Diner Week: The Fountain Coffee Room...hidden for a reason

(Inside the Beverly Hills Hotel)
9641 Sunset Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90209
(310)276-2251
Everyday 7AM-7PM

To finish up this week, I'll be posting about a place that I have visited many times and have always wanted to write about. The Fountain Coffee Room at the Beverly Hills Hotel is a place that will remain as long as the Beverly Hills Hotel is around. It is also a place that some would describe as "where the locals go". Now, the locals in that neck of the woods are, as some may put it, "well to do". Do not let this discourage you. The food may be on the pricier side but rest assured it is food that is better than average by a good amount AND it's a small price to pay for some who love to eat amongst the stars... who eat here all the time. I have yet to show up and not see at least some actor, model or musician hanging out and chatting about. In fact, can you spot the actor in this picture above? He's there I promise.

First let me get to the nitty gritty. Their silver dollar pancakes are the junk. They don't play around when it comes to these hot cakes. They are some of the most consistent pancakes I've ever had in my life, and somehow I don't really know what makes them magical. They're fluffy and yet have some weight to them. I'd be hard pressed to find better batter to go with the syrup they serve it up with. By the way, the sausage in the background is veal sausage. Can you say, "Oh My"?

A classic breakfast that I enjoy treating myself to is hash and eggs. But, when I really want to treat myself to this dish I come here. Their hash is out of this world. Most people's hash is on the saltier side and lacks a tremendous amount of character or something that you can walk away remembering as special. Their's defies normalcy. It could pretty much be put between two pieces of bread and eaten straight up. The spices are a mystery to my palate, but if you're looking for something kick butt you should give this a whirl.

Small menu things to mention. The coffee is awesome, they have their own signature blend, and they always make sure you're getting the good part of the pot. "How" you might ask? They thow out the last quarter of each pot. The eggs with salmon caviar are an acquired taste but are great if you feel like waking up to fish. And, the shakes are classic, some of the best in town. You know how in Pulp Fiction they talk about the "Figh-dolla shake"? Well, their's is $5.50 and worth the extra 5o cents.

Parking is at your discretion. You can either feel rich and go the valet route, or you can just park on the streets surrounding the hotel which are 2 hour parking spots (not metered). When you go in the hotel's main entrance it's to your right and down the stairway. The Fountain Coffee Room will be right at the end of the small flight of steps. It's hidden from the prying eyes of most of LA, and the residents (that's right, people LIVE there) who usually go there love it that way.

This week has been fun. We've looked into a small window of diner culture in LA that has hopefully reminded many of you that the diner age has yet to completely be faded away by the trendy "impress me" attitude of LA.

PS. Apparently, I'm not the only one wanting to talk about diner love in LA. Here's this weeks article from Jonathan Gold on Du Par's.

Free Refills: No, get the coffee which IS because it's a mighty fine cup o' joe
Entree Price Ranges: breakfast plates start at $8.50 and can hit $22 if you get extravagant, for the 2 of us we put out about $35 or a little more + tip

Diner Week: CJ's Cafe...feeling the love after church

5501 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 936-3216
Mon-Sat 6:30 AM-6 PM
Sun 7AM-5PM

Here is a where we take a detour from the big, buff, American style diners of Diner Week. CJ's Cafe is a shining example of how Mexican culture has melted into the diner genre in SoCal, making it something practically American by it's own standards...after all, America by nature is just one big melting pot of cultures that have slowly started to "gray" into each other.

Though the picture here shows a tamer time, don't let that fool you. This small cafe has become the equivalent of a 3rd Street brunch spot on Sundays. This happens to be one of THE after church go to spots in the Pico district. Plenty of seating and a fast staff help things from being too nightmarish thankfully.

They offer some pretty unique breakfast plates, i.e. my "Deli omelette" filled with pastrami and cheese. The pastrami was extra lean, not too salty and made me wonder why I this isn't a standard at other places. The hash potatoes are notches above the rest. I do believe that they grill the onions ahead of time and then mix them with the potatoes giving them a flavor packed punch. Most other places just mix them in right away with out cooking them first.

As stated before, their Mexican breakfast plates, such as this Huevos Rancheros plate, really shine. Eggs were done perfectly over medium, the Ranchero sauce was packed with chili flavor though not spicy and didn't compete in any way with the side of chorizo that came with it. I kid you not I'd give this plate at least an 8 on taste. Speaking of which, the chorizo that they serve up is DYNAMITE. I could eat this kind of chorizo with any plate for breakfast. On a side note, be sure to try there tortas which are a showpiece for the ingredients they use.

Parking is a whiz with street AND rear parking. They have a great staff and a well varied menu that should satiate most anyone's morning needs. Their loyal following shows up right when they open, and why shouldn't they...they've got the right formula going on there.

Free Drink Refills:Yes
Entree Price Ranges: Breakfast is $5 to $8, lunch is $4 to $7, and dinner is $7 to $10

Diner Week: Wendy's Place...love from the other side of LAX

107 W. Grand Ave.
El Segundo, CA 90245
(310)322-3942
Tue-Fri 6AM-2PM
Sat-Sun 7AM-1PM
Mon Closed
CASH ONLY

Breakfast by LAX can pretty much suck all around. Unless you find the few gems that are tucked away within a few minutes distance by street from the airport. George's is one such place that comes to mind if you're coming from the North side the airport. But, if you're coming from the south side, THE go to place for breakfast is Wendy's Place in El Segundo.

I love this place! Loved by just about everyone in the neighborhood and even the surrounding neighborhoods (I had friends who live in Manhattan Beach that told me they love this place when I mentioned I would be writing about it). The walls are covered with Norman Rockwell painting puzzles and there's a sweet sense of a place that has somehow withstood the changing times.

The breakfasts they serve up are as All American as the Rockwells on the walls. As far as chicken fried steak and eggs are concerned, their's are one of my favorites in the Southland. I would honestly rank it in my top five. The breading is light, the meat very tender and the gravy is just the right consistency so that you don't feel like you just ate a brick. The hash browns have just a hint of meat flavor from the grill and the eggs seal the deal.

By reading the posts so far, can you tell we love pancakes? There's are no exception with these cakes being spongy but firm. Somehow they're able to stay together even with gobs of syrup (yes I have a sweet tooth).

Parking is street parking. It's located in the "small towny" section of El Segundo that has a huge sign section showing the churches in the area (which were plenty). Somehow walking into this area you're taken back to a Mayberry like atmosphere complete with the the small diner that they call Wendy's to supply the right start for your All American day...or flight from LAX.

Free Refills: Yes. Oh and they have pretty decent coffee ;)
Entree Price Range: Breakfast $5 to $8 and lunch is $7 to $10

Diner Week: Tokyo 7-7 Coffee Shop

3839 Main St
Ste B
Culver City, CA 90232
(310)204-5728
Mon-Fri 7AM-3PM
Sat 8:30AM-2PM
CASH ONLY

Having the current status of being not as rich as I used to and figured I'd do a special week on the diners in LA. I have a tremendous love for diners being that on the East Coast they are places that are often stuck in time with cheap prices that rarely go up and a staff that'll often stay working there for as long as they live. The food, while rarely being mind blowing, is always consistent and you can count on a certain standard of coffee. Los Angeles really doesn't have too many of these places. I remember one of the last one's, "Tiny Island" on Wilshire, was torn down a few years ago. My heart sank, especially considering that nothing has replaced the spot. I think it's just an empty lot now. I've already written on some diners in LA that I feel are pretty stand out, but I wanted to focus on places a little off the beaten path and or maybe places that you have heard of but never seen.

A prime example of all I have just talked about is Tokyo 7-7 Coffee Shop in the alleys of Culver City. You won't find this place unless someone has told you where to go specifically. My best advice is to get on Main Street in Culver City and look for Bottle Rock wine bar. There you'll see an alley. Walk through the alley till you are in the heart of the intersecting alleys and you'll find Tokyo 7-7.

Though it's a very secretive spot, you'll find that the place is pretty busy pretty often. Don't worry though, the service is fast and at worst you'll only be waiting for a few of minutes. There's a center counter with about 14 tables surrounding it. It's got a certain charm to it that has been all but lost in our city with the ever changing "impress me now" attitude prone to LA.

The French toast is always rocking. Light grilled and pretty classic.

American breakfast with Portuguese sausage for flair. Their eggs are what eggs should be with very "familiar" home potatoes.

The pancakes were fluffy and chewable (some mass to them), the texture uncompromised by the butter and maple syrup.

The prices for breakfast make you wonder how they're making any money! Notice the early bird special!!!

Lunch is insanely cheap too even with Asian dishes on the menu!

One thing that made me smile was the cashier lady who was knocking it down with the abacus! Each bill that came in was calculated super fast with this thing. It reminded me that in school they had taught us how you could do just about any computation on an abacus that you could do on a calculator, you only had to know how to work the computations. She is most definitely a master.

This place is hidden from prying eyes, but has all the clientele it could ever need. They don't take card which is pretty unfortunate, BUT it's cheap enough that you might even have enough in pocket for your meal without having to make a special bank stop. Parking is a actually a whiz with the parking structures right next door that give (if I remember right) 2 free hours. Next time you're on the west side and aching for some breakfast find this alley and pull up a spot on the counter.

Free Refills: No, but the price makes it about what you'd pay anywhere for a soda with a refill if you buy 2 servings of soda.
Entree Price ranges: Breakfast is $1.70 to $5!!! and lunch is $2.50 to $5!!!

Rae's Restaurant...workingman's breakfast to soothe the soul

2901 Pico Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310)828-7937
Daily 5:30AM-10:30PM

When I was growing up on the East Coast we had (and they still do for that matter) diners that served up food that was super inexpensive and packed with people who know that diners should never cost a lot. These people weren't cheap but they knew that there's no reason to throw away hard earned money. Rae's Restaurant has been around since 1958 and has seemingly stuck to being a diner of the old school. God bless them for it.

You won't see too many places like Rae's left in LA. They're around but you have to really look hard for them. Sure you could say Norm's is like it, but they don't have the magic like Rae's. The magic isn't in the orange cushioned booths or the long counter with it's monochromatic blue chairs. It's more like the place is just a living entity that houses all the good that people have brought in with them over the years.


While they do offer lunch and dinner as well, breakfast is really what diners are all about and this one is no different. The breakfasts here shine (not just from grease) and have prices that would stun LA. Here's a snapshot of their Hobo Breakfast that has a ham steak, 2 sausage, 2 bacon, 2 eggs and a 3 stack of hot cakes...and the staggering price? $6.25. If you think it looks good, it tastes even better. Their griddle is old and all the years of use have likely added to the killer taste of the meats and the consistency of the pancakes being what they are. It's a hearty breakfast for one or a lighter breakfast for 2 that will have you thinking about when's the next available time you want to go out for breakfast.

We grabbed some of their biscuits and gravy last time we went specifically cause I wanted to show you their simplistic and yet terrifying beauty. Behold. Oh and the price...$1.85.

Though we went for breakfast, we grabbed a shake, cause dang it...lactose intolerance is for wimps (and for people who can't smell). Their shakes are smoothe and tall with lots of chocolate but not on overkill thankfully (so many shakes are ruined tasting like melted chocolate syrup soup).

Their 2+2+2 (2 eggs, 2 bacon or sausage and 2 hot cakes) goes for $4.50. They have a Bacon Tid Bit Waffle that has bacon bits in it (fresh bacon bit from the grill...waste not want not I always say). Their lunch time burgers stack up well to most burger stands in LA. They are always packing people in, and though a line is never unusual to see, the turnaround is super fast. Heck, as far as diner's go, this is one place I'm proud to eat at.

Free Drink Refills: You bet
Entree Price Ranges: Breakfasts cost from $4 to $6.50, burger plates for lunch $3.25 to $6.25, dinner specials are $8 but they have steaks that only top out at $10.50 for filet mignon.

Fred 62

1850 N. Vermont Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323)667-0062
Always open

Fred 62 is a 50's style diner on a corner on Vermont in Los Feliz that has miles of persona to it. Oddly enough it feels likes what would appear in the future era in a Back to the Future movie when they go to a vintage diner in the future. Lots of charm. This is definitely one of those people watching spots with lots of stars showing up randomly, as well as just a bevvy of trendy people.

The food at Fred 62 is dare I say all around good. You can go there anytime of day and grab a great meal. Some may argue that they try to hard to be something. I heartily disagree with them. They seem to just "be". No overworking to be something. They give you great food and service is usually good even when they're packed. A big hi-five as well for the awesome coffee and amazing shakes.



I remember seeing Gourmet magazine say that they have some of the best pancakes in LA. So being that I'm not that huge a fan of pancakes I had to try them out. I was so not let down. Wow, so perfect in texture and flavor. A must have when you go if you're in the mood for breakfast.

The pancakes...so sinfully good. (Silver dollars do not come with the plate but were placed there by me for posterity.)

And here's there Super Rico Sandwich which by their own admission is a "better-battered tuna patty that consists of tuna salad stuffed with passilla chile, onion, jack and cheddar cheese with ice-berg lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo on a freshly toasted bun". An amazing take on a tuna melt type of sandwich. Incredibly tasty and the fries were perfect in texture and flavor. Two thumbs up as an afterschool special.

And here's there Wimpy burger which is a solidly good burger. Very flavorful (meaty tasting) and juicy but not bloody. I would say one of my top 5 restaurant burgers easily. It's interesting cause in essence it doesn't look like anything extraordinary but inside lies all the goodness one could desire from a burger. Downright tasty.

As promised there's a roundup for the Arcade Fire show last night at Rockinsider that I wrote. Show some love if you like what you read. The show was passionate and beautiful to sum it up in short words.

Free Drink Refills: Yes
Entree Price Range: $7 to $11

Love for the "101 Coffee Shop"

6145 Franklin Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 467-1175
Everyday 7AM-2:45AM

Haha...the 101. A place of legend for the Hollywood scenesters. Aside from feeling like you've stepped back in time (you'd swear you'd walked into a late 60's or early 70's diner) this diner is nothing short of one of THE best places to get together for food. You may ask why just a place to get together? Because you can spend some serious time there and not even realize it. It's just a fun place to be. The food is awesome. Enough said about that. You're like, "All of it"? Yes, all of it is good...DARN good. I can say that with some degree of authority as I've had a lot of their food in the past. It's a diner with a higher edge of class to the cooking. Some of you may discount it as a grease spoon but it is a far cry from that. Rather it's more like a chef at a nice restaurant just lost his job cause the restaurant got closed and then got hired here. So he's making amazingly good food but dumbing it down for people like us so that we don't suspect him and his feelings don't get hurt cause we're wondering what he's doing here making our breakfast.



Food looks good doesn't it? Well it is. And the prices are pretty good as well. You know when you go to a nice restaurant and the waiters and waitresses are all models or actors? This is no exception except that most of these people don't seem like they want to be either a model or and actor. It's a hangout and point of inspiration for art...

That's right. In the first line of the song he's referencing this very same place. How do I know? He doesn't live very far from the 101 and comes here.

Famous people come here all the time as well and what's great is they don't get bothered here. You just see them and realize wow...I always wondered where they went when they eat normal food. Just to mention last time I went there I saw Fred Durst and his girl. Hopefully he's less of a turd cause he treated a friend of mine very badly while she was working at a radio station here in LA. But I digress.

Excellent food, great atmosphere, open super late, parking is the only sometimes bummer (small parking lot) but there's street parking if you don't mind walking a little which I assume most of you don't considering the fact that if you eat like me you know you should be walking off more than your share of food.

While inside the 101 I was inspired to just film stuff so here's the menu for your perusal. You're like "did he just film the menu?"...yes I did:

Also I thought to share a little bit of me. An illusion for the masses after a meal fit for well maybe not a king but maybe a jester in the Hollywood scene. (Someone remind me to close the aperture more next time.)

Free Drink Refills: Yes
Entree Price Range:$7 to $13 (those $13 plates are super rare though)

PS. It's a a very short walk from the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theatre where you can catch some of LA's funniest doing comedy.

George's Coffee Shop (For those early morning runs to LAX that I do so often)

5439 Sepulveda Blvd
Culver City, CA 90230
(310) 737-4238
Mon-Sat 6AM-3PM
Sun 6AM-2PM

As I hustle off from my desk I wanted to let you guys in a on little spot I hit when I have to head towards LAX. George's Coffee Shop has been at the same spot for about 30 years or so and the prices seem like they've barely changed.

It's owned by a cool older Korean couple that just serves up great breakfasts to the regulars who seem to have been going there for quite some time (most of the people chatted with them). Such a small thing to mention as well, but I loved the counter in the center of the room. Just cool.



What you are looking at above cost us $12 and some change and came out in record time (another plus for heading to the airport). Their 2+2+2 (shown above as well) was only $3.65 and was as close to home cooked as you could make it. My eggs and spam (I grew up on it... so sue me) was tasty and not too heavy either. Something about this place just makes me want to go back. Probably a culmination of price and homeyness. Possibly due to the fact that I grew up on the East Coast (Connecticut and New York) and places over there like this flourish so widely and are super affordable... just like this place. You can quote me as saying this place is a little "Nostalgic". My post wouldn't be complete without saying that they also bring some Korean plates to the menu that are very welcomed such as a Bulgogi Omelet and stir fried veggies. They also have a pretty darn good cup of coffee. Now, after all isn't that what should be pretty darn good at a coffee shop?

Free Drink Refills: No (unless of course you get the coffee)
Entree Price Range: Thinking off the top of my head I remember that nothing was over $6...how could I forget something like that?!

Music Venue Food/ Breakfast: The Brite Spot

1918 Sunset Blvd.

Echo Park, CA 90026

(213) 484-9800

Everyday from 7AM-4AM

Since 1949, the Brite Spot has been there. Like anything old and reliable you can tend to take it for granted and yet if this place were gone there would be a great hole in LA. The food while not rated as the most amazing (though it does have some tasty dishes that you'll have to guess through their vast menu) it has a special quality about just being there. The place is located a couple of short blocks from The Echo in Echo Park where you can catch amazing shows by many of tomorrow's biggest names.

So why do I say eat hear? Cause everyone does. The food is pretty cheap especially if you catch a breafast special after a show (all breakfast specials cost $5.50 after 10PM) and it's like the "Cheers" of Echo Park. You just go there and grab food with friends because everyone does (can you say peer pressure...come on everyone's doing it). It's as simple as that. Can I tell you that you'll get the best food ever...nope. Can I tell you that everyone and there gramma goes there for a cheap meal that causes many a great conversation...I can.

I'd recommend the chilaquiles with chorizo or the amazing huevos rancheros. They have hearty pancakes that look like they came off a lumberjacks griddle. The staff is super cool (even to the point of causing some notorious stories themselves)! It really is our own version of Cheers just minus the bar, the bartenders, the steps that lead downstairs, the Boston weirdos, the fat guy who everyone knows his name, that wannabe nerdy mailman, blah, blah, blah. We're LA...everything is better here.

A small word on The Echo...go there. Especially on the HellYa nights. It's usually super cheap or free and you can catch many great acts that'll be huge tomorrow. Say Hi to the spunky shorter dj if you do.

Free Drink Refills: Yes

Entree Price Range: Cheap...such a varitable menu and yet I can say to anyone that the price range is just plain old cheap for anyone's pocket.