee shop that's been in Arcadia since 1957. Taking seats at the counter, because all the aqua naugahyde booths were full, we took note of some posted daily specials (even on weekends!)

The 'pork sausage w/ fresh apples- cheese omelet' ($9.95) was most unexpected (and in keeping with my penchant for fresh apples). Yes, breakfast sausages and sautéed fresh apples filled this large eggy-cheesy breakfast omelet! There were some great home fries and toast which accompanied this surprising menu special. These banana walnut crepes which came with two eggs and sausage ($8.95) were filled with a fluffy cream cheese-cottage cheese mix and topped with toasted nuts and nicely ripe banana slices; not crazy sweet at all. These are not delicate flat crepes, but also not thick pancakes…more of a Swedish pancake.

So glad we stopped here! Rod's Grill 41 W Huntington Drive Arcadia, CA 91007 (626) 447-7515 open 6 am-9 pm daily

United Sikh Mission USA has another beautiful float, 'Together We Rise', which I think will be a prize winner not only for its beauty, but also for the message. Western Asset (an investment group) is sponsoring this float, 'Prosperity in the Wild' which won't have any riders, but instead much animation. This rather simple looking float from Farmers Insurance has a 'reflection' of the parade route in the front 'window' (including the rose colored line that is in the center of Colorado Boulevard, a guide for float drivers, who drive 'blind' while speaking to the 'spotter' who each has a small window in front to observe the activities in front of the float). The title of 'We Came, We Saw, We Covered' is a slight clue as to the 'surprise' you will see on January 2. (see the bottom of this post)

One last breakfast, a repeat visit.

If we find ourselves in Corona and notice there is no line waiting for seating, we stop at Silver Dollar. This day, it was convenient to sit at the counter instead of waiting for a table to be available.
This is the two egg, two pancake deal (the second egg was brought over later)($5.49, additional .69 to substitute sausage patty for links-worth it!) was particularly good. The 2 bacon, 2 egg (and biscuits with gravy instead of toast) ($8.59) was enjoyed by The Mister. The country gravy and fresh flaky not too large biscuits were just right with the perfect over easy eggs and bacon.

Silver Dollar Pancake House 710 East Sixth Corona, CA 92879 (951) 737-5977 Open Mon-Sat 5 a.m.-4 p.m., Sun 6 a.m.-4 p.m.

Rose Parade preparations. Diners for breakfast. America.

See artist renditions of some 2017 floats here.

What's going on under that Farmers Insurance float? Here's a sneak peek:

Mary Etta’s Cafe (Flinn Springs/El Cajon)

May 30, 2016 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. Kirk is traveling today, Ed (from Yuma) is currently relaxing and Cathy is thinking about her future vacation while writing a short post.

A few weeks ago, The Mister and I were in East County and took the exit on Lake Jennings Park Road, driving past the abandoned amusement park, Marshal Scotty's (sometimes referred to as the East County Disneyland). Staying along the interstate on Olde Highway 80, passing Flinn Springs County Park, we spotted parking in front of Mary Etta's Cafe, which has been in this location since about 1935.

The small Cafe has both a high and low counter seating as well as five booths. The clientele is mostly locals.

There are specials on the white board on the far wall and the menu is uncomplicated. A cup of coffee is $2.35 and constantly refilled.

The chicken fried steak plate ($9.50) is a good choice. The breading on the meat is crispy, the sausage gravy is great. Those potatoes are so good; thinly mandolin sliced and crispy fried; not a hash brown nor a home fry.

You can order one, two or three eggs with a choice of meats with potato and toast. This two egg with a (house made!) sausage patty was my choice ($8.50). The eggs were a perfect over easy (runny orange yolks; the eggs are from a local ranch), that sausage is simply wonderful; proper spices, thick corse ground pork and fried to a light crust…and the potatoes: those are the same my mom and dad would make for us on the weekend (and also the same type as I had at the Original Tops in November 2014).

The choice of toast is only white or wheat, Mary Etta's isn't hipster; its a local, long time favorite. Hidden treasure.

Mary Etta's Cafe 14809 Olde Highway 80 El Cajon 92021 (619) 390-1973 Open 7 a.m.-2 p.m. daily

What remains of Marshal Scotty's Amusement Park

Sunday Sandwiches: Maggies Cafe

January 24, 2016 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Diner, Sandwiches

Ever since Kokoro stopped serving lunch and our offices moved further North to Kearny Mesa I haven't been in the Serra Mesa area much. Recently I had some meetings nearby and I decided to drop by the nearby strip mall to see what was up. The place looks kind of depressing…..it just hasn;'t been the same since Henry's left the strip mall. I did notice a shop I hadn't seen before….Maggie's Café.

I remember when this location was….for a very short time, Leilani's Restaurant. I decided to stop by.

the women working were very friendly. The place is fairly generic, but wide open and bright. The menu is an amalgamation of themes; everything from Alfredo to Faijitas, Eggs Benedict to Poptstickers……part Mexican, part diner, part sportsbar. Kind of scary, but sometimes places like this work because they put out honest, solid, food. So why not give it a whirl.

I ordered the Torta Oaxaquena ($11.45), holy smokes, this thing was huge.

Good lord, how does one wrap their mouth around this. Separate the parts weren't very impressive; the carnitas was basically oven pulled pork, the bolillo standard issue. The milanesa was somewhere in there. Somehow the sum of the parts made this a decent sandwich……..the queso added a eaminess; though I appreciated the avocado more. Red onion, pickled jalapenos also added to the experience. And yes, there were some fries hidden behind the gigantic sandwich. It was perhaps a bit too much….. For some reason, this "Gringo Torta" had me reminiscing back to the La Torta days.

There's no denying that you get your money's worth here as I could only finish half the sandwich.

So of course I decided to return. I've mentioned before that I hold a special place in my heart for the old fashioned Club House Sandwich, so I decided I should just go ahead and try it here ($10.95).

While quite large, this didn't quite do it for me. The bread was a chewy sourdough and several slices were burnt. The bacon wasn't crisp making it rubbery. I did enjoy the addition of avocado, but overall, not my favorite clubhouse sandwich.

So what to say about Maggie's Café? I think every neighborhood should have a place like Maggie's; it's not about haute cuisine, it's about full bellies, satisfied customers, a good value, and unpretentious food. Which is what Maggie's Café does. I'm not sure the place is worth going out of the way for, but I sure wish I had a place like this in my neighborhood.

Maggie’s Cafe
3232 Greyling Dr
San Diego, CA 92123
Open Daily:
9am – 9pm

Sunday Sandwiches: Elijah’s Restaurant & Delicatessen

September 27, 2015 mmm-yoso Diner, Sandwiches

A few months back, Elijah's opened up in the spot that used to house Players Sports Bar. If you think the name sounds familiar, you'd be right. This is the Elijah's that used to be located in La Jolla Village. I've been complaining about the lack of a decent diner/deli in the Kearny Mesa/Clairemont area.

The space really doesn't look like a deli…but what's a deli really supposed to look like? It is wide open and the tables are well spaced. There's a bar area as well.

The staff is here has been really friendly and efficient on our visits. Very likeable folks.

On my first visit I brought the Missus along….I don't think I mentioned it before, but the Missus loves Chopped Liver….perhaps why She loves me? So, I wanted Her to try the chopped liver.

She told me this was bit drier and much more "liver-y" than other versions….in other words, She loved it. On subsequent visits, I've bought a pound or so of the chopped liver when I visit.

I had the Beef Tongue Sandwich ($10.95).

Simply served on rye, this looked quite good. You'll notice what my friend, who worked in a couple of deli's on the East Coast calls the "deli stack"……the meats are piled high in the middle and when cut makes it look quite hefty. There is a decent amount of beefy, but not too salty, tongue. It had been heated on the flattop and was fairly tender. With some deli mustard it was a nice sandwich. I got fries with my sandwich; I believe an extra $2.25. It was a pretty large portion, salty, with a mild spice…very crisp thin cut.

It was a nice meal, nothing fancy, but we really enjoyed the folks working here. A few weeks later I dropped by for lunch……it's quite close to work and is a nice standby.

The time I got the Hot Pastrami ($9.95).

Nicely shaved pastrami….not great quality, a bit too fatty, greasy, and chewy, but griddled nicely so it seemed a bit bacon like. The rye bread was nice and of course the deli mustard helped to cut the grease. I think the portion size was a bit on the small side.

Not a big fan of the coleslaw which was bland.

Last week, I just needed to get out of the office between meetings and Elijah's was close by.

This time I had "Turkey off the Bird" ($10.25).

Yes, this was real deal turkey; but just breast, and was very dry and bland. The mayo provided on the side (I like this add what you want/need) provided some help as did the lettuce. But the tomatoes weren't ripe enough and lacked flavor.

Looking in total; perhaps Elijah's doesn't quite fulfill all of my desires when it comes to a deli/diner. Still, it's not bad and fills a niche for me. And the folks here have always been quite nice and friendly.

Elijah’s Restaurant & Delicatessen
7061 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

2016 Rose Parade float road tests (3 &4) Breakfast at Silver Dollar Pancake House (Corona)

August 20, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! Sometimes we write about events in addition to food. Cathy and Her Mister took a few short road trips and here's what they saw and ate. {Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are both still too busy to write today}.

It's been a while since I wrote about the first road test of floats that will participate in the 2016 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade. A second road test was held two weeks later (on a Saturday in June) and The Mister and I couldn't go to that one. We've been to the third testing and the fourth test just occurred, so this post is a summary of what we've seen, along with what we ate.

First, breakfast following the 7 a.m. tests. You may recall a post from last year, about us stopping at Cupid's following a float road test. When we had left that stop, which we happened upon because of a terrible bit of traffic, we noticed this building……making mental notes that it looked interesting, especially if we had to jump off the freeway again. This past Saturday we had an opportunity.
When you first step inside, there's a horseshoe shaped counter, where you can sit if you see an empty chair. Else, you can sign in under the signage (to the right) and wait for a seat in the adjacent dining area.
While waiting, I read several of the framed newspaper articles in the 'lobby' This one has a good photo of the counter area and the unique seating there. We only saw one open seat or would've sat there, but the wait was not long since we were here before 9 a.m. {Briefly, Silver Dollar Pancake House has been in this location since 1925 and the current family owners used to work here}

The pancake menu here is similar to Original Pancake House, but not in terms of price (ex. coffee is $1.99). Similarly, Silver Dollar is open for lunch and closes in late afternoon. The Mister chose the Silver Dollar Special ($8.99). Two eggs, two bacon, two sausage and two of any of the special pancakes from the pancake menu. He chose the banana pancakes because the description said the bananas were baked in, not merely a topping. Then again, the topping is a delightful sweet mix of a sort of caramel and chopped pecans. Wonderful pancakes, great (skin on) sausage, orange yolked eggs (cooked perfectly over easy, which is not an easy thing to do).
When I saw plates being delivered to other tables, the portion sizes looked huge, so my decision was to be different (!) and I ordered the #3 special ($5.49 plus an additional 69¢ for a sausage patty substitution), French toast and two eggs (plus the sausage). This was a great choice. The two slices of French Toast were cooked perfectly…thick bread was used, the outside was crispy and the interior soft and fluffy. That sausage patty was excellent and the eggs were poached perfectly.

All in all a great breakfast, a great Diner with great people working. We'll be back. The tabletops? Each is centered with a different breakfast item photo and all are embedded with ads.

Silver Dollar Pancake House 710 East Sixth Corona, CA 92879 (951) 737-5977 Open Mon-Sat 5 a.m.-4 p.m., Sun 6 a.m.-4 p.m.

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On to the floats. The 2016 entry by the City of Los Angeles is titled "Discover Los Angeles". The first two photos of the July Road Test and 'fire drill' show the float expanded. The third photo shows the float inside the Phoenix Decorating Company barn, with the float collapsed (as it will have to, several times along the parade route). Also, the float has been colored in, which will be a guide for the volunteer decorators (who will begin the first Saturday in December). Do you see the 'Spotter' for this float in the second photo? He's inside the incorrectly proportioned Capitol Records building. Childrens Hospital of West Virginia will have their first float in the 2016 Tournamentof Roses Rose Parade. It's titled "Wild and Wonderful". In the second photo, you can see a small slot in the front (to your right) 'pier of bricks'. That's where the 'Spotter' is seated. (In the first photo, you can see the opened doors for the Spotter and the Driver).

The Shriners Hospitals for Children 2016 entry, "Fezzy Races To Adventure" was road tested in July. You see both sides of the float. You can see that people who are seated along the Parade route get different views of the same float. Again, in the top photo, you can see the opened doors for the Driver and the Spotter.

Clicking onto one of the two first photos, you can see rebar outlines of a horse and a buffalo. Look at the above photo, inside the barn. (Enlarge it.) The now screened over float has much more definition… and an eagle!…you can see Mount Rushmore (in keeping with the co-sponsors of the 2016 parade, the U.S. National Park Service along with the general parade theme of "Find Your Adventure").

There were more floats tested for driving and maneuverability, all in rebar. I'll post those with more finished photos, so you can see progression all in one post, instead of having to jump back and forth…the parade is in less than six months!

I hope your week has been going well. As always, thanks for reading.