A British tourist and a local find the best diner breakfast in Los Angeles
"Food Wars" hosts Harry Kersh and Joe Avella travel across Los Angeles to find the best diner breakfast in the city. They'll be visiting three different locations in just one day to see what the city has to offer. This is "Food Tours."
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00:00A beautiful sunny day in Los Angeles and here we are at Nick's Cafe.
00:05Yeah, I really brought the weather with me. I'm sorry about that one.
00:07That's okay.
00:08Alright, here's the game plan. Today I'm taking you to three of the best diners in Los Angeles, alright?
00:13Nick's, another famous LA institution. Inside, they only have 25 seats around the counter.
00:18The wait is currently about 10 people deep and I want to eat now, so we've got this table instead.
00:23That works. Wonder why no one was sitting out here today.
00:25Yeah, I don't know why.
00:30Yeah, I'm sad that we're not fully experiencing the ambience, but like we've had a look around inside.
00:34It's a really cool spot. Only 25 seats. Why is this such a popular spot?
00:38This has been here since 1948 and it's pretty largely been untouched the whole time it's been here.
00:43Opened, unsurprisingly, by a gentleman named Nick.
00:45Nick eventually sold it to two homicide detectives, so this became the hangout for police and Department of Water and Power employees.
00:52Okay.
00:53So they kept this place going through all the hard times.
00:55Fed up of cracking cases, wanted to crack eggs instead.
00:59Yeah, exactly.
01:00It's the place to go.
01:00Yeah.
01:01That has like its own like, not a sitcom, but a TV show.
01:03Like two cops, they're sick of the hard cop lifestyle, so they open this diner.
01:07Yet, for some reason, every week they get pulled into a case.
01:10Some murders keep happening.
01:11To say, here's a little more coffee.
01:12This guy will be like, man, I tell you, this string of burglaries, nobody can solve.
01:15And the guy's like, puts his hat on.
01:18Yeah.
01:19I'd watch that. That'd be cool.
01:20They're known for doing diner classics, but elevating them, the thing we got to try today is Nick's famous ham and eggs.
01:26Okay.
01:26So it's bone-in ham, hand-carved, brown sugar glaze.
01:30That sounds good.
01:30We have a lot of like, ham, egg, and chips in the UK, or gammon, egg, and chips in the UK.
01:35Really interested to see like, the American spin on that.
01:38Again, this has appeared in a lot of TV shows, like NCIS, Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
01:42Okay.
01:43Great shows. Cop shows, by the way.
01:44Keeping the cop theme going, yeah.
01:45Keeping the cop theme going.
01:46I'm a Brooklyn Nine-Nine guy, so that's exciting.
01:47I actually love that show. It's actually very funny.
01:49It's really funny.
01:50We're going to do an order of the famous ham and eggs.
01:53And then I also want to do the huevos rancheros.
01:56And then you want to try biscuits and gravy?
01:57Yeah, please. Just biscuits and gravy.
02:00Any other specialties you think we should try here?
02:01I mean, you got pretty much the good hitters.
02:03Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:04So we figured, yeah, yeah.
02:05Awesome. Well, then we got the top three.
02:06Awesome.
02:08All right. So you've been in America for 10 days now.
02:11How's Los Angeles been treating you?
02:12It's been good.
02:12I've spent a lot of time in cars.
02:14Yeah.
02:14I kind of expected that.
02:15Went to the Griffith Observatory yesterday.
02:17Oh, what'd you think?
02:18Which is pretty cool.
02:18It is cool, right?
02:19Great view.
02:20Got kind of lucky with the parking as well.
02:22No way!
02:23Rolled up.
02:23I told you, I told you.
02:26Lovely with the parking.
02:27You warned us off it.
02:28Kind of sorted us out.
02:29So you got a good spot.
02:30We did.
02:31That's like, honestly, one thing about Los Angeles is getting a
02:35great spot where you're going is like as celebrated as anything
02:38else you're doing that night.
02:40When people will be like, dude, I'm parked right in front.
02:41It's like, wow!
02:43That itself is its own reward.
02:45I'm not kidding.
02:46Cherish that.
02:46We've been really lucky so far.
02:47Cherish that.
02:48Yeah.
02:49That's great.
02:50Hey.
02:51Yeah, just put it right here.
02:56Yes.
02:58Yeah, just put it over here.
02:59Yeah, we'll split.
03:01Oh my God.
03:02I'm going to eat the **** out of this.
03:03Are you kidding me?
03:04All right.
03:05I can't even wait.
03:05I got time for another piece of ham.
03:07That looks ridiculous.
03:08How big is that leg of ham?
03:10Is this how big ham legs get?
03:11I guess so.
03:13Maybe at the upper part.
03:14Yeah, this might be of a person.
03:16They might have wanted a man for sport for this.
03:18And I'm all for it.
03:19Huevos Rancheros.
03:21You got eggs, meat and beans in there.
03:22And they're going to have like their own like Mexican.
03:23Oh, got like chilies underneath.
03:25Yeah, dude.
03:26So would you put this kind of in the like Tex-Mex style of
03:29cooking, I guess?
03:30So I would.
03:31To me, Tex-Mex is basically Mexican food that feels like
03:34it's been a bit Americanized.
03:35And that's not a diss to it.
03:37Right?
03:38The beef is like so tender.
03:41Are you kidding me?
03:42That's so amazing.
03:43There's cheese on top.
03:44Oh my God.
03:45You got like the hard cheese.
03:46There's like some American kind of orangey cheese as well.
03:49Save some room because this ham is no joke.
03:52Here's the opposite.
03:52So they hand carve it.
03:54It has a brown sugar glaze.
03:57It's absolutely fantastic.
03:59I got like a real like maple syrup sweetness to that.
04:02It's got brown sugar glaze to it.
04:04Try these hashbrowns.
04:04I know it just looks like regular hashbrowns.
04:05I will do, yeah.
04:07Wow, yeah.
04:07It's just like shreds of potato.
04:08Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:11I personally like the shreds because I feel that the potato
04:14gets cooked more.
04:15It's not as like thicker, as denser, so you can eat it a lot
04:17faster.
04:18You get a lot of more, there's a crispy flavor on the outside.
04:20Yeah, I really love the shredded.
04:22Yeah, more room for browning.
04:23Yeah, the huevos rancheros is sensational.
04:26That's incredible.
04:27Like very different to anything that you would find on a British
04:30cafe menu.
04:31I will say that.
04:32Oh, yeah.
04:32I'm going to try the salsa as well.
04:33Homemade salsa.
04:35I mean the ham here, you know, they do it right because the
04:38signage is all pig stuff.
04:40But yeah, there's like the open sign is a little outline of
04:42a pig.
04:43So, I mean, you know, there's something right when they're
04:45like pig is here.
04:48Now you got to save room because we also have brisket and
04:50gravy, something you have very little experience with, right?
04:53Very little experience with this.
04:54Do you know what actually is like in American-style gravy?
04:57So there's sausage in this gravy.
04:58I should mention that.
04:59Sure.
04:59Now when they mix that with flour, it almost creates like
05:02this.
05:02I think the word is a roux, like a thick sauce.
05:05Yes.
05:05And that causes for the color.
05:06There's also milk in there as well.
05:08Sure.
05:09So I think the best way to describe it is it's a sausage
05:12gravy.
05:13Yeah.
05:13I mean, I don't hate the concept.
05:15Yeah.
05:15And these are on biscuits which are kind of like scones.
05:18No, no, no, no, no, no.
05:19There's nothing like scones.
05:20Okay.
05:21They look a lot like scones.
05:23This is so good.
05:23You're gonna love it.
05:24Oh God, you're gonna love it.
05:27Right?
05:29What do you think?
05:30Yeah, not like a scone.
05:31Yeah, I know not like a scone.
05:32I'm telling you and all of your UK counterparts, for four
05:36years now, it's not a scone.
05:39It's a lot more like, like bready.
05:41Yeah, and butterier.
05:42Uh-huh.
05:42Right?
05:42Buttery and bready.
05:43Yeah.
05:44But with the gravy?
05:45Yeah, I think it needs the gravy because they are quite dry
05:48on their own.
05:48But the gravy is good, really flavorful.
05:50You do get that like pork sausage taste from it.
05:52Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
05:54And the American sausage, they're like spicier.
05:55I feel weird telling you like our sausage is spicier.
05:59I don't want to imply that like it has like a heat to it.
06:01There's just more of a spice flavor to it than most of the
06:04sausages I had over in the UK.
06:06I think maybe the baseline is pretty plain in the UK.
06:08Okay.
06:09You can easily find very flavorful herby sausages, but.
06:13Gotcha.
06:13Yeah.
06:13Let me ask you a question.
06:14You ever heard of the term diner lingo?
06:16No, I have not.
06:17What's that?
06:18So diner lingo was kind of this thing where diners would
06:22abbreviate things because you just like shout orders a lot.
06:25So different like nicknames for dishes or for things related
06:27to food and just kind of took off.
06:29And it was popular for a while, but I honestly I don't think
06:31anyone does it anymore.
06:33I'll give you some diner lingo.
06:34I find on Wikipedia.
06:35You tell me what you think it is.
06:36Okay, first thing.
06:37Crackleberries.
06:40No idea.
06:41Eggs.
06:42Oh, this one's good.
06:44You ask someone to burn the British.
06:46Oh, cup of tea.
06:50Toast English muffins.
06:51Sure.
06:51Yeah.
06:52Dog soup.
06:53That doesn't sound appetizing.
06:55Coffee.
06:56Water.
06:57Oh God.
06:58Frog sticks.
07:00It's gonna make sense when I tell you what it is and it's
07:02a bit rude.
07:02French toast sticks.
07:03Close.
07:04French fries.
07:05Hey, there are things not mine.
07:07Sorry.
07:08Irish cherries.
07:11No idea.
07:11Carrots.
07:12What?
07:13Would never have gotten that one.
07:15This next one's so stupid.
07:16Nervous pudding.
07:17Hey, give me a slice of the nervous pudding.
07:19Maybe I'm talking about that.
07:21I'm trying to like do the mental math in my head to get
07:23that.
07:24If something's nervous, what is it doing?
07:27Shaking milkshake.
07:28No, called Jell-O.
07:31Shingles with a shimmy and a shake.
07:33By the way, I'll tell you what this is.
07:34And this is why this I know why this slang didn't last.
07:37Okay.
07:37So you go, give me a shingles with a shimmy and a shake.
07:39You're asking for?
07:40I don't want to eat shingles.
07:42Okay.
07:42Buttered toast with jam, which is way shorter.
07:46Well, you can't give something a nickname to be longer.
07:48Way harder to say.
07:49That's why the Cogney rhyming slang is up the apples and
07:51pears.
07:52Just stairs.
07:52Just say stairs.
07:53Yeah.
07:53Yeah.
07:54Yeah.
07:55Slang doesn't work if it's longer.
07:56If it takes more time.
07:57Period.
07:57If it's longer, doesn't work.
07:59I got to say, I think the perfect bite of this plate.
08:02Yeah.
08:03One of the best bites of food I've actually had on this
08:05trip so far.
08:06The entire trip.
08:07The entire trip.
08:08Not just the upside.
08:09Yeah, that is a fantastic dish.
08:11High praise.
08:13And do anyone watching this out of order?
08:15We haven't done the taco episode yet.
08:18Not that I was expecting, you know, poor quality food.
08:21Yeah.
08:21But I think the preconception with places like diners, with
08:24cafes in the UK, anywhere with just like a really big menu.
08:28Yeah.
08:28Is that maybe they end up like stretching themselves a little
08:30bit thin.
08:31They're cooking a lot of stuff, but they're not doing it like
08:33super well.
08:34However, this is kind of changed my perception on that.
08:36Sensational mouthful.
08:38Yeah.
08:38One of the best things I've eaten in LA full stop so far.
08:40Yeah.
08:41Yeah.
08:41I mean, I'm only taking it to the bangers, baby.
08:44I'm only taking it to the winners.
08:45We are finding the best in Los Angeles, not the worst.
08:48Obviously, just the two of us having our own bro brunch.
08:51We could just stay here all day, finish our place, head back
08:54to your Airbnb, watch a little Fast and Furious.
08:57Wow.
08:58But unfortunately, we are contractually obligated to continue
09:02filming this very episode and I have another diner I want to
09:05take you to.
09:05Okay.
09:06Yeah, I've saved some room.
09:07I think we should go.
09:08Let's go.
09:09We're going to go check out Hollywood Boulevard.
09:11You'll see some stars in the ground.
09:13We're not getting out.
09:14Sure.
09:15A little rainy for that.
09:16Yeah, you'll get the vibe, I guess.
09:19Not going to put anyone on blast, but when you walk down
09:21you'll see some names.
09:21You're like, really?
09:22This guy?
09:22Like who?
09:23Yeah, a little bit of who and a little bit of like, man,
09:25they're giving them to anyone.
09:26It seems like.
09:28In theory, if I were rich enough, could I get a star?
09:31I think you also have to be like.
09:33I'm Harry from Food Wars.
09:34I think I qualify for Hollywood fame.
09:36There he is getting his own star.
09:38Doing the like superhero landing post.
09:40Yeah, you know, what's also interesting about it is that
09:42there's different categories.
09:44So movies, television, recording music, broadcasting, maybe
09:47a few others.
09:48And if you excel at more than one of those, you get a separate
09:52star for it.
09:53Like Michael Jackson has, I think, three.
09:55He definitely has two, possibly three.
09:58What are they adding?
09:58A category for niche internet micro-celebrities?
10:01That is so funny.
10:02Geez, isn't that a squares on the sidewalks of Los Angeles
10:06to contain all the YouTube stars that potentially could be
10:10on it.
10:10That's so funny.
10:11Could be you and me right next to like Addison Rae, dude.
10:14I don't know who that is.
10:16Who's that?
10:18This is the Saugus Cafe, which is the oldest restaurant in
10:23this county.
10:24Been here for over a hundred years, since 1886.
10:28That's over a hundred years, right?
10:29Yes.
10:30Yes.
10:31It was originally called the Saugus Eating House and it was
10:34connected to a train depot across the street.
10:37You saw the train tracks were pulling in here.
10:38So they picked it up and moved it over here or something.
10:41And anyway, what do you think of the vibe?
10:44I'm liking it.
10:45Yeah, 1886, did you say?
10:46This is, by your standards, very old.
10:49Doesn't feel super, super old, but it feels like retro, a
10:52little bit like stepping back in time.
10:53Ex-president Theodore Roosevelt ate here once, had the New York
10:56Steak and said it was splendid.
10:58Okay, Big Teddy.
10:59If it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me.
11:02Possibly in this booth.
11:03I feel like this is probably a spot that someone campaigning
11:07through this area would go.
11:09Institution, Santa Clarita.
11:11Salt of the earth people eat here.
11:13That's why I took you here.
11:14I definitely am feeling salty after all the American food
11:16I've been eating.
11:17Yeah, that's right.
11:17On this trip so far.
11:18Well, I got some bad news.
11:20Oh, yeah?
11:21This might be the saltiest day today.
11:23Let's go.
11:25So here's what I think we should get.
11:26First of all, New York Steak and Eggs.
11:28I mean, that's Roosevelt's order of choice.
11:30Also, the Chicken Fried Steak.
11:33What is that?
11:34It's fried chicken.
11:35No, it's a steak that's fried like chicken.
11:36Okay, sure.
11:37I wasn't ever sure what the chicken fried bit was referring
11:40to. You know fried chicken?
11:42I do, yes.
11:43It's that, but inside is a steak.
11:44Okay.
11:46And then I'm thinking, well, let's get side of bacon, side
11:48of sausage.
11:49We got eggs.
11:50So we got that covered.
11:51I was getting hash browns with the steak and eggs, probably
11:54with the chicken fried steak as well.
11:56So the pretty healthy meal, right?
11:57A couple cups of coffee.
11:58Yeah, it seems like a sort of normal way to start your day.
12:01Now, I wanted to give you kind of a little bit of a taste
12:04of different diners you can get in Los Angeles.
12:06Also, these three said yes.
12:09Crucially.
12:10So if there's any other diner that may or may not involve a
12:13big boy named Bob, we asked.
12:17Bob said no.
12:18Diners in LA, they kind of tie in like food, culture, history,
12:23community.
12:24So yeah, they are kind of a big deal here and I wish I could
12:26take you to more, but a lot of them don't have email.
12:29Yeah, it seems like an old school vibe.
12:31Yeah, you would think when you go in there, like, I'm the
12:33guy from food tours.
12:34They're like, oh, sir, right this way.
12:36No, but they're not.
12:36They're actually like, what is any of that?
12:40I guess our closest equivalent would just be kind of like
12:42a cafe or like a greasy spoon type of vibe when we have
12:44the English breakfasts in London.
12:46Sure.
12:46That's probably like about as close as you're getting to
12:48a diner experience.
12:49I will say those are much more focused on breakfast.
12:53Don't tend to be open late, which I gather is kind of a
12:56diner thing in the US.
12:57Yeah, some of them are 24 hours.
12:59Yeah.
12:59Yeah, breakfast, lunch, dinner.
13:00The menus are very different though.
13:01You wouldn't really be seeing things like chicken fried
13:03steak on the menu and a greasy spoon, for example.
13:06Just about every diner you go to, the menu is like, they
13:10got amazing breakfast and they've got killer burgers and
13:13they also have pizza.
13:14Do you like pasta?
13:15They got that too.
13:18Pad Thai, maybe.
13:20If people are willing to buy it, we've got it.
13:22A full bar.
13:24Did we mention Mexican food?
13:25Got that too.
13:26You know, that is a good point.
13:28They'll do just about anything.
13:30Sure.
13:31Yeah.
13:31I think that speaks to the skill of the chefs who work
13:34at these places that they can just pick any cuisine and
13:36be like, yeah, I can do that and make a passable one.
13:39It's completely fine.
13:40It's funny coming to a diner having only really experienced
13:42them so far through Hollywood.
13:44Yeah, it's funny you mentioned that.
13:45I'll use Quentin Tarantino as an example.
13:48Spent a lot of time in diners and then at least his first
13:52two movies, no, first three movies have key scenes, multiple
13:55scenes that take place in a diner, right?
13:57There's a lot of diner stuff in that.
13:58Diner culture really is in Hollywood a lot because I feel
14:01that that is directly related to a lot of people who make
14:04movies who live in Hollywood, got a lot of time on their
14:06hands, get sick of being in the studio apartments, go to
14:09a diner to kind of clear their head and maybe write and
14:11just get all you can drink coffee and kind of hang out.
14:15Hey, food's here.
14:17Fantastic.
14:18Yes, awesome.
14:20That is a thick steak.
14:22This is what I'm talking about.
14:24If I'm doing the ordering this whole time, ordering bacon
14:26the way I want it, I can already tell they did a possibly
14:30perfect job of exactly how I want it.
14:31It's crispy.
14:32It's dry.
14:33This is how you know.
14:38Right?
14:39Right?
14:41It's almost more like a pork scratching.
14:44Okay, so talk me through what we've got here, Joe.
14:46That's a steak.
14:46Those are eggs, right?
14:48Sausage.
14:49Possibly perfect bacon.
14:51You got the chicken fried steak.
14:52I got the like shredded hash browns.
14:54You got home fries.
14:55Home fries.
14:55Yeah, everyone kind of does their potatoes differently.
14:59This is more common.
15:00I love the shredded and just kind of like cooked on the
15:02grill says the crispy, I guess, shell.
15:05With hash browns, if you order them in the UK, it's much
15:07more likely to be the kind of discs like the McDonald's
15:09style of hash browns.
15:10Whereas this just looks like a big kind of massive shredded
15:13potato that they cook.
15:14Yes, sir.
15:14Look at that.
15:15They shred it and just heap it on the grill.
15:17I need you to help me with my egg literacy.
15:20Sure.
15:20In the UK, you ask for a fried egg.
15:22Yes, maybe a poached egg.
15:24Yeah, boiled egg.
15:25Okay, or scrambled eggs.
15:27We have no concept of like over easy or sunny side up or
15:30all these things.
15:31Can you give me a quick rundown of what these are?
15:33I think I ordered over easy.
15:35You did.
15:35Sunny side up.
15:36This is the sunny side and it's up.
15:38It's pretty much you're cracking the egg on the grill,
15:39letting it cook.
15:41Over easy is this, but moments before it's ready to go,
15:45they flip it.
15:46So yolk is inside.
15:47Yep, but they cook it on both sides, but they pretty much
15:49get it to where it's almost this and then they flip it
15:53just so like the kind of encasing it in there.
15:55So I should still have a runny yolk.
15:56Yeah.
15:56Yeah, the runny yolks inside of it.
15:57Yeah.
15:58Oh boy.
15:59This is like I'm learning a lot.
16:00Oh man, you're gonna love it.
16:01Yeah.
16:02I've never had a chicken fried steak before.
16:04I'm still slightly confused as to what it is.
16:06Gonna get my iron for the day.
16:07Yeah, it's on the pink side, still mooing.
16:11How do you think Teddy Roosevelt wanted it cooked?
16:14I would think that he probably got it about this.
16:15This would be the Teddy Roosevelt cook.
16:17I mean, he was a world explorer, right?
16:20Not afraid of a little blood?
16:21Nuh-uh.
16:24How's your chicken fried steak, my man?
16:25Intriguing.
16:28It's pretty tasty.
16:29Yeah?
16:30Yeah, it tastes good.
16:31I'm not getting much steak flavor from that.
16:34I think it also might just be because it's covered in this
16:36gravy.
16:36Yeah.
16:36And a lot of what I'm tasting is the gravy.
16:38Well, I was surprised to find out that you don't have that
16:39kind of gravy and you guys only have breakfast gravy in
16:41general, right?
16:43So I want you when you're ready to try some of the sausage.
16:46The sausage is great.
16:47Remember during the UK one, several times I was like,
16:50American sausage tastes different than UK sausage?
16:52You did.
16:53Has more of a distinct spice flavor to it.
16:57That's not a glass of wine.
16:58Just eat it.
17:01What sausage in the UK tastes like?
17:02It tastes closer to that.
17:04I don't mean this in a bad way.
17:05McDonald's breakfast sausage.
17:06Yeah, of course.
17:07Yeah.
17:07Mm-hmm.
17:08That's like very, very similar flavor palette to that.
17:11And then you get the bread, you dip it in the yolk, get it
17:13going.
17:14Boom.
17:15There you go.
17:15Yeah, that's a perfect egg.
17:17I think we should swap bites of steaks.
17:20A1 steak sauce, almost like an American version of HP sauce,
17:23right?
17:24Like kind of savory.
17:25Yes, but not, I mean, I've had both.
17:26They're not very close.
17:27We'll find out in a second.
17:28Try a little bit.
17:28No.
17:30Yeah.
17:31Yeah.
17:32Ooh.
17:32Yeah.
17:33It's got a tang to it, right?
17:35It is the premier steak sauce, super popular, been around
17:38since the 80s.
17:40It's like, it's if you go to a place that serves steak,
17:42there's going to be A1 on the table.
17:43No question.
17:44Absolutely love A1.
17:45Yeah, I like that actually.
17:46I actually don't think it's got as strong a taste as HP
17:49sauce, but I quite like that because I find HP can really
17:51overwhelm meats sometimes.
17:53I guarantee that's in your, how your grocery stores have
17:58like an American aisle.
18:00Next to the Fluff and the Gushers, I guarantee there's
18:02an A1, a bottle of A1.
18:04So, I mean, not too hard to find.
18:05I will say like, it's a lot of food.
18:07Is it common to eat like a diner breakfast?
18:09Yeah, yeah, yeah.
18:10Yeah, it's very common.
18:11Yeah.
18:11Big plate of food.
18:12You know, they do feed you at a diner and they're also giving
18:14a lot of bread, a lot of meat, and a lot of potatoes, which
18:17is like sleeping pill on top of sleeping pill on sleeping
18:19pill, for me personally.
18:21I don't eat a ton of potatoes and bread and meat and I'm
18:23like, let's get this day started.
18:24I ate that and I'm like, all right.
18:26Back to bed.
18:27Exactly.
18:28It's hibernation season.
18:29So other people apparently can eat this well and then go
18:32work.
18:32I certainly can't.
18:33So for me, I only really hit the diners on the weekends or
18:36late at night.
18:37That makes sense.
18:38Yeah.
18:38Yeah.
18:38Another thing I've seen in films, TV, free refills all
18:42the time.
18:43All the time.
18:43Is that a thing?
18:44It's rare to have less than half a half a cup of coffee at
18:48your table.
18:49If you're still eating, they'll keep filling up, keep filling
18:50up, keep filling it up.
18:51I want to point out that we're filming and we're isolated
18:54ourselves.
18:54Yeah, and she was coming by and then we kind of like we're
18:56like, no, no, no, no.
18:57So that's no criticism on this place.
19:00Normally, they'd be overflowing with coffee, which is perfect
19:02for me because I can't drink enough of it.
19:04It's not really a thing in the UK.
19:05Like in general, even places with soda machines, it's usually
19:09accepted that you just get one and that's it.
19:11I don't really know.
19:12I guess from their perspective, it's like such a small cost,
19:15right? To just keep filling you up with like filter coffee.
19:17It's going to cost them pennies and might keep you around
19:20for like a bit longer and you might order more food.
19:22So I don't think it's that.
19:23I think it's just part of the experience of like always having
19:25a hot cup of coffee.
19:26Okay.
19:27That's what I think.
19:28Just a nice.
19:28Yeah, I don't think I don't think they're like, I don't think
19:30it's a loss leader, the coffee.
19:33If there were a place in the UK that just keeps filling up
19:36your tea, I would be there all the time.
19:38They wouldn't just give you like another like pot of hot
19:40water, not even like a new bag, just like more water.
19:42Maybe a few places.
19:43But for the most part, if you order a beverage, you get that
19:46one cup.
19:46And then if you want another one, you have to order another
19:48cup and pay for it.
19:50Yeah, I don't know.
19:51That sounds kind of rude.
19:52To be honest, kind of rude.
19:54All right.
19:54I could sit here like you say all day, get coffee refills.
19:58Yeah, eat more and more.
20:00But I think we have more spots to hit, right?
20:02Yeah, let's go.
20:03People sometimes still doubt the fact that we do all these
20:06in one day.
20:07Oh, really?
20:07Which we definitely do.
20:08Yeah, and it really takes its toll by the end if you are
20:11putting all the food away.
20:13Yeah, a little beat to be honest.
20:14Oh God.
20:15I think that's why they give you free unlimited coffee refills
20:18because otherwise you'd just be asleep at the table.
20:20I don't want to eat like this and then goes to work, man.
20:23I'm beat.
20:25We're at Norm's, right?
20:27I mean, you want a neighborhood place.
20:28This is like in the heart of it.
20:30Way to drive through Beverly Hills to get here, right?
20:32I think this is West Hollywood.
20:34Obviously, it's packed.
20:36But yes, menu's looking real nice.
20:37The chat is nice.
20:39The chat's good.
20:40You got good chat.
20:40Yeah, yeah, yeah.
20:41The banter I'm getting from this menu.
20:42You're cracking on with this menu.
20:44I'm cracking on with this menu for sure.
20:47What do you think?
20:48I like the vibe in here.
20:49They're churning out the pancakes here.
20:51But like you said, it's like a family vibe.
20:53The waitress just came over and was like addressing the next
20:55family on the next table by name.
20:57Like they know each other here.
20:59Oh, nice.
20:59It's a welcoming spot.
21:01Interesting thing about Norm's that we're doing this now.
21:02This is actually their 75th anniversary.
21:06They've been going for a long time.
21:07Originally founded by a used car salesman named Norm.
21:10They had 23 locations and this is the oldest surviving one.
21:1323 locations is quite a lot.
21:14Popular spot, right?
21:15Yeah.
21:16This was declared an LA historical monument partially
21:20because of its architecture.
21:21And I may be pronouncing this wrong, but there's a type of
21:23architecture that's very popular in diners called, I believe
21:27it's Guji architecture, possibly Googie.
21:30It's the word Google for a place to do it, L with an I.
21:33Perfect.
21:33It's very like car focused, space age, but like Jetson era
21:38looking with the past that the future was going to look like.
21:41It was a style that really boomed in the 50s and 60s, right?
21:44So then they were like, this is the future.
21:45Now we're like, oh, it's kitschy.
21:46It's the past.
21:47Go figure, right?
21:48But this has that look for it.
21:50And a lot of the Norm's restaurants were designed to look
21:53like car dealerships.
21:54Norm was a car dealer.
21:56There you go.
21:56Paying homage to his origins.
21:58Going to get you some pancakes?
22:00I would love some pancakes.
22:01I feel like that's an American breakfast staple that we haven't
22:03really had yet.
22:04How often would you say you have pancakes in the UK?
22:06Not very often.
22:07A lot of people seem to confine it to one day of the year in
22:10the UK.
22:11We have this thing, you know Shrove Tuesday?
22:14No.
22:14It's a Christian thing.
22:15What is it?
22:16It's like part of the Easter festivities.
22:18It comes before Ash Wednesday.
22:20Shrove Tuesday.
22:21Shrove.
22:22Shrove.
22:23What's Shrove mean?
22:24I don't know exactly what Shrove means, but the idea of the
22:27day is that you kind of use up all of the like rich foods in
22:32your house before Lent.
22:33That makes perfect sense.
22:35Somehow.
22:36I don't know exactly how this translated itself into Pancake
22:39Day.
22:40So you can't have pancakes on Lent?
22:42I think traditionally what you were giving up a lot of stuff.
22:44It was like I'm going to give up like all nice foods, sweet
22:48things.
22:48So let's fill up on pancakes so you can't have them for a month.
22:50Pancakes is like we got loads of like eggs left over.
22:53We got to get rid of them all before Lent starts.
22:55Oh, yeah.
22:55Okay.
22:55What do we do?
22:56Chuck them in some pancakes.
22:57But all that goes to say pancakes not as much of a staple in
23:00the British diet and definitely not found on typical breakfast
23:04menus.
23:04That's wild.
23:05Yeah.
23:06Well, you should get pancakes here.
23:07No, we haven't had them yet, have we?
23:09No, we've not.
23:09I'm very keen.
23:10Definitely going to have American pancakes, dude.
23:11That's like big breakfast 101.
23:13Oh, yeah.
23:13I'm thinking we're going to get the Lumberjack breakfast.
23:15Got a little bit of everything including pancakes.
23:17We'll also split a meatloaf.
23:19The meatloaf here is supposed to be ridiculous.
23:20Also, I'm going to throw a little waffle in the mix.
23:23Anything else?
23:23No, that sounds pretty good.
23:24I don't think I've ever had meatloaf before.
23:26What?
23:26So I'm excited for it.
23:27It's not a common meal in the UK.
23:29I know.
23:29Man, you're in for a treat.
23:31I feel like with that, with the breakfast, with the pancakes
23:33and the waffle, we're hitting all the boxes I expect from a
23:36typical American diner.
23:37So that sounds good to me.
23:38We're eating.
23:39Do you want to get a couple of milkshakes?
23:40Oh, yeah.
23:41We're in a diner.
23:41We should get milkshakes.
23:42One vanilla milkshake for your boy, please.
23:44So you're going to get vanilla?
23:45I would love vanilla, yeah.
23:46I'm probably going to get strawberry.
23:47That's fine.
23:48Do you, Joe.
23:49One thing I love is that you guys have this chef's sampler
23:52platter on the menu.
23:53Yeah, the chef.
23:53It's chef recommended.
23:55Apparently so, but it's basically just an array of fried stuff.
23:58Yeah, the chef really likes his fried foods.
24:00We love them too in the UK.
24:01We would call this usually British tapas.
24:05It's become like a sort of cult thing where you just get like
24:09a, but just a buffet of beige foods, basically.
24:11Yeah, fry a bunch of stuff up.
24:12You have like chips in there, your onion rings, your mozzarella
24:15sticks, chicken nuggets, various other bits.
24:19Thank you very much.
24:20Still not used to these free refills.
24:22The 24-7 eatery is not that much of a thing in the UK.
24:26And I'm kind of sad.
24:27Why's that?
24:27I don't know.
24:28I'm not really sure.
24:29There are like people who are awake at that hour and I'm sure
24:31would benefit from a space like this.
24:32I would think that it's not as common because of the cost of
24:37operations, because I'm also thinking whenever you see a late
24:40night spot portrayed in film and television, one key element
24:43is that no one's in there.
24:45And even though it is kind of an interesting vibe to be one
24:47of the only four people at a diner at two in the morning.
24:50I don't know how much that waitress has been there for several
24:52hours is making off of that dollar cup of coffee you're
24:54nursing.
24:55So it's probably too expensive.
24:58I don't know.
24:59I mean, they're still doing it.
24:59So they're making it work.
25:00Yeah, it must work on some level.
25:02I don't know.
25:03I just think it's cool to have like a space.
25:04Yeah, you know, you want to get out the apartment at any hour
25:07you can come to your diner, get a pretty cheap and affordable
25:10meal, free refills.
25:12Oh man, the milkshakes are here.
25:14Vanilla.
25:15Yep.
25:16And strawberry.
25:17Love that.
25:18So you get like a little refill.
25:19You get the extra, right?
25:19In the cup.
25:20Isn't that nice?
25:20Amazing.
25:21Wow, this is a lot.
25:22To look in here.
25:23I mean, this is like, this is enough for two, I think.
25:25That's very good.
25:26How's that one?
25:27Very tasty.
25:27Isn't that good?
25:28I mean, it's basically just vanilla ice cream in a glass.
25:30So, can't go too far wrong.
25:33Show them the strawberry.
25:34That's fantastic.
25:36You know, it's good when it just like doesn't go back down
25:38the straw.
25:38Oh yeah, look at that.
25:39It just stays in the straw.
25:40Can't confirm it's the thickness.
25:42I think the closest we came to having diners in the UK is this
25:45place called Little Chef.
25:46Little Chef.
25:47Which was this chain of basically like highway side restaurants
25:53that would do kind of American diner style food.
25:56So you can get like a full English with the pancakes.
25:58Wow.
25:58Which was rare.
25:59A full English breakfast with pancakes?
26:01Yeah.
26:02Oh my God.
26:02Or like the American or whatever it was.
26:04Okay.
26:05That would come with all the extra stuff.
26:06You called it the American.
26:07Yeah.
26:07I think they've actually closed down now, which is kind of sad
26:10because that was always a highlight of like a little
26:11family road trip when I was younger was Little Chef breakfast.
26:14And the Little Chef.
26:15That's about as close as we've come to having diners in the UK.
26:18So it's a chain.
26:19It was a chain.
26:19Okay.
26:20This is also a chain, right?
26:22I think in theory you can call it a chain.
26:23I think it's mostly just in this area.
26:25When people say chain, I think like multiple states, multiple
26:28cities. Only like chains I can think of are like IHOP or Denny's
26:33and I mean, I like this better than those places.
26:37I don't want to disparage those places, but I would think that
26:39Norm's has a specific Los Angeles, a je ne sais quoi that
26:44you're not going to get at those big corporate chains.
26:46Personally, I feel.
26:47Hey, thank you.
26:50Beautiful.
26:50Thanks.
26:51Really good.
26:51Wow, dude.
26:52Before I embarrass myself.
26:54Can I just check that this is in fact maple syrup?
26:56Yes, it is.
26:56I don't know if it's maple syrup, but it is syrup.
26:58Because like seeing a jug like this on a table in the UK, not
27:00super common.
27:01What else do you think it would be?
27:02I was like, is this maybe honey to put in your tea?
27:05No, definitely not.
27:05Or is this like cooking oil for some reason?
27:08You guys love putting corn syrup on everything.
27:10You never quite know, but.
27:11Well, take it easy.
27:12Oh, yeah.
27:14This is how we do it in America.
27:15The size of these things, man.
27:16Yeah, that's good, right?
27:17They're huge.
27:18That's a lot.
27:18They're obviously American pancakes.
27:20So they're like kind of thick and fluffy.
27:21Yeah.
27:22I mean, I'm excited to eat them.
27:23I went ahead with something a little more time-appropriate.
27:25I got the meatloaf with a bit of bacon on it.
27:26Happy to see that.
27:27You notice these mashed potatoes.
27:29They kind of like made a little divot for the gravy.
27:32Also, I like that that gravy looks more like our gravy.
27:34I feel more at home here.
27:35Oh, and they got gravy in the meatloaf.
27:36I mean, this is just, I mean, come on.
27:37How great does this look?
27:37What is meatloaf exactly?
27:39Because I'm still not quite sure.
27:40Ground beef with other like seasonings and spices.
27:44And also, I think they use like egg to kind of keep it all
27:47together.
27:47Sure.
27:48And everyone's discretion of what it is, but it is eventually
27:50looks like a big log of meat.
27:52So you just kind of cut it.
27:53But I know it's got like toppings on here.
27:54But if you kind of see, it is like a ground beef consistency.
27:58Okay, kind of like a giant meatball, tubular meatball.
28:01Yeah, that's a good way of putting it.
28:02I don't know if it tastes like one because like the gravy is
28:04different and the spices, but yeah, it's a little bit like that.
28:06I'm going to go in for some pancakes straight away because
28:09I'm excited.
28:10And this meatloaf is awesome too.
28:13Get a little more gravy.
28:18This is where it's at, dude.
28:20This is where it's at.
28:21The butter on here, like quite salty.
28:24Works really well with the maple syrup.
28:26It's a good mix, right?
28:27Salt and sweet, man.
28:28Salt and sweet.
28:29Get me a little, I'll take a little slice of meatloaf.
28:31You bet.
28:31Your first meatloaf experience.
28:34It's not exactly like a meatball, but pretty close to it.
28:36Yeah.
28:36You see like the mushrooms, how that would go with it?
28:38A bacon is always welcome on the, on anything, but.
28:42The gravy is really good, actually.
28:43That's a lot closer to what I would associate with like a
28:46British style gravy.
28:47We have that kind of.
28:48We have lots of different gravies here in the United States.
28:50Almost everything is a classic menu item.
28:52You can find just about anywhere, but this is so good.
28:56This is like really, really good.
28:59I'm a big fan of all of this.
29:01Let's try some breakfast staples.
29:02I want like a basis of comparison as well.
29:04See the bacon, maybe not quite as cremated crispy as you
29:07like it, but this is more my speed.
29:09Oh, yeah, it's still pretty crispy.
29:12Fantastic bacon.
29:13Oh wait.
29:15Sauce is a good litmus test too.
29:17And I'm just fantastic.
29:19Huh?
29:20I'm impressed, man.
29:21I gotta say.
29:22This is actually slightly less McDonald's vibes and more
29:25like just British like chipolata vibes.
29:28Okay.
29:28All right.
29:29We have a sort of sub-genre of sausage with chipolatas.
29:32Kind of like this.
29:33Food's coming in fast.
29:34So get a load of this strawberry waffle.
29:37I mean, this is only going to be amazing.
29:39There's no way this waffle isn't delicious.
29:41Look at that, man.
29:42Where do waffles sit in the kind of pantheon of like baked
29:46desserts for breakfast?
29:47Are they kind of up there with pancakes for you?
29:49I can't say, man.
29:50It's, it's, it's, I go either way any day.
29:53I feel like pancakes are a little bit, I think, a little
29:55bit more common just because you can cook them on the same
29:57grill you're cooking everything else with.
29:58Sure.
29:59Yeah, when it comes out, still a little bit warm.
30:01The strawberry mixture they've got on there is delicious.
30:04So.
30:05Whipped cream is good.
30:06That would kill with a scoop of ice cream.
30:08Well, this is fantastic and I would love to eat all of this,
30:11but I feel like I'm going to burst.
30:12But we got to figure out which we think was the best today.
30:16Run it down.
30:17First of all, Nick's.
30:18Nick's was great.
30:19Vibe in there was lovely.
30:20Yeah.
30:20I enjoyed the kind of chaos and the small environment once
30:24you're in there.
30:24Yeah.
30:25Sat on the bar.
30:25You don't know who you're going to be sat next to.
30:27You could be talking to anyone.
30:28Again, you're having your kind of like Hollywood main
30:30character moment while you're eating your very, very tasty
30:33food.
30:34I like the little spinso putting on it.
30:35Again, still thinking about those huevos rancheros.
30:38Thought they were excellent.
30:39Yeah, Saugus.
30:40What'd you think?
30:41I was really impressed by Saugus.
30:42I think the quality of the food, A, was excellent.
30:45Your steak particularly.
30:46I was like, I could not believe that was coming from a
30:48diner of all places.
30:50That was like a steakhouse meal at a diner.
30:53The vibe in there was cool.
30:54Again, felt very old school.
30:55Slightly on what I would say like the quieter side, maybe.
30:58I think that's a place where you would go take like a book
31:00or go and write your screenplay while you're getting your
31:02refills of free coffee, eat your food.
31:05But I did really like it.
31:06Okay.
31:06And then we come to Norm's here.
31:08Yeah, Norm's has really impressed me.
31:10I'm going to be honest.
31:10I've really enjoyed it here.
31:12I think the kind of approachability and affordability
31:15is really nice because LA is an expensive city.
31:18This is somewhere where if I stayed here, I would probably
31:21be coming like most days, to be honest, because you know
31:23what you're going to get?
31:24It's going to be reliable.
31:24It's going to be tasty.
31:25It's going to be cheap.
31:26It's going to be fast.
31:27And everything, yeah, everything, literally everything
31:29we ate here was amazing.
31:30Yeah, I love it.
31:31Really good.
31:31And I think judging from what you've said and just kind of
31:34from what we've experienced today, I think this is really
31:36representative of the general LA diner experience.
31:40I would agree with you on that.
31:41Of course, we loved all three, but if you had to pick one,
31:45which would be the one you pick?
31:46My decision is kind of coming more down to the vibe, I think,
31:51rather than the food because the food at all of them has
31:53been really good.
31:54Okay.
31:54And I would happily eat at any of them again.
31:56What was your favorite vibe?
31:57I think Norm's might actually be my favorite, man, number
32:00one. If I were to recommend this to a friend who wanted
32:03an authentic LA diner experience, this is it.
32:07Yeah.
32:08It's like, yeah, it's a chain, but it's still got the
32:09heart. It's got the history.
32:11It's been here for so long.
32:12Yeah, the people in here are so friendly.
32:14Yeah, the food is excellent.
32:15It's quick.
32:16It's tasty.
32:16Yeah.
32:17I don't know.
32:18You feel like you're almost like in a movie that takes
32:20place in a diner.
32:21Yes.
32:22I kind of feel that.
32:22Yeah, it's going to be like a shootout involving Sam L.
32:24Jackson over there somewhere any minute now, and we're
32:28going to be here eating delicious pancakes and eggs.
32:30How about you, Joe?
32:30Would you agree?
32:31This is fantastic.
32:33I loved everything here, but I was really blown away by the
32:35food at Nick's, but it's just different.
32:38Yeah.
32:39But also it's really struggling here.
32:45You're a man divided.
32:47Look, I'm going to say Nick's with a caveat is that these
32:51two places are not very similar and both are fantastic.
32:56This was so good.
32:57I love this.
32:58I think what did it for me with Nick's is the elevation of
33:03the food dishes that we had.
33:05I guess I just like the uniqueness of Nick's, but this
33:08I mean, everything here is such top quality.
33:10I love it, too.
33:10So I'm just going to go Nick's, but literally by like a
33:14pimple on a nose, just going through like a photo finish.
33:17It's a photo.
33:18Here's it.
33:19Nick's.
33:21Norm's.
33:22Nick's.
33:23Norm's.
33:23That's how close it is.
33:25My interpretation of the verdict is that, you know, you're
33:29an Angeleno.
33:29You've lived here for a while now.
33:31You've been to your fair share of diners.
33:33That's true.
33:33So I guess them doing things slightly differently, putting
33:36an elevated spin on it.
33:36That's a very good point.
33:37So you is like, oh, this is new.
33:39This is exciting.
33:40Yeah.
33:40Whereas honestly for me, like I've not been to many diners
33:43first time in LA, and this for me is like everything that
33:46I imagined and everything I wanted a diner to be.
33:48And you got it.
33:49And I got it right here.
33:49So it's like when I went to Witherspoon's and I'm like,
33:51this is the best.
33:52Yeah.
33:52I couldn't imagine anyone not liking this.
33:55Is that what it's like?
33:55Exactly like that.
33:56Okay, I'm not comparing this place to Spoons whatsoever.
33:58Please don't come at me.
33:59I was just joking.
34:00I feel like if someone comes here and they're like, I just
34:02want the authentic diner experience they see in TV and
34:06movies, absolutely have to come to Norms.
34:08I love diners.
34:09I do think they are distinct from the UK cafe experience.
34:14And I would quite like to see more of them in the UK.
34:18Fantastic, my guy.
34:20Are there any like behind the scenes questions from food
34:22tours that you get a lot?
34:24No.
34:25No.
34:26Good.
34:29That's that then.