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The Antelope Valley,
Tehachapi, Sierra Highway, Palmdale, Lancaster, Saugus, Santa
Clarita Valley, Leona Valley and Rosamond. These places are a
bit off the beaten path for people living in LA. Most places
are less than an hour out of Los Angeles if you are in the
Northern Part of the San Fernando Valley. On a day without
traffic (yes, it does happen) it's not much more than an hour
out of Hollywood. Might make a nice day trip. The Antelope
Valley both benefits and suffers from being so close to the City
of Los Angeles. The diversity of the population here is
wonderful. Since home prices are so cheap (relative to the rest
of Los Angeles County, including Compton and Eas Los) it has
created a number of strange distortions in an area that people
once described as "Mayberry" (for some reason I never liked Aunt
Bea). I'll let you explore all of the strange contrasts
yourself. When it comes to Mom and Pop restaurants, the
Antelope Valley abounds with great places and really good,
"homemade" food. Since the area is slightly newer (relatively
speaking) than the Los Angeles basin, I am breaking my "before
1970" rule here in some places, just to give you a proper
sampling of the really down home local joints. Since parts of
the Antelope Valley might be considered "higher crime" areas, I
repeat my usual warning, especially for some bars that you have
to be streetwise and exercise your own judgment. I never
guarantee any place on this site (restaurant, bar or otherwise)
to be always safe (at least in the perception of a guy like me that grew up in
the 60's suburbs of rural Maryland). Some of the places
mentioned here are not very diligent about enforcing "no
smoking" rules.
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Britisher Bar,
849 W Avenue I
Lancaster, CA
93534-1926
(661) 948-5506
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On an early Saturday afternoon this
place seemed tame enough. There was at least one person
from Britain there. Nice looking interior with a lot of
personality. Most memorable was a very friendly and
informative bartender. Pretty unique place for
Lancaster, although I don't know what the vibe is like
at night.
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Crazy Otto's Diner, 43528 20th St W
Lancaster, CA 93534-5960
(661) 948-6502
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Perhaps the one known exception to
Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle in physics is that
any restaurant with a sign saying "Eat" is invariably
going to be good. This place of course follows that
rule. Great ambiance and local flavor. True American
comfort food at reasonable prices with very friendly
waitresses. This is a remnant of how the American West
used to be. There are still some remnants of Western
Culture in the Antelope Valley and this is one of the
places you will find it. It's always a good thing when
some of the clientele wear Cowboy hats. I ordered a
grilled cheese sandwich just out of nostalgia for my
childhood (you simply must order it with a tomato). It
did bring back good memories of the drug store counters
my family used to always eat at.
While we are on Heisenberg, I can't resist telling my
favorite joke. A policeman stops Heisenberg for
speeding in his car. As Heisenberg rolls down the
window, the policeman says "Sir, do you know how fast
you were going?", and Heisenberg says "No, but I know
where I am." All right - enough raucous laughter. |
El Toreo West Mexican Restaurant, 38801 10th St
W
Palmdale, CA 93551-3701
(661) 273-4050 |
This is a very rare example of a true
"old school" Mexican Restaurant. So many older Mexican
Restaurants are remodeled (because it's fairly easy and
inexpensive to do) and it completely ruins the character
of the place. This place has great, huge red "leather"
booths. It's dark and relaxing and the waiters still have
that fun old school type uniform. Beside having a
wonderful interior, the food here is really
good. It tends to cater to American or Mexican-American
tastes, but with a lot of unique touches. The Chili con
Carne is a very unique recipe with a big emphasis on the
"Carne" and using refried beans as a base. I've never
seen that anywhere else and I challenge anyone to finish
it (it's two meals in one). As a matter of fact, the
only "problem" with the place is figuring out how to
order anything you can possibly finish. Even a Burrito
a la carte is a challenge to eat given the size. There are
other branches of this small chain, but I believe this
is the original, and it's right off the 14 going west
off the Palmdale Boulevard exit. |
Foxy's Landing and
Restaurant,
4555 W Avenue G
Lancaster, CA 93536
(661) 949-2284
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This is a very cool place in
Lancaster, out in the middle of nowhere (not counting
the Lancaster airport that is). The drive up is
fun because they have built a section of the road on
Avenue G that actually plays, I believe, the 1812
Overture as you drive over it. Kid's will love
this place. It's a small diner in the small 50ish
airport terminal (sort of mid-century modern). You
have a great view of the airplanes taking off and
landing as you eat. A very "local" place (I guess
including pilots and such). The food is classic
diner American comfort food. This place is a must
see if you are spending a day in the Antelope Valley.
There are other branches of "Foxy's" I still need to
check out. |
Half Way House Cafe,
15564 Sierra Hwy
Santa Clarita, CA
91390-4728
(661) 251-0102
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Sierra Highway is one of those Route
66 type of old roads (well it actually is historic highway
Route 6, so it's not half bad - ok - bad joke). The Half
Way House I guess is halfway between the Santa Clarita
Valley and the Antelope Valley. It's a classic down
home place with good food and friendly people. The
interior seems pretty much remodeled. It is
often used as a locale in movies. Good stop off on the
way up to the Antelope Valley. It's more fun,
albeit slower, to take Sierra Highway rather than Route
14. Soledad Canyon Road is another alternative to
the 14, but you won't pass the Half Way House! |
Judy's Cafe, 43855
Sierra Hwy
Lancaster, CA 93534-5034
(661) 723-0411
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This has got to be the ultimate
"local" place in Lancaster, CA. The current
restaurant is only about 12 years old, but it took the
place of one or more older restaurants and has that
classic "greasy spoon" American Diner feel. Judy
runs the ship and makes the place as lively as can be.
The vast majority of people are regulars, but my I got a
warm reception as a newcomer. The food is about as
classic American as one could envision. Judy apparently
loves Looney Tunes characters that adorn the entire
interior. Judy of course cracks jokes none stop
with the locals.
As the son of an anthropologist (hey- my Godmother was
Margaret Mead) I am a great lover of all cultures,
including that most hard to define culture - American
Culture. Despite our being a melting pot of all
world cultures, there's that something special that you
know when you see it that defines us as a nation.
You could hire a team of anthropologists and give them
an unlimited budget and they could never put together a
place as typically American as Judy's Cafe. This
place is as authentic as it gets. |
Maxdons
Cocktails, 1340 W Avenue I
Lancaster, CA
93534-2127
(661) 948-4228
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This place is as classic '70's as it
gets. Great interior with large red "leather" booths.
Right out of the old show "Love American Style". I
didn't eat here, but I hear the steaks are great. There
was a flyer for punk rock at night, so I guess the crowd
and ambiance changes quite a bit from the quiet of a
Saturday afternoon when I was there. This place is
definitely not a dive - quite clean and well
maintained. Interesting small, narrow stand alone
structure. Friendly staff and locals.
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Rock Inn,
17539 Elizabeth Lake Rd
Lake Hughes, CA
93532
(661) 724-1855
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One of their Hotel Rooms:
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This is a very interesting place,
with a nice time machine interior. While the bar and
restaurant are not that old, you would never know it.
Whoever did the interior purchased great old bar stools,
booths, etc. that makes it look straight out of a
Quentin Tarantino movie. The building itself is very
historic from the '20's and built almost entirely of
river rocks. I think some of the tables and chairs came
from Genio's in Burbank.
It's a short drive out to it through the beautiful Leona
Valley. I passed by it twice on the weekends and didn't
go in because it was utterly surrounded by motorcycles
(expensive ones at that). Finally, going on a week day
afternoon, the place looked fairly empty, so I went in
with my 80 year old mom. We both loved the place (of
course my mom is the type of person that could go into a
real hard core biker bar, and I'm obviously not talking about
the Rock Inn, and come out saying "What nice people
dear" - for some reason my mother has no fear of
any human being she meets in person and that seems to
disarm people who probably would normally be quite
hostile). We ordered a brownie dessert which was really
good. This place is highly recommended, at least
at times when it's not crowded.
The business owners are really nice, friendly people. They
actually have a small hotel on the second floor (the
type of 1940's hotel with the bathroom being down the
end of the hall). Quaint rooms each decorated
differently and run by the nicest lady you would want to
meet (the mother of the business owner). She's in her
nineties, but doesn't let anything slow her down!
She's a North Hollywood pioneer. |
Saugus Cafe,
25861 San Fernando Rd
Santa Clarita, CA
91350-2560
(661) 259-7886
since 1887
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It's a bit out of town if you live in
Los Angeles, but worth the trip. I had a nice old
fashioned bowl of chili when I was out there.
Definitely a unique recipe. One of the best old neon
signs around. It moved a long time ago from the train
station that was once across the street. Open since
1887, it is the oldest continuously operating restaurant
in Los Angeles County, although Cole's PE Buffet is
probably the oldest restaurant in the same location in
the city of Los Angeles and the Sycamore Inn (very nice
owners!) probably oldest origins in the Los Angeles
metropolitan area - 1848 - (but in San Bernardino
County). There are so many ways to calculate these
things! See my chronology page. |
Wayside Cafe, 2835 Sierra Hwy,
Rosamond, CA 93560
661 256 3437
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This place is a true "time machine"
tucked away in a small town - Rosamond. Right on
Historic Highway Rt. 6, you know immediately from the
classic neon sign that this is going to be a good
place. A true local joint where the old dudes crack
jokes with the waitresses. Cheap and satisfying
homemade food, as with any classic American Cafe. Nice
old lunch counter. It's a thousand miles away from the
intense urban feel of so many other parts of Los Angeles
County. Leave your Lattes behind and order a nice bowl
of Chili. Interestingly the owner didn't know exactly
when the place was built, but that neon sign has to be
from at least the 50's or earlier - it's a lost art to
make signs like that.
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