Do You Frittata? – Friday 5/22/2009

I’ve been making what I called frittatas for a while, but they were just basically open-faced omelets. What’s the difference? You actually finish a frittata in the oven.

Wow, was this easy and delicious! Five eggs scrambled in a cast iron skillet started on the stove top and cooked until almost done but still a little runny on top. I had a mixture of tomatoes, artichoke hearts and garlic leftover from last night’s pasta, so I topped it with that and some string cheese (the only mild cheese I had on hand) and Parmesan cheese. Popped it under the broiler for a few minutes until the eggs set.

Served with fresh coffee, toast and the rhubarb preserves I made yesterday.

Mmm, it’s nice to have time off during the week!

Benny & the Jets – Wednesday 1/28/2009

Things were a little off this morning. I woke up coughing (from the cold that just keeps giving) at about 2:30 and moved out to the recliner in the living room even though Hydra strenuously offered to go.

I never did get back to sleep. But I did read quite a few pages of Inside Inside by James Lipton, with which I am offsetting my current fascination with graphic novels.

Anyway, Dierdre the hip waitress was at the end of her shift when I came in. I like her. She’s friendly, and refills my coffee, and doesn’t game me like I think one of the older all-nighters does. (Sigh, I know restaurants too well, having waited tables for ten years myself.)

She was very tired. I was very tired, and a little woozy from the sinus medicine I took as soon as I arrived at my table.

Even the head waitress was off kilter. She came with her usual armload of fresh donuts and warbled, “Oh, is it Wednesday? I was supposed to be here an hour ago.”

The whipped cream on this just slightly weird morning was the drunk at the counter.

Now, I kind of understand the 2:30 drunk who has just been ejected from the bar.

But drunk at 5:15 a.m.?

Honey, you are working over time.

While I tried to concentrate on my writing, he ordered and waited, humming along with random snippets of the oldies playing on KRTH 101.

Deirdre brought him his food. He tucked into it. But when Benny & the Jets came on, he started singing in a medium-loud voice, “Deirdre! Deirdre! Deidre and these e-e-e-eggs!” He gesticulated over the plate like he was orchestrating the music from the heart of the over-easies resting there.

Okay. Um. That’s it. The whole story.

It seemed really funny at the time. Maybe it was the Tylenol Extreme Sinus Headache tabs.

Okay, enough of that.

See what I did this evening with the Photoshop Elements 7 software Hydra gave me for my birthday? Can you tell the difference?

It’s not big and artsy. I just took the shine off the table.

Hee!

Oatmeal and Peanut Butter – Friday 11/5/2008

Does anyone else have peanut butter with their oatmeal? In my family, we used to have it on bread with oatmeal, and then realized we were kind of maxing out on the grains.

Braveheart tried it with me, but she didn’t like it. She’s more into dried fruit and honey and stuff.

How about you? Any odd food combinations?

Savoring Sunday – Sunday 8/10/2008

It’s the beginning of the end of a lovely weekend. Hydra went into town to enjoy Starbucks. I opted to haul the birds out to the front yard of the camper and read So Brave, Young and Handsome, by Leif Enger. Every time I lay down to read during the past few days, I fell asleep.

So armed with strong black tea, I finished the novel this morning. What a great read. It’s been a while since I’ve read a writer I’d like to emulate, but Enger is one. I need to read his first book Peace Like a River. (Both titles are lyrics from songs. Know which ones?)

My breakfast reminded me of OneL’s eccentric uncle. He had an alphabet wheel that he’d spin every day to see what he could eat. Only foods beginning with the letter the arrow stopped on. You’d have to hope you could find a quince every so often!

For me: blueberries, banana and bacon. Finishing up things we had with us.

How sweet! How…bittersweet? The camp manager–we’ll call her Upright–brought us this pair of cacti in celebration of our 21st anniversary. She took them from her own garden.

I love working with her. I organize the reservations for our group (about 20-35 campsites each time we go) and then co-ordinate with her about who actually showed up and whether or not they need to pay for hook-ups (electrical and water…not the modern kind!), extra vehicles and pets.

She’s very straightforward and easygoing, but she has great boundaries and is able to stand her ground when she needs to. She’s from Ohio originally. Buckeyes and Hoosiers. Not so different in some ways…well, anyway, she’s been managing and improving the campground for more than 20 years and I admire her.

Looks like a movie set to me! That’s a tunnel over a railroad track that’s supposed to look like the entrance to a mountain. OneL speculates that it’s for the Escape to Witch Mountain re-make that she’s been working on.

Starting Tomorrow – Monday 6/30/2008

Andrew’s / Sitton’s is really making an effort.

The servers aren’t really wild about having to figure out the 10% discount, but I think they’re kind of proud that the restaurant is doing this. I hope it works for everyone.

Earlier this month, they lowered the price of their breakfast specials from $4.95 to $3.95! This is an incredible deal in the L.A. area.

These are the $3.95 specials, which include coffee. Coffee by itself is $1.95 including tax, so you see what a deal these are…

2 Biscuits and Sausage Gravy, and coffee or tea. I had this the first time I was here, and unfortunately can’t recommend it.

The 2x2x2 : two pancakes, two sausages or bacon strips, two eggs, and coffee or tea. Really just way too yummy.

The Continental: two eggs, croissant, fresh fruit and coffee or tea. My personal favorite, especially since they let me substitute dry rye toast for the croissant.

24 Hour Prices – Friday 2/29/2008

I’ve been thinking about the other two all night diners that Chuck at Twain’s told me about last week: Dupar’s and Jerry’s, both on Ventura Boulevard. I didn’t like Jerry’s much when I went there years and years ago, but it’s since burnt down and been rebuilt, I think.

I dropped in on Dupar’s on Ventura this morning.

Yikes! When did breakfast prices get so high? Or is that partly because these diners are all-night establishments that serve the meal all day long? $7.00 for a short stack of 3 pancakes? $7.00 for two eggs, hashbrowns and toast?

It was very quiet here this morning. The music was good. Heard some REM and the like.

What am I learning here? That the grass isn’t greener at other diners. And it’s sure not cheaper. I think Bob’s Big Boy has about the best prices in the Valley, in an unscientific comparison. Maybe I should make the rounds and make more notes.

Kind of not ready to go back to Bob’s. It’ll be nice to see the people there, but I also feel like I’ll have to talk about the whole strike thing and for some reason I just don’t want to. It’ll blow over after the first day, certainly, but… Ah, who knows? I’ll get back over there.

Meanwhile, check this out:

Cool Thing: This week I had the pleasure of talking with the gregarious Neal Schiff of the FBI during the course of my job. Turns out that as well as answering questions for researchers like myself, he hosts a pair of interesting online radio shows, the eclectic “FBI, This Week” which covers the inner workings of the FBI now and historically and the fascinating “Gotcha,” which features closed FBI cases. You can either listen in online or read the transcript. Both are updated weekly, on Fridays.

Joy & Consternation – Wednesday 2/20/2008

I’d say this photo just about sums up the joy of diners before dawn.

Because of the leaded beveled glass windows and the Tiffany style light fixtures at Sitton’s, there’s a lot of interesting light in here.

I had a better experience here today than last week. Compared the short stack of pancakes with Twain’s and they were good…a little denser and smaller, maybe. Learned that my server last time and this time is very new, hence her hesitation about my questions.

Found out from another waitress that Nick, to whom many of the photos on the wall are dedicated, is “Papa Nick” and that he owns this whole block of Magnolia Boulevard. I think she said that it was opened in 1958.

Noticed this guy down from the right side of the front door. He seems to be pleased with the rain pouring down this morning.

But perhaps all is not as it seems! It wasn’t until I loaded it onto this blog that I saw the sinister implications of this shot.

His left arm is chained to that post. Is there a hint of desperation lurking behind his smile?

And look! Not Bob is chained up too! And they took away his cigarette. His only joy in life may have been that cigarette. (sniffle)

Weird that I happened to get the chain in this shot, too, without noticing it.

I’m going to keep my eye on this place, let me tell you. There’s a definite Twilight Zone vibe going on out front.

[Note to family: If I disappear on my way to work one morning, check here for a new smiling woman statue with a notebook tucked into her apron.]

Cool Thing: This interview with Hetta Laurena Carter, who picnicked below the Saint Francis Dam a few days before it collapsed, causing the U.S.’s second largest man-made disaster is really fascinating. Hydra, Mom and I have been to this site several times over the past decade or so.

Sitton’s No Ho Diner – Monday 2/12/2008

In search of a new experience, I exited the 170 South at Magnolia. I’ve been reading Starbucked by Taylor Clark, and I thought maybe I’d check out the Starbucks on the corner of Magnolia and Lankershim to see if they have one of the alternate color schemes I’ve heard about.

But instead I spotted another all night diner! Is this area the center of the all night diner universe or what? Welcome to Sitton’s 24 Hour NoHo Diner.

Many of these photos of movie and television stars are signed “To Nick.” I don’t know who Nick is. I would have asked my server, but as usual the shift changed at 6 a.m., and the waitress who came on duty didn’t feel compelled to freshen my coffee or even smile at me, so any thought of asking questions cooled along with my brew.

Couldn’t find any history on the web. Just conflicting food reviews.

You may be hoping that this is a big bowl of oatmeal. It is not. It is supposed to be sausage gravy for the biscuits. Yikes. It was a deal, I was feeling hungry and nostalgic. Luckily, the quality of this meal did not make me want to finish even one of the obviously frozen and reheated biscuits.

I mean, biscuits. How hard is that? And I don’t think I’ve had decent sausage biscuits and gravy ever on this side of the Mississippi. Probably not so much a lost art as an art never learned. Sigh.

You’re probably thinking that no self-respecting adult would order a dish like this and that it’s just as well that I have to go to Indiana to indulge in the really good stuff. I hear you.

The life size plaster waiter out front was clearly the model for the menu cover.

This guy’s rather lewd and knowing expression is enhanced by the actual tobacco cigarette someone inserted between his lips.

He is no Bob.

Cool Thing: Well, maybe not so cool. Anyway, I started another blog, called Curioscopy which consists of my rather informarl movie and film reviews, which I’ll update pretty much whenever I feel like it. Which tends to be shortly after I’ve seen a movie or read a book. I’ve been doing this elsewhere for a couple of years. What can I say? I apparently have a massive ego. If you’d like to discuss any of the movies and books over there, I’d love to hear what you have to thing.

They Call Me The Wanderer – Monday 4/30/2007

Sniffle. That’s a song they would play at Bob’s Big Boy. But not for me. Not this morning.

My name is Sundry, and I’m a diner-holic.

I’ve strayed again. Is this hitting bottom?

No, I don’t think so. This is the mural on the wall at Western Bagel on Verdugo & Hollywood Way.

Hitting bottom would be going across the parking lot to Carl’s Junior.

This is what I tell myself so I can live with myself.

My Booth Without Me – Friday 3/2/2007

Rude awakening.

Someone else may consider my booth her own. My booth may actually be carrying on with all manner of strangers. How many others have staked a claim on it in how many other hours of the night?

Yes, my booth was carrying on with another woman when I arrived at 5:00 a.m. on Friday. I hope no hint of territorialism showed in my eye when I said hello to her.

I took the booth opposite. A whole new perspective on the morning.

Kevin the Thursday/Friday waiter said, “I didn’t know you were going to come early!”

“Neither did I,” I replied as he slid my tea set-up onto the table, “I couldn’t sleep.”

As soon as the other woman left, he cleared the table and asked if I wanted to move. Ha. No. Thanks. I think I can handle it.

Tucson came in a few minutes later and took his usual booth, the one behind mine. “I thought about taking yours,” I joked, “Just to mess you up.” He laughed and ordered his usual oatmeal, coffee and whole wheat toast. He’s tricky, is Tucson. Sometimes he changes up and orders rye.

Inspired by my new digs, I veered from my usual oatmeal and hot tea or once-a-week poached eggs, rye and fruit into the realm of the omelet. (Maybe it’s all this French I’m steeping myself in?) Egg beaters, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and a side of salsa, with fresh fruit. No toast. Whoo hoo! Watch out for the wild woman across from #57 (my booth number).

Grumps came in all extra-grumpy because someone was in his booth, too. Fee fi fo fum! “There goes your whole day ruined,” he said behind his hand as he passed my table.

My goodness, I hope not!

Grumps lost a lot of my empathy the other day when he talked about how he doesn’t want to travel. He says he’s made all kinds of money in real estate because his father passed it down to him. “My old lady mentioned going on a cruise,” he said. “I told her bye-bye.”

“Grumps,” I said, “They’ve got egg-whites and tomatoes on board. You should go.” Grumps will not be moved. Pah.

I had a decent hour and a half of writing. When David came on at 6:00 he took away my plate. “Wow,” he said, “You had a full breakfast today!”

Sigh. One is given to wonder whether to be proud of constancy or embarrassed about predictability.

The oatmeal is cheap, hot and good for me. The defense rests.