HISTORY

USC Friday Column Supplement: Restaurant Edition

RESTAURANTS OF THE WEEK

George Petrelli’s Steak House, Culver City, 1931

They also serve hamburgers.

Gary’s Bric Ramp, Burbank (Closed)

They used to have signs saying no cell phone calls allowed. And if someone used their phone, they would tell them to hang up. I went here once because it was a location for The Rockford Files.

Talk of the Town, Pasadena (Closed)

This was a hang out for the horse-racing crowd on Foothill Blvd.

Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant, Buena Park, 1934

Five Crowns Restaurant, Corona del Mar, 1936

Manuel’s Original El Tepeyac Cafe, Boyle Heights, 1942

Vince’s Spaghetti, Ontario, 1946

Cassell’s Hamburgers, Koreatown, 1948

La Chiquita Restaurant, Santa Ana, 1950

Giuliano’s Delicatessan, Gardena, 1952

85 thoughts on “USC Friday Column Supplement: Restaurant Edition”

      1. I miss pup n Taco Tebowobama. The grape and cherry slushies were the bomb I miss those days. Taco on a hot dog bun also. More bang for your buck coupons.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. The krinkle cut fries at Pup ‘N Taco were really good, but the chili was the best, way better than Weinerschitzel’s.

        Those slushies were great!

        You could feast for $5.00

        Liked by 1 person

      3. The Jolly Roger restaurant on Sepulveda in Manhattan Beach, it was the shape of a pirate ship

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      4. Anybody remember the Tumble In hamburger stand in Redondo Beach on Torrance Blvd. near PCH? It was a small stand, more like a shack that was run by two old ladies. Really good old school burgers, the Coca Colas were in a freezer type cooler.

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    2. I loved that restaurant —-when I was working at the Van Nuys Court House a couple of deputy city attorneys , one public defender and I drove around for a couple of hours trying to find the place. I could never remember what street it was on. [I still can’t remember —Sherman Way? Reseda Blvd]?
      btw, I hear tebow has clogged arteries. Maybe we could get him one or two of those quadruple Petrelli Cheeseburgers ….and a few orders of fries… and a double chocolate, double malted shake……

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    3. Scottie you left out Gullivers in Newport Beach across from John Wayne Airport. Went there on Christmas eve with my nephews. Still the bomb since the 70s

      Liked by 2 people

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    4. USC CB Calen Bullock is 180 lbs.

      ANOTHER MUNCHKIN!

      LMFAO!

      OH MY SIDE HURTS FROM LAUGHING SO MUCH!

      AHA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

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  2. John Wayne’s favorite restaurant in Newport Beach was The Arches on PCH near Newport Blvd. I believe it closed and then reopened (not sure if it’s the same as the original).

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    1. The Arches! Famous in the ’60’s. Great Burgers & Barbeque Beef sandwiches.
      #ButMostlyAnOlderClientele …
      #[NotAPlaceForYoungGuysToMeetYoungGals]…

      Liked by 2 people

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    1. I drive all the way from Irvine to Bell Gardens to get my Pioneer fix every know and then. Still like I remember when I was a kid growing up in the 70s and 80s.

      Liked by 1 person

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  4. How about the Hawthorne Grill? I think business fell off after the Pulp Fiction robbery. “Any of you f*cking pr*cks move and I’ll f*cking execute every last one of you!”

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  5. In Other News…does USC OL Brett Neilon represent the lollipop guild?

    Look at this munchkin, how the hell did he ever get a scholarship to play football…he’s a midget

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      2. And people wonder why USC’s offensive line is a turnstile with girl midgets like that blocking

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      3. Lawyer John — glad you pointed out the “articulate” part…. Brett is one of our smartest players, a real asset …
        #HeSureSoundsSmarterThanLastYear’sCoach,DonteWilliams

        Liked by 2 people

      4. LOL!

        THAT CLOWN ISN’T 6′ 2″!

        THE REPORTER’S ARE LOOKING DOWN ON HER!

        OH MY SIDE HURTS FROM LAUGHING SO MUCH!

        6′ 2″

        AHA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

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  6. Cook’s Corner 1926

    Wife doesn’t care for the grub, but I’m like an old dog…grateful for whatever’s put in front of me. (for the most part)

    Liked by 3 people

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  7. I’m really a sorry piece of shit. I’m so bad no one will even eat me. Ever. And yes I’m still a virgin. My mom won’t help me. Dammit

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  9. I will sneak in here once in a while, and since most posters go off-topic, allow me to ask why is it Will Smith’s wife is getting a pass in all this mess?—

    Will Smith was laughing at the “bald” joke, and then he saw the scowl on his wife’s face. It was a stupid joke, maybe even cruel, but it wasn’t delivered by comic Chris Rock in a mean way. He prefaced it by saying, “Jada, I love you.”– All 3 knew each other, having worked together before.

    So why couldn’t Jada have taken the joke gracefully, at least smile politely. I mean, the woman looked great, bald or not, so why should she care much. And her expression was not one of being hurt, but rather one of embarrassment that Rock brought up the subject. Hardly the kind of fodder that would justify Will Smith’s bizarre, and reputation-destroying assault and profanity laced warnings. I believe he misread his wife’s facial expression.

    Anyway, so sad. Our few heroes seem to be fewer and fewer these days.

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    1. Who knows what goes on in an open marriage? He’s ok with other men banging his wife, but not ok with someone making a joke about her. Go figure!

      F them both! Just goes to show money can’t buy class.

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    2. Will Smith was never my hero. There’s plenty of video of him shoving fans when all he needed to do is ask them to back off. The notion that he could walk all the way to the stage and smack the host and it would all be good with the Academy shows how outta touch he is. [If he had just screamed “fuck” from his seat he probably would have scuttled his career —but screaming ‘fuck’ combined with punching the host ends his time in Hollywood —and, funny thing, when he’s down and out, guess who’s gonna leave him]?

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      1. I don’t think it’ll end his career. He already started playing the victim and the majority of his crowd is making excuses for him, saying he was “defeding his woman”.

        He’ll have a timeout and come back in a year or so, mark my word.

        Liked by 2 people

      3. Hollywood is a joke. They think they are all that, and at the end of the day, they resort to wokey silliness or smacking each other around, and then the powers that be are too chicken to demand respect and civility. smdh.

        Liked by 2 people

      4. On second thought, you’re probably right So Cal. Smith’s publicist undoubtedly told him to resign the Academy (before they do it for him) and lay low for a year. After that he’ll do the apology tour on morning television —and the New York Time will say whatever comeback movie he makes in 2024 redeems him forever….

        Liked by 3 people

      5. …in the meantime every cable news station will stay with this story and suck it dry so they don’t have to address the disaster that Biden’s creating at the southern border and the gas pump….

        Liked by 2 people

      6. As you mentioned later, Michael, this guy is still somewhat bankable, and a producer will eventually pick him up for another movie sometime in the future.

        But his reputation has been permanently damned. He will never again be ‘Will Smith’ as we once naively knew him.

        Liked by 2 people

      7. Wow you must have missed his ground breaking work in Aladdin and Wild Wild West. The suspension of belief was suspended in suspense.
        Will Smith is the hero of Independence Day and the line survivor of a zombie movie. (Not sure if he actually survived I left early) I just love his disrespectful treatment of Robots, which caused them to rebel. I don’t know why people are down on him.

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  10. Cassel’s burgers…first time I ever had a burger from prime grade beef. And Petrelli’s is fantastic. A classic. And many more classics cited above.

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  11. TEBOWOBAMA- GREAT PICTURE OF THE THREE MUNCHKIN’S, BUT YOU DON’T HAVE IT RIGHT BRETT NEILON THE USC OFFENSIVE LINEMAN WOULD NOT FIT THE MUNCHKIN CLASSIFICATION. HOWEVER, UCLA BASKETBALL COACH-MICK CRONIN WOULD, AND HE IS A DEAD RINGER FOR THE MUNCHKIN SHOWN IN THE CENTER OF THE PICTURE.

    Liked by 3 people

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  12. Stearn’s BBQ in Venice, CA was the best bbq in the city at one time. Sadly, it is no longer in business.

    The Malibu Sea Lion was also excellent for fish, and at one time they use to have an actual Sea Lion pool in the front of the restaurant. Today, it is now called Duke’s the chain from Hawaii.

    Maria’s Italian Kitchens in the SF Valley are also quite good.

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  13. Women have made men do bad things for a long long time….. that being said Smith is a jerk. He resigned from the academy. Who gives a flying fuck ?? I don’t. And re Lt Colonel Alexander Vindman — what an arrogant fat fuck he is— every time I watch television he’s there talking the same crap over and over and over. Yeah. Ship him to Ukraine. He is just over the top full of himself let alone he wants to start world war three.

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    1. Vindman is that fat kid everybody beat up on in high school —naturally he’s a big hero to the dems….
      #Schift,Nadler,AOC,Warren,Harris,Pelosi,Joe&Jill….
      #TheDem’sWholeShowIsSoFuckedUp

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  14. The Malibu Sea Lion !!! A giant long piece of super delicious baked halibut in a creamy white sauce accompanied by a giant baked potato topped with gobs of golden cheese sauce and a great garden salad and for dessert a hot fudge sundae all for only $3.95. The ocean would come up and kiss the glass by your table. The days of yesteryear.

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    2. Don’t forget, the giant potato was baked in a clay mold. It was brought to the table and the clay was hammered off and the potato cleaned in front of you. There were about 15-20 items, brought out in a fancy cart, that the waiter could put on your potato including caviar. Definitely a big production and was the Sea Lion’s “signature” item.
      Thing I miss is their clam chowder, best I have ever had.

      Liked by 2 people

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  16. Hello 1967. As you can see ROBIN is gone. Gone forevermore. She had no credibility. She had no soul. The world will be a better place without her. Again I’m sorry for the harm she caused you. I tried to control her but I just couldn’t. Farewell ROBIN my old friend. Hello BION until then…….

    Liked by 1 person

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  17. Will Smith should be banned from ever attending the Academy Awards. A real man would have squared up, and discussed the issues one on one after the Academy Awards was over it. The trouble with Hollywood actors, and pro athletes today they have no respect for the organizations that made them stars, and believe they are on top of everything including the laws and ethical standards of modern day society.

    Liked by 4 people

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    1. Mike’s Total Solution Department: Will and Chris need to finish their fight on Pay Per View —the winner gets to declare whether Russia keeps Crimea.

      Liked by 1 person

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  19. My dear 1967. I’m confused. Are you clinging to the possibility that I might be ol Charlie ?? I mean. Like. I heard he kicked the bucket!!! And I’m giving you a big clue there brother.

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  20. Don’t be scared Michael. Ol Charlie gonna try and protect you. On the other hand maybe that’s why you’re scared bro. And there are lots of ghosts floating around the blog too. Still. We have to get into the spirit of the moment. Gee. I’m giving 1967 too many clues. You hep bro?? You dig bro ??

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  21. Agreed -Michael G…………….A Las Vegas Main Event Fight at Caesar’s Palace between Will Smith and Chris Rock is a logical solution. Sadly, it would definitely be a sell out, and even members of the Academy will probably attend the circus. My money would be on Chris Rock he can really take alot of punches, and I hear he has a tremendous left jab that he pulls out for the final knock out. Will Smith is soft just like the USC offensive line in recent years.

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  22. Vinces spaghetti is such a simple restaurant, yet dishes out tons of pasta monthly to this day. Not the best of all time, but you sure get your money’s worth.
    Anyone ever go to Chris and Pitts BarBQ?

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      1. Dick Websters on La Cienega Blvd. south of Wilshire Blvd. ln
        Beverly Hills adjacent. Best Lemon Pie and cinnamon rolls.

        Liked by 2 people

    3. Thanks Steve Craig 49 for mentioning Chris n Pits. I went to the one in whittier about a month ago.
      There are still 3 left. Downey, Whittier and Bellflower. They closed all the ones in Orange County years ago. So I have to drive to L.A. county just like Pioneer chicken to get my fix. Lol

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    4. I’m filled with remorse (the real kind —not the Will Smith kind) …but… my bad influence UCLA girlfriend and I used to regularly rip off the Chris and Pitts in W. L. A.—- we’d go in, order up, enjoy the food and leave by the back door into the Marie Calendar’s parking lot…..
      #I’mStillTryingToAtoneForTheSinsCommittedDuringThatCourtship

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      1. Well, Bruins do get the taxpayers to pay for their education, so not surprised she coerced you into it. 😉

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      2. Michael,

        Confession time on that my friend. It is one of the standard 10 Commandments, I think if is Number 5, Thou shall not steal. I went to confession in the monring on 4/2/22.

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  24. The wife & I just enjoyed Pinks from the Brea Mall. So glad they save us the drive to the Homeless Capitol of the USA.

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  27. Scooter, when you are gonna cover Chinese restuarants? One of my favorits’e of all time was in China Town, and it was called Golden Pagoda. They had the bar on the first floor and the dining area on the second floor. There was a waiter that my mom just had to have and his name was Bing. She would not be served until Bing came over and became the waiter. Great food.

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