Tournament of Roses: 1960

How appropriate this picture is. We just got a new Bob's in Pasadena, near the corner of Lake and Delmar. Small, with stores on each side. Plan on a COMBO soon!

For me, growing up, it was always Bob's Big Boy and Shoney's as different establishments. Part of the fun was the statue out front of Bob in his checkered overalls.

Where I'm from (Brunswick, Georgia) it was Shoney's Big Boy and the judging criteria have to include the correct preparation of their Patty Melt.
I miss Shoney's big time.

Foy
Las vegas

Interesting to see a photo taken on the very first morning of a brand new decade, the 1960s.

To view more scenes of major LA-area streets of this era, see Adam-12, Emergency!, and CHiPs. (and every other cop/detective show of the day)

Bob's Big Boys have come and gone over the years. Recently, the one in Hesperia went on hiatus for a few years and became a different restaurant until Bob came back to reclaim his turf.

The newest one I'm aware of is in the City of Orange on Katella. I've driven by though, and it looks like a "Lite" version. Caters to movie crowd in same center and is remarkably small; not free-standing (shared walls with other shops - Starbuck's too). Just not up to par. Too bad, since I live in Orange!.

However, I do enjoy the Bob's in Hesperia (I-15 and Main St.) and Calimesa (I-10 and Calimesa Blvd.). Another fairly recent is in Barstow (I-15 and Lenwood - formerly the Harvey House Restaurant) but I wasn't too thrilled about the place. (I also saw one recently in Lake Havasu City but didn't try it out.) What is my criteria in judging a Big Boy restaurant? Why, a Big Boy combo of course! Blue cheese dressing for the salad and season salt on the fries. The Big Boy hamburger is the only one I know around here that comes with hamburger relish on it. Yum! If you can follow that with one of those hot fudge brownie thingies, you probably need to be rolled out of the restaurant. Oh, and don't forget they have real Malts too!

To be truthful, for those who haven't eaten a Big Boy combo, it's really just a nostalgia thing for me. Comfort food I've eaten for 45 years that has grown on me to where I can crave this hamburger that most people would call "ordinary, at best" or "almost a Big Mac".

Cheers!

(Image courtesy of Google maps)

Southern California vintage diner & drive-in fans will note the Bob's Big Boy down the street. There's a small buzz on the web about the upcoming return of a Bob's to Pasadena after an absence of "many years."