frank's coffeeshop - burbank , ca
i had eyeballed frank's for a few months before i stepped inside .
frank's is in a non - habitable portion of burbank . i sped down victory boulevard , made a hard right on red without stopping and then a u - turn in the middle of the street , ending in a perfectly landed perfectly parallel park .
whew . that means its break fast time . saturdays are made for feeding the monkey . and frank's makes monkey chow . through the double glass doors , i could see that it was typically weekend crowded with people . old people . sitting in booths . so , i sat at the counter .
frank's is a nice spot . its clean , friendly enough and the counter staff , which includes the aforementioned proprietor , frank .
within two minutes of landing on the vinyl topped 1950's stlye stool i was handed a cup of coffee and a big menu . frank's has it all , though i went straight for the chicken fried steak and eggs . although i was tempted by another diner's patty melt . plus he had the newspaper . i'm a reader and an eater .
looking around frank's is like looking thru a really clean crystal ball into the past . you can see the gold on pearlescent wallpaper and see all the patrons as they once were .
just then as i was in my midday - day dreaming of yesteryear i was interrupted by a good question : " vaht dew oo vant ? "
"mm" , i replied .
"hunh ?" she seemed to say with a peculiar verbalization .
"chickenfriedsteakandeggswiththehashbrownswelldone ( gasp ) andanenglishmuffinandorangemarmaladepleasethankyou ."
to my surprise , the waitress got what i was trying to say .
in the next ten minutes : half of the restaurant left and another half of a restaurant came in . another customer had a slice of birthday pie brought to them by the whole staff while singing . and i was served breakfast using more plates than thanksgiving at my mother's house .
the steak was genuine , thick and more than half the plate . that alone almost made up for being in ninety degree burbank . hashbrowns were cooked to order : nice - n - crispy eggs were just right - over medium and served on a little egg plate .
my only complaint at frank's coffeeshop is : there is no orange marmalade to be found anywhere . am i really the only one who prefers orange marmalade on an english muffin ? los angeles is full up to the brim of limeys - so where the hell is my marmalade ?!!
total score out of a perfect five mishaco's :
next time i'm bringing my own jam .
