This month I wanted to highlight some unusual restaurants and dishes around town. There’s also an Obscure Landmarks of Echo Park talk this Saturday at the Edendale Library and our free Public Access Christmas screening next month at Zebulon. The flyers for those are at the bottom. And now, on to the restaurants…
Artificial matcha parfaits created at a recent Japan House LA workshop.
On my big map of places in Southern California I want to visit, restaurants are the hardest to check off the list. They cost money to go to, you can only visit so many in a day before getting too full, and the really weird, time-capsule ones are often a lengthy drive into the suburbs. For these reasons restaurants are also some of the most endangered obscure attractions. They need our support, which is why I try and have a fun meal out at least once a week, and why I wanted to highlight some recent and past discoveries. I don’t think any of these places will earn a James Beard award anytime soon, but they’re still worthy of a shout out. And now, on to the restaurants…
Obscure Steakhouse: Steak Corral
Steak Corral is the type of kitschy mid-century suburban steakhouse you’d see parodied on Fresh off the Boat or Degrassi. The last surviving location was founded in Whittier in 1965 and they really haven’t changed much. When you walk in you order your steak from a chuck-wagon, but instead of a number, the cashier gives you a placard with a western-y name like “Beefy Bill” or “Annie Oakley” so your waitress knows where to bring the food. The salad bar is shaped like a covered wagon, and it’s so old school they even have colorful "Indian" headdresses for the kids. While the theming is a great hook, it's the laid back atmosphere and affordable prices that bring in the customers. A recent weeknight visit saw birthday celebrations, family gatherings, and blue collar workers grabbing a hearty meal at the end of the day. Steak Corral is a throwback to when a fun night out was something attainable to everyone.
Obscure Frozen Drink: eegee’s
When I would go on tour in my 20’s we’d always make it a point to try every regional fast food chain. What was seen as bland and ubiquitous to locals was new and unique to us. One such chain was Tucson’s eeggee’s, which sells the namesake frozen drinks and submarine sandwiches. The sandwiches were whatever, but the frozen fruit drinks were a lot of fun- more fast foody than a smoothie but heartier than an Icee. In June 2024 it was announced that the Santa Monica Pier food stall Mr. Nice Fry would begin selling eeggees for the first time outside of Arizona. No one at the pier appears to appreciate the provenance, so you do feel like an in the know Arizonan by ordering one. Just six months after announcing the Santa Monica location eeggee’s parent company filed for bankruptcy, making the future of the chain uncertain. For now, though, you can still get an eeggee in a variety of flavors at the pier.
Obscure Whipped Drink: Orange Bang at Mulberry St. Pizza
Mulberry Street Pizza in Beverly Hills has a number of things that make it unique; it’s the only casual restaurant on that stretch of Canon Drive, the walls are lined with celebrity head shots and boxing memorabilia, and each table comes stocked with a bottle of their signature hot olive oil and that day’s edition of the New York Post, for authenticity. However, it’s the vintage Orange Bang machine that’s kept me a customer for years. Orange Bang was developed in Sylmar in the 1970’s and uses a special dispensing fountain to mix up a whipped drink made from orange juice, low fat milk, and egg whites. Almost everywhere you go uses a more modern stainless steel dispenser that also features other drinks, but Mulberry Street has managed to hang on to its vintage machine dating to around the time of the company’s founding. Something about the orange juice sloshing around that big plastic tank just makes it taste better. The cashier told me it’s getting harder to find the old parts but that the owner is committed to keeping it. I love how a New York style pizza place is one of the last places you can get an authentic Southern California drink.
Obscure Club: The Adventurer’s Club
This isn’t technically a restaurant, but a visit does include dinner so I’m going to count it. The Adventurer’s Club of Los Angeles was incorporated in 1921 for men to gather and “share stories of unique and exotic adventures”. Past members and attendees of the national organization include Teddy Roosevelt and Walt Disney, who may have lifted a thing or two for Adventureland. It’s held on in a nearly unchanged configuration for over a century. Since 1994 the group’s clubhouse is the second floor of an old Masonic Temple in Lincoln Heights, absolutely packed with taxidermy, hunting trophies, and indigenous artifacts picked up from around the world. The club meets every Thursday with a ticketed dinner and lecture from an adventurer and/or member. These days they’re mostly glorified vacations. When I went attendees shared their most recent adventures like going on a sailing trip and sneaking into President Trump’s second inauguration. The whole thing is a time warp and the group is reluctant to change anything. In fact, they didn’t even allow female members until last year.
Lastly, here are two events we have in the works and both are free!
Free event this Saturday 11/15 featuring stories about Frank Zappa, folk art, and a hidden reggae archive.
I’ll explain more later but this is a feature length video program of homemade television scripts. It’s not streaming and you won’t see anything like it anywhere.
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