Friday, November 7, 1997
Gustatory ’50s flashback discovers tasty shakes
RESTAURANT: Nostalgic atmosphere makes up for average food
quality
By Aimee Phan
Daily Bruin Staff
Disco is not dead, and the punk ’80s live on in many people’s
hearts.
With the ’90s generation still looking for an identity of its
own, people have been retreating to the styles of old. This is seen
in fashion, flashback music and, most especially, restaurants.
One lasting staple of the ’50s generation is the Happy
Days-style diner. These nostalgic restaurants have always been
popular for their hamburger and french fry meals and cool retro
decor. Customers can listen to oldies and drink ice cream shakes
while immersing themselves in a time when poodle skirts and
lettermen jackets prevailed.
Cafe 50’s, a little diner on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Los
Angeles, is one of those nostalgic joints. And while the atmosphere
and decor feel very authentic and the service is friendly, the food
does not live up to its promise on the menu. Sadly, the decorations
proved to be far superior to the meals the restaurant had
offers.
Though distinguished by a hot pink sign bearing the restaurant’s
name, the hidden eatery is easy to miss.
Entering the small but comfortable restaurant, customers soak up
the atmosphere just by looking around. The walls and ceiling are
plastered with cheesy movie posters, pulp fiction magazine covers
and pictures of classic television shows. The shiny red vinyl
booths, spotless white tables and authentic jukebox are other
furnishings that are standard staples of classic diners.
There are plenty of choices for everyone on their giant menu.
From potato skins and salads to hamburgers, sandwiches and ice
cream shakes, Cafe 50’s has a great variety of dinner items and
even offers a selection of breakfast food served at any hour.
"Are you ready to rock and roll?" A very charming waitress asked
when taking the order. Dressed in an authentic baby pink waitress
uniform, she allowed ample time to mull over decisions on what to
order and showed great patience, approaching at least three times
before finally taking down the order.
However, the wait for the food took a little longer than
expected. The drinks and appetizers came at almost the same time as
the main courses, though the wait allowed 20 minutes to point and
laugh at the misogynistic movie posters. With titles like "The
Louisiana Hussy," the decorative ads feature big-chested women
staring seductively at customers in all their animated glory.
The appetizers finally arrived revealing sharp cheddar and bacon
potato skins that were a bit greasy and tough to chew. As a sneak
preview to the main course, the quality did not inspire
confidence.
Starting with the spinach salad, the large bowl accompanied with
an inadequate amount of ranch dressing proved to be fine, taking
away the oily aftertaste of the dry and crunchy potato skins. But
the leaves and spinach were fresh and light, as salad should
be.
Next came the main meal of a chili cheese turkey burger and
french fries. While the turkey burger wasn’t especially offensive,
it didn’t offer the spice or zing associated with a hearty chili.
The french fries were surprisingly cold as if the meal was left out
on the counter. This proved to be the low-light of the already dim
evening: eating food that seemed to have been left out and
ignored.
While the food wasn’t especially good, Cafe 50’s pulled through
with a great finale of milkshakes. The peanut butter cup shake made
with vanilla ice cream, peanut butter and swirled chocolate syrup
was smooth, chilly and filling while the chocolate turtle shake
with chocolate ice cream, butterscotch and chopped nuts proved to
be thick and creamy. The shakes were so rich that these could have
substituted for the meals themselves.
While the meal can not be described as altogether successful,
Cafe 50’s has a warm atmosphere of low-key genuine hospitality
blended with ’50s ambiance.