I like diners. I like diner food. I especially like that diner’s let me order an omelette, with a baked potato and coleslaw as sides, for dinner. (I like “breakfast foods” in the evening; go figure.)
Places we somewhat frequent:
Twohey’s in Alhambra (http://twoheys.com/) - usually solid service and decent food. I’m a sucker for their onion rings (but only when they’re fresh from the fryer!) and the lightly curried clam chowder. The small hot fudge sundae, with the bittersweet chocolate fudge, is pretty over the top. http://twoheys.com/
Foxy’s in Glendale:
Just started exploring their menu; hard to determine where the strengths are, but I rather like what we’ve tried. Service is great, decor is interesting, and the clientele fascinating. (WARNING: There’s a horrible music autoplay when you get to the site, so have your speakers muted!) http://foxysglendale.com/
Coco’s Restaurant:
Yeah, I know it’s a chain. And not a great one. But it’s decent. Service is consistent (at least at the one in east Pasadena on Colorado at Michillinda). Have yet to find a dessert there I really like, but the veggie omelettes are okay.
Have yet to try Du-Par’s on Lake in Pasadena. Unhappy with Shaker’s in South Pasadena on Fair Oaks (food and service).
What we’re looking for:
Decent service
Breakfast food for dinner
Some vegetarian-friendly options
So…where should we be venturing to?
Its a deli, not a diner, and a little out of your area, but I believe Brent’s serves breakfast any time - at least they serve it at lunch. I have never been there for dinner.
@TheCookie beat you to the punch on Russell’s up above.
Russell’s is forever crowded, esp. on the weekends, but I can’t ever seem to find anything memorable to order there. I suppose serving alcohol with breakfast has its appeal. Infinite appeal, perhaps.
Harry’s 24 Hour Family Restaurant, on San Fernando just north of Burbank Blvd. I always try to avoid the zoo from off the 5 at Burbank, usually taking Olive up to 3rd, over to Burbank and down. Breakfast anytime. Very good CF steak and gravy, but get the breakfast version instead of dinner because their mashed wallpaper paste, I mean potatoes, is to be avoided at all costs. The hash browns are quite good. The tuna melt and Reuben are both massive and delicious.
A mile or less east on Huntington from Twohey’s is the Colonial Kitchen, an old place that must have had its last remodel ca. 1977 – white colonial-style building, usually with a Union Jack flying out front. A frequent location for shoots so be prepared to go back to Twohey’s if the lot is full of trucks and gear. THE BEST tuna melt in SoCal, IMO, and excellent potato salad to go with. My friend Dave and I like it partly because we’re never the oldest people in there, but he likes it also because they’ll happily keep bringing him coffee for an hour or two. Corned beef on rye and burgers are good too, as is the CB hash breakfast plate – anytime, of course.
im going to respectfully disagree w the rec for harrys. i suppose its worth a shot if youre a. ig fan of that type of food.
i admit the only thing ive had previously mentioned was the tuna melt and it was…ok?
everything else ive had there is straight outta mehville and not worth the trip.
i do like the name of the place though.
Well, it’s diner food, of which “okay” is pretty much what’s expected. The mashed potatoes are beyond unacceptable – I’d say “tragic” – but everything else we’ve had was okay. The tortilla soup (Fridays only) even has fans who make a point of coming by then. I give it an Okay+.
In my experience, the only diner I’ve found in LA County that could be thought of as a Food Destination is Pann’s, down by Inglewood.
No. If that was gone by 2000 I probably would not have known about it as we visited here about every other year from Nashville, and about all I ever went to on Arroyo was Trader Joe’s, running groceries for Pa-in-law.
Yeah, it’s been a Denny’s (i think) for a while, south of TJ’s. A good old-school diner. We lived in Pasadena for a while when I was young. Francisco’s and Lucky Boys were my and my friend’s faves.
WesSabi – Thanks for the link, though I’m glad I’ve gotten good at hitting the MUTE button really fast! I guess that’s what went in where that lackluster joint in the A-frame was. I will give them a try, but any diner that tries to blow my eardrums out with hard-rock guitar-shredding is close to DOA for me. Sixties doo-wop is where it’s at … music to digest your patty melt by.
