I have always viewed nostalgia-themed restaurants with a certain amount of wariness. This was especially true a few years ago when there was a craze for the style, and fancy restaurants charged outrageous prices for food that looked suspiciously like meatloaf. I understand the longing for comfort food like Mother used to make, though as I remember Mom didn’t charge fifteen bucks for a highly decorated plate of not very much food. Then again, I can eat at the restaurant while wearing socks that clash with my shirt, which wasn’t the case at my parents’ place.
This isn’t to say that all nostalgia-themed restaurants are overpriced or that I have abnormally bad color sense, though the smart money does bet on both. I went to the Ocean Diner recently and had very good home style food, and as I remember my teal socks matched the stripes in my plaid shirt almost exactly.
The Ocean Diner has only been open for fifteen years, though the decor makes it look more like fifty. Vintage ads and yellowing newspapers announcing victory at Guadalcanal line the walls and old bric-a-brac sits on shelves, creating a convincing stage set of a local diner, circa 1945. The menu matches the decor in most details of style and substance, though I don’t think cafes in the forties offered burritos filled with brown rice and veggies. They certainly did offer pot roast, chili skillets, and spaghetti and meatballs, and we investigated these at a recent dinner.
Evening meals at the Ocean Diner are a recent innovation, though the place has been popular at breakfast and lunch since the day it opened. The dinner menu looks very brief, at least until the waitress tells you that all the items featured at breakfast and lunch are also available. This widens the field considerably, adding an array of sandwiches, omelets, and salads. I have my own favorites from this list, particularly the “Art Attack” sandwich of Polish sausage, grilled onions, and jack cheese on grilled Parmesan sourdough. The same ingredients can also be folded into eggs for the Art Attack Omelet, which is just as delicious and potentially even more damaging to the arteries. I enjoy it anyway, promising that I will get the granola banana pancakes the next time. Sometimes I even do so, and they’re quite good too.
On my most recent visit I steered away from the excesses of either virtue or vice, preferring to try the new dinner items. We selected the chicken pot pie, chili skillet, and Patsy’s Pasta, a mix of fettuccini with grilled chicken, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, roasted garlic, and onions. All meals on the dinner menu include soup or salad, and if the soup is one you even slightly like that’s the choice you should make. This isn’t to knock the salad, which is the standard coffee shop version of iceberg lettuce, cabbage, carrot, and beet. It’s just that the soup is made in-house and tastes like it. It was chicken-noodle when we were there, admittedly nothing wildly innovative but very wholesome in a Midwestern sort of way.
In fact our whole meal had that Midwestern feel. The chili was a bit too mild for my tastes; I hadn’t expected a bowl of Texas or New Mexico fireworks, but it was still a bit timid. Jalapenos were available to top my entree, but I prefer a bit more cooked-in heat. On the other hand, the people I was dining with don’t normally like chili very much, and they were delighted with this version. Chili, like religion, is one of those things that you just have to agree to disagree about in order to stay friends with people.
There was no disagreement on the chicken pot pie, which tasted precisely like it ought to. It was a chicken stew beneath a crisp crust, just chicken, peas, carrots, and enough spice so you know they didn’t forget to put it in. By common acclaim it was the most successful item of the meal.
The plate of Patsy’s Pasta was almost as good, though again a bit mild for my tastes. As is often the case with Italian food in a non-Italian restaurant, the sauce lacked certain exuberance. The simple flavors of the vegetables took over, and I enjoyed my meal as a good vegetable stir-fry that happened to have pasta added in rather than as the more intense dish that an Italian chef might have made with the same ingredients. By the time I had finished the bowl I had decided that it’s a dish I would happily order again.
For drinks with dinner I recommend the shakes, which are made fresh and tasty. No alcoholic beverages are served here, though the management does allow patrons to bring their own.
Dessert at the Ocean Diner tends toward traditional favorites, and we ordered chocolate mousse, a berry cobbler, and chocolate cake. The chocolate cake was good but not noteworthy, and I found the chocolate mousse to be a bit too sweet. Since my tastes run to dark and bittersweet chocolate, your mileage may vary. The berry cobbler was the unanimous favorite, the fruit filling fresh tasting and not overly sweet, and that crisp crust making another welcome appearance.
Dinner at the Ocean Diner is one of the great values in town, with no dinner over ten dollars, and it’s easy to see why the place is so popular. It’s like dinner at home if you were lucky enough to have a mom who could really cook. The only thing missing is being told to clean your room before you come down to dinner.
The Ocean Diner is located at 959 Aviation Boulevard in Hermosa Beach. Open daily for breakfast and lunch, daily except Sunday for dinner. No alcohol served. Handicap access OK, but street parking only. Kids welcome, small children’s menu. Call 372-3739 for take-out.
