Historic Dining: Eating in Some of the West's Oldest Restaurants

Snow flurries make wispy clouds across the pavement. Train passengers are told the Truckee Pass is closed with heavy snow and they’ll have to make due here on a cold Reno night until the California Zephyr can continue on the rails to Oakland.

Wearily, a passenger wanders down the street from the downtown station until he sees a cheap, basic looking hotel. Getting a clean but Spartan room for the night, the desk clerk tells him dinner is served downstairs starting at 5:00.

Showing up early, he has a stiff cocktail at the bar before being shown to a seat at a long table in the next room.  Other stranded strangers are seated with him at the table, even though the room is more empty than full. A pitcher of red wine and glasses are on the table for the diners to help themselves to and to lubricate the dinner banter.

As polite conversations start up, the food is brought out. The pea soup is exquisitely hot on this cold night. The large salad bowl has more than enough for everybody. The beans are savory. And, what’s this?  Small, thin strips of meat are served with jack cheese.

“Pickled tongue,” the server explains.

With wrinkled nose, but curious, the traveler takes a bite.  “Delicious,” he admits.

Thick lamb chops are brought, some of the best he’s ever had. After dessert, sated and maybe just a bit tipsy, the tired traveler sleeps easily until the train can resume its trip over the mountains to the San Francisco bay.

Scenes like this have played out for over a century in Nevada’s other city but at one place, you can still get a taste of that experience. The old SantaFe Hotel, behind the mammoth Harrah’s casino, still rents basic rooms and still serves a seemingly endless Basque meal…family style…in its unchanged dining room.

This is a bit of history that you can experience now. It’s not recreated, it’s not trendy… it’s just the way it’s always been.

I like to call it historical dining.

One of my favorite ways to eat is to find these old gems and have a meal the same way diners did 30, 40, maybe even 100 years or more ago. California (and a bit of Nevada) is sprinkled with such geriatric establishments.

On the corner of Geary and Van Ness lies the 70ish year old Tommy’s Joynt. It’s basically just a beer and sandwich hall.  Locals come in to get roast beef, sliced to order, and a cheap beer to wash it down.

Not fancy or pricy, but just good, solid food served the same way today as it was when it opened in 1947. Where else in The City are you going to get a solid sandwich and a mug of Anchor Steam for less than $12? The ancient dining hall and quirky décor are just gravy on top of that.

While you may not want to drink your lunch, La Rocca’sCorner in San Francisco is an old dive bar with legends about mob hits and nefarious doings in its back rooms and basements. Don’t worry about food, though. The owner usually puts out a spread that the bar flies help themselves to.

It is a true and authentic dive and the crowd here is among the friendliest you’ll find.  Not much has changed in this circa 1934 bar. Leo Larocca is no longer with us, so he doesn’t play is guitar or accordion in the corner anymore and there are a couple of TVs for sports.

You’ll still find Sy behind the bar dishing out drinks, feisty banter, and hugs for the ladies.

Going east, up high into the Sierras near Lake Tahoe, you'll find the Gold Rush era Kirkwood Inn near the ski resort of the same name on highway 88, the Carson Pass.

Since 1864, this little cabin has been keeping high country travelers warm and well fed. Have some prime rib or a satisfying sandwich as you belly up to the same bar that Snowshow Thompson sat at.

Down in the Central Valley, ice cream fans can satisfy their sweet tooth at a couple of century old creameries.

Superior Dairy in Hanford dishes out giant servings of a few flavors in their ancient shop across from the town square. Their SOS sundae is truly a sight to see.

Bakersfield’s Dewars Ice Cream and Candies has a more extensive menu in both its original location downtown and a new, more modern branch on the west side of highway 99.

Philippe’s in downtown Los Angeles is well into its second century of serving its signature French dip sandwiches (which are said to have been invented here but an equally old Cole’s nearby begs to differ) is still the place where you sit with strangers on long tables, sawdust on the floor, with a news and candy stand by the door.

Expert servers at the counter serve such delicacies as purple pickled eggs and pig’s feet from an extensive menu. And the hot mustard, oh-the hot mustard, on each table takes that basic sandwich to new heights.

Down at the beach, the Bull Pen still serves a thick and delicious prime rib in a 65 year old dining room disguised behind a dive bar in Redondo Beach.  Locals come early to imbibe and hear corny jokes from the bartender.

Well hidden in a Redondo Riviera strip mall on a block progress has passed by, somehow people find it and fill it up every night. Some of them might even be the original customers.

For more refined tastes, hungry customers head east to Rancho Cucamonga where the 1848 era Sycamore Inn delights with its steak Dianne and extensive wine list while its younger (only 70+ years) neighbor, the Magic Lamp, serves superb crab cake, steaks, and chops in its wonderfully whimsical building…built by the Clearman family of Northwoods Inn fame…fronted by a large lamp shaped sign, belching out real flames nightly.

While in the Inland Empire, after spending a day on Route 66, tasting olives from the historic Graber farm in Ontario or sipping wine from the old Galleano Winery in Mira Loma, we like to end our day as we started this story, with another Basque meal at the old Centro Basco in Chino.

Also starting life as a boarding house for lonely shepherds from the old country, the almost 80 year old restaurant has shed its rooms-for-rent, although it kept the handball court out back for pickup games. 

Run by the heirs of the Basque family that has owned it for generations, it also has dinners with others at long tables but most customers these days prefer the more traditional restaurant seating in the back half of the restaurant.

Again, diners are brought out heaping bowls of soup (their split pea is among the best I’ve had), salad, cheese, beans, pasta, vegetables, and entrée.  Tongue is only by request here but is also one of the best things on the menu.

These are just a few of the dozens of old, sometimes musty, dining and drinking rooms sprinkled throughout the west. You may find one of your own on a slow road trip sometime.

With all the establishments listed here, one of the best things is sitting back with your full stomach, reveling in the unchanged dining experience that you’re amazed still exists in this modern age.

© 2016 – Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Back to School - The Ivy League of the West, Claremont, California

It’s only 40 minutes away in good traffic but riding the train out here seems like you’re on the east coast, taking  the  Metro North out of the city. The streets are lined with leafy, mature trees…many that drop their leaves in late fall…the coffee bars filled with bearded college professors and students trying to get a degree within this lifetime.

Known as the “Ivy League of the West,” the handful of universities that make up the Claremont Colleges are names that regularly appear on each year’s list of the best… Claremont-McKenna, Pomona College, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer, Scripps.

There’s money, talent, and knowledge wandering around here. It’s also a good reason why so many people fall in love with the Inland Empire town of Claremont separated by two sets of hills, a valley, and four freeways from Los Angeles and bumps up right against the San Bernardino County line.

The heart of Claremont is a 10 square block area halfway between the 10 and 210 freeways along Indian Hill Boulevard known at The Village. It’s here where you’ll find the best of what the town offers.

Possibly the most transit-enabled town in the Inland Empire, Claremont is served well by Metrolink commuter rail from Union Station in Los Angeles and the buses of Foothill Transit. The trains and buses converge on the beautifully restored train depot at the south end of The Village making everything within walking distance and eliminating the need for a car.

If you do want to drive, that’s okay too. There’s plenty of parking and the area is bracketed by two major freeways.

Arriving in the morning, you can grab a quick breakfast at Crepes de Paris at the new addition to The Village, the Packing House, on the west side of Indian Hill Boulevard. The Packing House is an old citrus packing shed that’s be redesigned into a space for shops, restaurants, and nightclubs.  Night owls will want to visit the Hip Kitty jazz club here or the comedy club upstairs.

Walking off breakfast, head east to Yale Avenue…one block east of Indian Hill…where The Village’s “downtown” is.  The last Rhino Records shop exists here along with the world famous Claremont Folk Music Center. This little music shop, crammed with every instrument you can imagine, and many you can’t, is a popular stop for some of the world’s top musicians to stop by and give impromptu concerts.

Going a couple of blocks further east you come across the campuses of the colleges, all kind of mixed together.  Check bulletin boards…you can catch some free entertainment such as concerts or plays. The colleges are associated with SCIAC, a NCAA athletic conference, and you can catch some college sports there too such as football, basketball, and baseball.  The stadium where the Claremont-McKenna-Scripps Stags play…located in a little pine forest…is one of the prettiest you’ll ever see.

If you’re hungry for lunch, stop in one of the several cafeterias on campus or Café Sagehen, a full-service sit down restaurant serving upscale meals with wine and beer available. Back in The Village, a number of restaurants serve a great lunch too.  Pizza ‘n Such, Village Diner, and Espiau’s  are suitable for a nice midday meal.

After lunch, options include going to Bert and Rocky’s at the north end of Yale Avenue for ice cream and dessert; going up to the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens a few blocks north on Foothill for some great wheelchair accessible hiking trails; or taking in a matinee at the Laemmle Theatre on Indian Hill and Bonita Avenue.

If you’re still around at dinner time, Claremont has two of the gourmet burger places in Southern California. The Back Abbey (in the alley behind the Laemmle) serves its signature burger…a large patty with aged gouda, mustard aoli, carmelized onions bacon, and fresh greens served on brioche… along with a nice selection of Belgian beers.

Just around the corner, back at the Packing House, is Eureka!...serving a range of gourmet burgers that is as good as the Back Abbey…along with their selection of local craft brews.

Looking for something more than burgers? Aruffo’s serves quality Italian fare in a relaxed atmosphere back over on Yale.

Some people fall in love enough to spend the night. Casa 425, across from the Packing House, is the area’s trendy boutique hotel.

If you’re in Southern California, save a day to visit this pretty college town just a short drive…or train ride…east of Los Angeles.

For more information, visit The Village's website: http://thevillageclaremont.com/

-Darryl

Copyright 2012 – Darryl Musick

All Rights Reserved

CLASSIC TRIP: Scottsdale, Arizona, 2001

 
The arbor at Taliesin West

When will some business people start to realize that if give a customer what they want and provide satisfaction, they will spend more than they planned?  I ask this because started off writing this report by doing what I usually do last...figuring out the budget.  This is because I felt I spent more than I planned and I was right.  About $120 more than what I figured before the trip.  


But you know what?  I don’t care because it was money well spent.

I know I’ve consciously avoided spending money on vacation at places where they don’t get this point.  The Congress Hotel in Chicago is a prime example of this.  By trying to squeeze every penny out of me and not providing what was agreed to, they lost more in the long run than they save...penny wise and pound foolish.  Whereas the merchants we visited in Scottsdale kept us happy and we spent money freely...more than we planned.  Those guys made out like bandits.

Which brings us to our trip report.  In short, these three days in the Valley of the Sun were much more fun than an entire week in the windy city.

Friday afternoon...a Memorial Day getaway from L.A.  A routine trip to the dentist delays our exit, so we get stuck in the peak of holiday travel traffic.  The jam lasts until Banning making what should be a 5 ½ hour drive into a seven hour trek.

We make it to the Quality Suites in Scottsdale around 11:00pm.  Check-in goes smoothly and we are soon in our room after a quick complimentary lemonade courtesy of the front desk folks.  


We are tired from the long drive and turn in immediately.

After a restful night, we head down for a complimentary fully cooked breakfast.  Love that word...complimentary.  You hear it a lot at this hotel.  In addition to breakfast, there is complimentary beer, wine, and soda in the evening.  After that, it is complimentary milk and cookies.  Round-the-clock it is complimentary lemonade.  The business center sits right off the lobby where there is a PC set up for complimentary Internet access.  Local calls are also no charge.  In fact, other than the in-room movies and small souvenir shop, it was hard to find anything to spend money on here.  All this was $59 per night plus tax and $10 for an extra rollaway bed.

And yes, they have accessible rooms too.

After eating, the three of us head north to Taliesin West.  In his last years, Frank Lloyd Wright used his 640 acres in the Arizona desert as his winter home and architectural school.  Apprentices would tag along and create their own shelters in the desert.  Wright and his disciples would test their theories here. (See pictures above and below)

Taliesin West 

What they have created is a marvelously ingenious compound of living spaces, studios, theaters, and landscape that is beautiful and practical.  Originally more of a camp, the buildings had no windows.  Canvas flaps covered the openings while in season.  During the summers, the canvas was removed and the building interiors were left to the elements.

Wright’s wife didn’t enjoy the cold that produced or sharing space with local wildlife such as snakes and scorpions and demanded her husband install windows and other shelter from the elements. 

We take the grand tour (there are 1 hour and 1 ½ hour versions of the tour) and found in completely accessible although some of the ramps were a bit steep.  In addition to being a museum and historic site, Taliesin West is still an architectural school, residence, and architectural firm.  The apprentices still live in shelters of their own design and construction scattered throughout the land (if there in winter, be sure to take the apprentice shelter tour).

It was a highlight of the trip and very beautiful except for the nearby power lines that mar the view.  Wright went all the way to President Truman to try to have the lines buried underground to no avail.

Afterward, it’s lunch at the Coyote Grill near the Scottsdale airport.  It is so delicious we make reservations to come back for dinner.  After an afternoon of swimming at the hotel, we come back for apple baked pork loin, pasta, and grilled fish while sitting on the wonderful patio here.  See what I mean about a satisfied customer spending more than they planned for?  Coyote Grill is definitely worth the trip. (Unfortunately, Coyote Grill is no longer there, it's now a place more like Hooter's - Ed)

Tim wanted to see the rides at Coasters ‘n Castles, an amusement park in north Phoenix.  We go but it is very cramped and none of the rides are accessible.  At least it didn’t cost us anything to find out.  I can’t really recommend this place to anybody with a disability.

The next morning we take in the Phoenix Zoo at nearby Papago Park.  An accessible tram provides guests with a quick overview of the zoo.  It also doubles as mass transit around the zoo for those who find walking a great distance too much.  There are four handy stops on the route and one fare allows you to board and alight from the tram as many times as you want.

The tram at the Phoenix Zoo is wheelchair accessible 

We are real impressed with the recreated Columbian rain forest here.  Starting off in a recreated Columbian town, an accessible dirt trail leads through the jungle where many animal inhabitants await such as Columbian bears, pirana like fish, alligators, monkeys, and many birds.  Misters do double duty making it more jungle like and cooling off the Arizona desert at the same time.

Lunch today would be at the Sugar Bowl in downtown Scottsdale where ice cream is the star of the show although they also serve sandwiches.  Family Circus cartoonist Bil Keane is a regular here and his cartoons and doodles are very much in evidence.

As the temperature climbed into the afternoon, we settled into the cool waters of the Quality Suites pool where we swam the afternoon away.

Dinner tonight was at the Reata Pass Steakhouse in the northeast corner of Scottsdale.  This place is a real hoot.  Dining is outdoors where your steak is cooked over an open fire.  An Aussie by the name of Gary Lloyd serenaded the diners with some real good country western music and the steaks themselves were succulent and juicy. A flight of stairs will stop you in your tracks but just check with the bartender for the  accessible route to the dining area. 

This would be our last night here and all agree that there was way more fun in Scottsdale than we had time for.  Another weekend here is definitely in order.


-Darryl
Copyright 2001 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved