I picked Golden Petal Spiral mainly because of the dual nature of the image. If you read the title of today’s post you can probably see why that would be important to me here. If not, I guess you’ll have to read on…-
Since moving to the Inland Empire, the Baroness--my Lady Robyn and I have resolved that we will be more adventurous. We’re not going to allow ourselves to fall into the same old rut. We’re going to try new restaurants and order different things on the menu. (Yes, my lady-love and I became rather stodgy and complacent during our time in the O.C.) We’ve tried a number of new places (new to us at least) but two have stuck out in our minds--mainly because neither one has been open that long. (If I’m wrong, someone please feel free to correct me!)
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What does that have to do with anything I hear you cry? (Yes, I’m hearing voices again..) Opening a restaurant is always an “iffy” proposition at best and in these uncertain times it’s almost crazy. Still, two businessmen dared to try and make their dream come true, risking losing their shirts in the process. I’ve got to give these dudes props for cojones if nothing else. Betty Fay’s Café and The Twisted Gourmet are located on opposite ends of Main Street in Corona and are about as far apart as they can be on the culinary spectrum so comparing and contrasting the two places seemed like a good idea to me. NOW on with the rant!
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Robyn and I had seen The Twisted Gourmet since we moved out to the O.C. and I knew I HAD to try the place. (Come on people! It had “twisted“ in the name: you know it was a foregone conclusion that I‘d eat there.) We showed up at the dot of noon one Monday in early November and the place was empty. (Never a good sign.) For a moment I thought I was back in Orange County: the décor was “Industrial” (polished concrete floors, dark-painted walls, exposed duct work, smallish tables with metal chairs that could have been more comfortable. The waitress greeted us with nothing more than a “how many?” (Maybe she thought we were the advance of a larger group.) We were conducted to our table: the waitress dropped our menus and promptly evaporated. She popped up a few minutes later to take our order but never asked if we had questions about the menu. (When I DID ask a question her reply was rather brief but not outright rude.) The service throughout the meal could best be described as desultory. (If you don’t know what the word means look it up.)
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Our food was EXCELLENT and abundant. All the ingredients were fresh and high quality (and I didn’t walk away hungry. The wine list was small but varied and looked good (to my “non drinker” eye) and they had a nice array of deserts (which I didn’t try because the appetizer and sandwich filled me up.) I really enjoyed our appetizer of Pepperoni Chips (which I‘d never seen anywhere else) and I’m sure anything that came out of their kitchen would be delicious. Still, I left feeling vaguely unsatisfied. Good as the food was I didn’t feel particularly welcome and I didn’t feel appreciated as a customer. I may eat there again but I feel no overwhelming need to go back to the place nor do I feel a need to recommend it to others.
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Robyn and I visited Betty Faye’s Café for Saturday lunch and I felt like I’d taken a giant step backward into my childhood. I was overwhelmed by a sense of déjà vu as I glanced around at the tan-and turquoise flowered wallpaper, the western-style decorations put up here and there and the K-FROG playing country music (not too loudly) in the background. I could have been at any number of Cafes or Coffee Shops from Brawley California to Bunkie Louisiana that dotted the landscape of my childhood memory. As soon as I walked in I knew the kind of food and treatment I was going to get. The food was going to be of “epic” proportions and of a certain quality. (They were advertising a “hog slab breakfast” as one of the specials. How could I not?)
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We were greeted by a smiling hostess who took us to a table, dropped menus and took our drink orders. (There is one significant difference between Betty Faye’s and the coffee shops of my childhood: the tables and chairs are wooden--not Formica and plastic-uphols
tered chrome.) Our server didn’t introduce himself (but they never would in the Coffee Shops of old) but he was quick to take our order, answer questions about the menu and the restaurant. He even made menu suggestions. I found him a bit “touch-y” for myself (but then again, I’m not a touchy-feely sort of person) but he wasn’t improper in any way. (I just don’t like being touched by strangers.)-
Robyn’s Grilled Beef and Cheese Sandwich was well-packed with thin-sliced meat and Cheddar Cheese. It came with a “mess o’ fries” (my description, not theirs) that were good hot but got pretty gross when they cooled off. (Still, have you ever known a cold French Fry NOT to be gross?) My Meat Loaf “lunch” (the place isn‘t open for dinner--but they serve breakfast until closing) came swimming in brown gravy. There was a LOT of meat loaf that reminded me of what I’d have gotten in a Coffee Shop as a kid. It was tasty but there was a bit too much gravy and I could have done with some mushrooms in the gravy (but no Coffee Shop of my youth would have served it that way.) The accompanying mashed potatoes were real--not reconstituted from a box. (I actually LIKE slightly lumpy mashed potatoes: that way I know they’re real.) The accompanying vegetable (green beans) had been left to sit on a steam table too long so they were kind of mushy and had lost most of their flavor. (Still, I pretty much expected this from the get-go.) The coffee could put hair on your chest, (tongue, the bottom of your feet…) but it wasn’t burnt and I didn’t need to add sugar. (My server even asked if I needed cream rather than leaving me to ask.)
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The food here is hardly a revelation but it is a fine example of it’s oeuvre. (It IS a fine example of Coffee Shop Cuisine: “foodies should probably avoid the place.) The service was fast and friendly and Robyn and I left planning our next visit. My “artsy-fartsy friends and the hyper health-conscious would want to avoid the place but anyone seeking “comfort” food in a “cozy” place would enjoy it.
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There are so many factors in opening a restaurant. I’m no expert (never having opened a business) but it seems to me both places have some serious strikes against them. For a place The Twisted Gourmet to succeed it needs a lot of traffic. A mini mall in a mostly residential neighborhood is going to be a hard sell. (They don‘t even have a major store to help attract potential customers) Betty Faye’s Café is on a major street and in a decent-sized shopping center. Too bad that shopping center’s anchor store is Mervyn’s (which closes in less than a month) and it isn’t clearly visible from the street. Betty Faye’s “unique” schedule may be a strike against it as well. Still, I wish both places much luck and hope they make a go of it.
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