Cajun Kitchen Cafe

Gary:     Good Morning everyone. Well, this weekend was a whirlwind of activity and it flew by. Hope and I were busy from Friday night right up until Sunday afternoon when we both decided we had had enough and needed to get some well-earned rest for the week ahead. But we did ride on Sunday and again, in spite of this insane weather we are having in Southern California. After a long Friday which included working a Hollywood Trade Show called Cinegear at Paramount Studios and a business dinner that Hope and I attended until the wee hours of the night, I was back at the trade show on Saturday until 6 p.m. When I got home, I took a shower and immediately went into a coma on the couch. I woke up long enough to drag myself to bed.  When I came to on Sunday it was very early (for me, mind you), so I just made some coffee, got ready, got on my bike and left for Fillmore.

Guess who I surprised? Yep, Hope said to me upon arriving,” I knew you were going to do this to me” as she was still in her PJ’s. LOL. Since I am never in a rush it was not a big deal, plus I got to have some of her fresh off-the-tree orange juice, which is just so damn tasty and it’s a good way for her to shut me up while she gets ready.

Hope:    After a long and exhausting Friday and Saturday (not to mention Monday through Thursday), I wasn’t sure if I was going to have enough energy to make it to Sunday, but here we are..and I’m hungry. It was already about 8:10 am and I hadn’t yet heard from Gary, so I sent him a text and then left a voice mail message and figured he was either stuck in the bathroom or already on his way up to Fillmore without calling me first. A few minutes later, I heard his bike pull into the driveway, so I sent the dogs out to greet him and then followed, despite the fact that I was still in my jammies!!!

Gary:     We had some stuff to go over this Sunday morning so we wanted a place that would afford us some quiet and nice scenery. Hope had remembered this place called Eric Ericssons on the beach in Ventura so we decided on that. She didn’t remember if they served breakfast or not so I got on the internet (from a phone; I am still not used to that) and I checked. Their website claimed that they just started serving breakfast and it’s from 8:30 am to 11:00 am. Ok cool, we are set and Hope gets ready in about 10 minutes, (she is the fastest chick I have ever been with getting ready) and off on our bikes we go. This is where the tale gets interesting. Since my patience was very thin (being around too many people does this to both of us) I will let her tell you about the next part of this in fear of getting myself all pissed off again at stupid rules that make no fucking sense.

Hope:    While Gary entertained my four pooches and enjoyed some fresh orange juice from my own orange trees, I threw myself together and was out warming up my bike in under 10 minutes! Gary had this great idea to visit a restaurant at the beach, so I gave him the name of the only one I know of in Ventura and he did his magic on his i-phone and informed me that Eric Ericcson’s now serves breakfast. I expressed my surprise (and trepidation), but we fired up the bikes and headed to the beach. We exited the 101 at Sanjon and made our way to the beach parking lot where we were informed it would cost $10 EACH to park the bikes. Trying to reason with the mindless twit at the booth by telling him we would share one parking space was a waste of time, effort, and energy, and we were met with the same asinine stupidity that sometimes precedes “postal” behavior. We pulled away and headed to a nearby parking structure where we were informed we could park for $2.00 with validation from the restaurant. So, we park, walk to the pier, and are met with a sign on the front door of Eric Ericcson’s, “We are closed.” What the fuck??? The prices of their food are reason enough to sometimes avoid this place, but now add nightmare parking, and they’re not even open? Why advertise on your website that breakfast hours are 8:30-11:00 if you aren’t open at that hour. I think it may be a frosty day in hell before I try to give them anymore of my business.

So, then the big question of the morning becomes, “Where do we eat?” We’re close to Pete’s, Allison’s, Busy Bee, Vagabond, and the Cajun Kitchen Café, the latter being the only restaurant we haven’t yet tried. Mind you, one of the reasons we were hesitant to visit the Cajun Kitchen Café is because it is a chain; with 5 or 6 other locations, but this place does not seem anything like a ‘chain’. So, a quick right onto California Street and left onto Main Street, and we parked the bikes. There was already a small crowd in front of the restaurant, so we give our names and opt for a table (the counter is first-come, first-served). We grabbed a menu and joined the other patrons outside. Their breakfast menu covers several pages with a few specials on the board.  There are the regular breakfast items-pancakes, eggs, omelets, and quite a few vegetarian offerings, but what really got my attention was the blackened catfish, redfish (snapper), salmon, and chicken as well as boneless pork chops Benedict, jambalaya, gumbo, 5 different types of sausage, and etouffe. And then I knew I was in trouble!

I have such fond memories of Cajun food from my motorcycle trip around the country where I had the wonderful experience of stopping in Iowa, Louisiana in a serious rain storm where I decided to strip down to my boxers and a wifebeater to do laundry. The restaurant next door offered ’The Crawfish Special” which consisted or crawfish boulette, boiled crawfish, crawfish jambalaya, crawfish rice, and crawfish etouffee. I literally overdosed on every offering of crawfish and I still love the meaty little mud bugs! This morning, I opted for a fillet of blackened catfish (I thought crawfish etouffee would be a bit too heavy for breakfast), scrambled, eggs, grits, and cornbread.

Gary:     When we finally arrived at the Cajun Cafe I was finally calmed down enough to just enjoy the day with Hope. This place was a pleasant surprise to me. It really doesn’t look like much from the street but when you walk in, it all changes. We had to wait about 10 minutes for a booth so we just hung out and read the menu. Even after reading it beforehand, we still couldn’t make up our minds when we sat down because the waitress kept bringing food to other tables that all looked so good. After much deliberation I decided on the ‘breakfast’ Jambalaya with over easy eggs on top. After taking about three bites, Hope reminded me that this has shrimp in it. What the hell was I thinking, I forgot this has shrimp and I am extremely allergic to shrimp. Damn it. I was about to give it a try anyway, but realized how stupid that would be. My face turns the color red with big bumps on it. If you have ever seen the movie ‘Hitched’ and remember what Will Smith looked like, that is me. LOL.

Hope:    After they served Gary his jambalaya, I tried a bit and then asked him if he was still allergic to shrimp, since the bowl was filled with them. “Ooops,” was his answer…so we pushed the bowl of jambalaya to my side of the table and he ordered the etouffee. I don’t understand why he can eat crawfish but not shrimp, but well, there are a lot of things I don’t understand about Gary so this is just one more for the list…lol…

I decided to dive into my breakfast, but had to first poke around the bowl of jambalaya and found it to be thick like a stew and filled with rice, chicken, sausage and LOTS of yummy shrimp. Its spicy, so if you're whimpy, sensitive, or afraid of living on the edge, this is NOT the menu item for you. It will make your nose run and beads of sweat form on your brow... and you will love every bite of it!!

Gary:     Ok, so there was this guy at another table that ordered the Crayfish Etouffee that looked just outstanding so that is what I wound up with and to go with it, I also ordered some Louisiana hotlinks and cornbread. What a f’in meal. I was so stuffed that I couldn’t finish it and not because I didn’t want to. It was a huge portion of food that makes your taste buds ignore your stomach. The result is, you can’t breathe properly. LOL. The coffee was great, the service was outstanding with smiling people everywhere. You can either sit inside at a booth, counter or table. They have a back room with beautiful art work on it, or you can enjoy a beautiful day on the patio out back. This place has it all and like I said, unless you look, you wouldn’t know it. This place for me was ‘Off the Charts’ good.

Hope:    My breakfast was fabulous! The fish was fresh and flavorful, the (huge helping of) grits were covered with melted butter and the cornbread was right out of the oven. And I enjoyed my eggs covered with the jambalaya Gary couldn’t eat!  After we couldn’t eat anymore, I packed up the rest of my fish with the jambalaya and a healthy portion of grits, vowing to have another wonderful breakfast tomorrow!

The Cajun Kitchen Café offers an abundance of menu items and the accommodating staff is flexible in serving you anything on their menu, even if it’s a dinner item for breakfast! They have the front dining area (about 8 or 9 booths, a dozen tables, and a small counter), a small rear dining area, and an outdoor patio area in back. The décor is simple and tasteful, staff is friendly and accommodating, and it’s a great neighborhood find. Truth be told, I’m glad they have more than one location, so I can add it to my travel list when I find myself north of the Ventura area. The Cajun Kitchen Café was indeed OFF THE CHARTS… My only regret was that I didn’t have room for dessert…lol…

Cajun Kitchen Cafe                                                                                             301 East Main Street                                                                                          Ventura, CA 93001                                                                           805.643.7701

 

Ojai Cafe Emporium

Gary:   Good Morning everyone. We didn’t get to ride on Saturday because we both had to catch up on the domestic shit that sits there while we toil out there in the real world during the week. So Sunday, I woke up hungry, rested and ready to go. I walked outside at 7 am to get the paper and noticed that the pavement was wet. What? Not again, not more rain but when I looked up at the sky the clouds were moving away and revealing a clear blue sky and I smiled and said to myself, ‘Not today mother nature, not today’. As I was just getting my shoes on the phone text beep is going off. Guess who? You’re right, my lovely riding partner informing me that we are changing the venue for the day to brighten up the adventure. We are going to add a bit of culture to our day of eating and riding. For a crusty old biker like me, a little culture could mean many things, but I will keep it clean. LOL

Hope:   Despite the no-so-great weather forecast, we decided to once again brave the anticipated elements, get on our scoots, and venture to Ojai (pronounced O-Hi)  for some good food and culture. Being that it was Memorial Day weekend, we weren’t sure if the roads and restaurants would be deserted or insanely crowded, but that only added to the adventure. We were originally thinking of visiting a Mexican restaurant in Oxnard, but since there was an art show in Ojai, we opted for the latter... I thought it would be an added bonus to enjoy the local event(s) in whatever town we visit.

Gary:   As I was riding up to Fillmore the weather was getting better and better. The sun was shining, the air was crisp and cool which seems to make everything so much ‘clearer’. I love riding in this type of weather. You breathe deep and it just makes you feel alive. I was very content this morning because I was doing what I love to do and I was doing it with my favorite woman on the planet. Even riding the 5 freeway was an Ok putt because the traffic was very light so I was able to move along at a brisk 85mph. Also, no matter how many times I ride the 126, I totally enjoy it. With all the rain that Southern California has received this year, all the hillsides are green, green and more green. You throw in some native flowers along the roadside and you have an award winning picture right in front of your eyes. As I arrive at Hope’s, she is warming up her bike and is ready to go. She must be hungry.

Hope:   The ride to Ojai was a fast and furious one, taking the 126 to the 101 to the 33, and then winding through the sleepy little town of Oak View and into Ojai. The Ojai Cafe Emporium is planted on a non-descript street lined with local artists’ galleries and offers plenty of street parking as well as their own parking lot. Upon giving our names at the entrance on the patio, we were greeted with the warm smile of the hostess and an abundance of colorful flowers in bloom. In past visits, I’ve encountered up to a 25 minute wait, but this morning was a mere 2 minutes before choosing a table on their large outdoor patio. The Ojai Cafe Emporium also offers two indoor seating rooms, both offering beautiful paintings from local artisans (displayed artwork changes every 3 months). Their outdoor patio also has an abundance of heaters and an electric awning that covers sections of the patio, if needed.

We were promptly greeted by a server offering drinks, mentioning that the restaurant offers three types of coffee; house blend, dark blend, or vanilla. You know that put an immediate smile on Gary’s face! As we began to look at the menu, we realized we were in for some serious problems as both of us identified several things that we wanted to order. I opted for a bacon, onion, and Ortega chili omelet with guacamole, rose potatoes (their amazing version of home fries), and an English muffin. While waiting for our food, we rubbernecked every time a server walked by displaying the amazing selection they offer. There were huge waffles slathered in whipped cream and strawberries, egg-white omelets topped with avocado and tomato, plates of bacon and sausage, big fluffy pancakes, and a variety of muffins and scones.

Gary:   I was totally overwhelmed at first by the smiling face of the hostess who seated us promptly, and secondly, by the smiling face of the waiter wanting to know what blend of coffee I wanted. We have been to many cafes in the past few months and this was the first time I was offered a choice of coffee. What a great way to start. I chose the ‘dark blend’ because I enjoy coffee that is strong and very rich in flavor. I was not disappointed because this coffee was excellent. We both joked that I would be shaking for the rest of the day from an OD of caffeine but who cares, it would be worth it. As it turns out, I didn’t shake for the rest of the day but it definitely helped in the walking department. Since we wanted to try a variety of their breakfast food, we each picked an omelet. Hope helped me decide (wink, wink) on the portabella omelet with Swiss cheese and I also wanted the rose potatoes with my usual sourdough toast.

Hope:   The first to arrive was our warmed blueberry muffin (that came with the spinach and provolone cheese quiche). I’m a big fan of blueberry muffins, but I already knew from past experiences that they make theirs with oats and while they are tasty and display a good amount of juicy berries, they’re a bit too dense for me. No worries... Gary promptly inhaled it like it was the only morsel of food we would be receiving!

Gary:   I was very happy with Hope’s decision not to have any of this very tasty muffin (although she did taste it, in case it changed from her last visit) because I had no problem eating this myself with some fresh butter spread on it. It was real butter too, not that fake stuff. If breakfast ended there, I would have been totally happy because with this great coffee and yummy muffin, who cares what happens next...but it gets better.

Hope:   Shortly thereafter, the rest of our smorgasbord arrived and it took every bit of self-control to take pictures before diving in. First, we tried the quiche...a wonderful blend of spinach and tasty provolone cheese served with a bowl of fresh fruit (golden pineapple, honeydew, cantaloupe and strawberries). Truth be told, if I didn’t have my own plate of food in front of my now salivating mouth, I would have inhaled the quiche in its entirety. My omelet was filled with yummy ingredients and melted in my mouth. The potatoes were seasoned to perfection with red onions and peppers (and were so tasty that I decided to forego the ketchup) and my only regret was that I could only fit so much into my stomach!

Gary:   My omelet was absolutely wonderful. It was cooked perfect with the eggs being fluffy and filled with plenty of mushrooms and cheese. The potatoes, as Hope has said, didn’t need any help in the flavor department and the sourdough toast was like it was homemade bread (although I don’t think it is) and it was not overly buttered. The quiche, which is something that I would not normally order (real men don’t eat quiche is bullshit) was a meal in itself. It was really good and we both had no problem consuming its entirety. There was not a crumb left for even the birds to find and the fruit that came with it, especially the pineapple, was chilled, juicy and just great.

Hope:   The service was great; Kelly was a wonderful waitress and didn’t make fun of us for ordering three breakfasts. She checked on us regularly and made sure everything was perfect. From the outdoor patio, we sat along-side a beautiful purple flowering plant that only added to the experience. The restrooms are immaculate and have lots of personality. And, there is an adjacent coffee shop and bakery. After we gorged ourselves (something like that really should be illegal), the check arrived and much to our shock, it was the same price as most of the other places we’ve visited where we ordered only two entrees! Cool! The Ojai Emporium is a MUST!

We saddled up and rode a whopping three blocks and then spent the next 45 minutes viewing the local artwork displayed at Libby Park. We then headed to the Farmer’s Market and then to a new frozen yogurt shop for dessert.

Gary:   The art show was a really nice way to walk off that exceptional breakfast and get us ready for dessert. I could have spent the entire day looking at all of the local artist work. There were a vast variety of paintings, photos, and sculpture, with handmade jewelry and pottery. The Farmer’s Market is Ojai is a pretty large venue with all sorts of vegetables, fruits (dried and fresh) and nuts (raw or roasted), including organic varieties. There were musicians playing their guitars for some donations (some very good, some not so good) and it seemed everyone was having a great time. We bought some roasted almonds, dried fruit, a special blend of olive oil and hand made soap all from local farmers and vendors. How great is that? Then we went to the yogurt shop for some kiwi-strawberry and chocolate frozen yogurts. What a great day of riding and eating.

Hope:   Then we had the pleasure of winding our way through the mountains above Ojai Valley heading back toward Fillmore. The weather, while crisp, offered an abundance of sunshine and a lack of the usual weekend traffic. A great eating and riding adventure! The Ojai Cafe Emporium gets and “Off the Charts” rating, as it offers quality food and service, is large (two indoor dining areas as well as a full-sized outdoor patio, has gorgeous outdoor gardens, and beautiful artwork adorning the walls. This place is/was a well-kept secret...until now...We will definitely be looking forward to a return visit!!!!!!!

Ojai Cafe Emporium

108 S. Montgomery Street

Ojai, CA 93023

(805) 646-2723

 

 

Halfway House Cafe

Hope:    And so the adventures continue…

I woke up this morning feeling like I was hit by a freight train. I live on a pretty large piece of land with avocado, orange, and pomegranate trees, gardens, 11 pets, and well, an abundance of other trees, plants, etc. I declared yesterday to be tree cutting day, so armed with my chainsaw and an ego the size of Arizona, I made my way into the backyard to get rid of some trees that had grown into (what appeared to be) power lines. Of course, not wanting to be a complete idiot and cut down something that would cause me (or anyone else) serious problems, I called my local SCE office and a representative pointed out the fact that the two wires I was describing were for cable and telephone service, none of which I currently have (or want).  I learned these are cables, not live wires and although they were thoroughly embedded in my trees, Time Warner or the local telephone company would not trim the trees to protect their cable.              

So, taking matters into my own hands (this could be potentially dangerous for everyone), I decided to rid my backyard of these eyesores. Anyone who has ever been within close proximity of me when I decide to take on a project such as this pretty much anticipates it being one of those situations that will have you laughing so hard you’ll wet yourself. And well, this was no different.

I really like the fact that I am pretty self-sufficient and have lots of tools to do whatever needs doing around my house and yard. But by this time, I was utterly sweaty and exhausted, I decided to call it a day…and the only thing on my list was a nice hot shower! I took it easy the rest of the afternoon and called it a day around 9:00 p.m., celebrating with 3 Advil.

Fast forward to this morning, at 6:00 a.m., when I realized that every inch of my body hurt. A LOT. And so, the texting began around 8:15 and we decided on the restaurant to visit today. Of course, I had suggested this place in the past, but he wanted no part of it. Go figure. We agreed to have him be at my house at 9:30 and I specifically told him NOT to show up early. Of course, he reminded me that that probably wouldn’t be much of a problem for someone who is perpetually late. Oh yea, huh??  It’s a really good thing I was hungry, because truth be told, I would have been just as happy sitting in a nice HOT Jacuzzi for the entire day!!!

Gary:  Good Morning. Ok, first off, I am NOT perpetually late. In fact, I am never late. I arrive precisely when I intend to (LOL) but today I decide to get up early, get ready, have some coffee and I haven’t heard anything from Hope yet, so I text her at 8:11 and ask her if she is ready. It was a reasonable question, or so I thought. Her reply said, “Ready to take a nap. Its way crappy looking here, no sun whatsoever.” Damn…another weather report. I have been outside and I know it looks like that, but so what? You would think we would be use to it by now since every damn weekend has been this way! She calls and we decide to go for it as usual but tells me, “Don’t rush, don’t leave yet, give me an hour and if you come early I am not letting you in the door!” So, I take that literally and don’t leave my house until 9:17, since I don’t really want to wait outside her door like some delivery boy while she gets ready. It was a bit surprising that she asked me to take my time so I asked her if she knew who she was talking to. She stated, “Oh yea, I must have bumped my head.”

Hope:    At about 9:20 a.m., I remembered that I was supposed to tell Gary to expect delays on the 126 for a bike (bicycle) race of some kind, but completely forgot to do so. Oh Well. It’s now 9:37 and coincidentally, Gary just sent me a text informing me he was just leaving. Yea, like I believe that!! He’s probably stuck in Piru watching men and women in bright colored spandex peddling away!! The weather is w-a-y crappy looking…no blue skies to speak of, low 60s and a forecast of only 73 and cloudy . The entire sky was gray and gloomy. Now, there’s the possibility that the weather is different in Northridge, so I try to let Gary know what it’s like north of the Valley. He assures me the sun will begin to emerge around noon, but I’m doubtful.  Nevertheless, I’m all suited up and ready to ride…..and EAT!!

Gary:     Sunday morning was a tough one for me since I was out until 2 am on Saturday listening to my kid’s band and then up early for a Union meeting. And it didn’t end there, as I also had to get to help a brother pick up a new bike at Glendale Harley, attended an event at Barger Harley, and then had dinner with a friend that night. By the time Sunday came around, I was totally exhausted but ready to leave on-time Sunday morning. It was Hope’s decision to tell me to take my time, though I don’t think that will happen again.

Hope:    It’s now 10:05, so I guess Gary’s text wasn’t a joke. When I said don’t show up before 9:30, I meant it, but an hour later? What the fuck? I think my stomach lining is eating itself….                At about 10:15, Gary pulls up and explains his logic behind not leaving his house until 9:30… yea o.k., whatever… so we pull out of Fillmore and head to civilization…

Gary:     When I arrive, she calls me an ‘asshole’ for being late! What??? You told me to take my time, don’t rush, all that and now I am an asshole for being late! Of course, I misunderstood (yea, right) and she meant not to get to her house before 9:30, so I didn’t. LOL. Anyway, we get on the road and head to a place called ‘The Halfway House Cafe’. Hope will tell you about our ride to what she refers to as ‘civilization’.

Hope:    I have eaten at the Halfway House Café many times and loved it. It’s a quaint and cozy little place on the side of Sierra Highway with nothing around. In the past, the staff has always been attentive and the food consistently good, with quite a nice selection for another hole-in-the-wall place. Different than most other restaurants we have written about, this one was east of me, meaning a 20-mile ride down the 126 and hopping over to Sierra Highway by way of Bouquet Canyon and Valencia Boulevard, which turns into Soledad Canyon. After a quick left onto Sierra, the Halfway House Café is only a few minutes down the road. Unfortunately, we have to enter civilization to get there which means cars, traffic lights, asshole drivers, lots of concrete, etc. The good part is, once you live through all that, Sierra Highway takes you from ‘civilization’ to the beginning of horse property and large ranches and is quite beautiful.

We arrive about 45 minutes later and apparently became invisible during the ride. After taking our seats at the counter, we observe every waitress walking past us unnoticed several times, so I politely ask for a tea, a coffee, and some menus. Not a good start! It’s a simple breakfast menu…eggs, meat, potatoes (country style or hash browns), pancakes, etc. But they also offer linguica, a slightly-spicy Portuguese sausage, prime rib, T-bone steak, pork chops, etc. We finally order, me deciding on an omelet of linguica, onions, Ortega chile, and avocado with country style potatoes, with an English muffin and a side of country gravy.

Hope:    According to their coffee cups, the place has been around since 1931, but there is no historical information offered at the restaurant. Their website indicates that in the 1920’s, the place started out as a trading post and named appropriately so, as it was half way between Los Angeles and Palmdale, and became a restaurant years later. Sadly, the décor doesn’t offer any photos of ‘remember when’ or of the lay of the land back in the day. Instead, it has lots of posted signs saying things like, “I am Woman, I am Invincible, I am Tired,” Beer is part of the Food Group, but Food is not part of the Beer Group,“ and “Getting teenagers to listen to you is like trying to nail jello to a tree” and crap like that. The plates are of the plastic variety, they don’t believe in turning on the heat lamp to keep food warm until picked up by the waitress(es), and if you peek at the right time, you can catch one of the cooks eating while in the kitchen cooking your breakfast. 

Gary:     I ordered the linquicia sausage with over easy eggs with country potatoes, a side of biscuits and gravy and coffee. First off, Hope tastes her side of gravy and notices it is cold. Cold, not even warm but cold. Not a good beginning. We inform the waitress of this and she got us a new order each. Well, to tell you the truth it was not worth it. The biscuits were like bad pancakes and the gravy, well, was just OK. The one thing that was good though was the sausage. I had never tried this type, it was Hope’s recommendation, and I have to say it is tasty. It was a little spicy but very meaty. I liked it. The eggs were cooked properly but nothing was hot. The food was just warm and then Hope noticed the warmer on the food counter was not on. So it was just sitting there waiting for the waitress to pick it up getting cold. Very odd. The coffee tasted like they hadn’t cleaned the pots in a while. You know the taste that happens when you don’t clean the pots often. It gets a metallic flavor to it. Blahhh…. Although I am such a coffee addict that I still had 3 cups. Yes, I know what you must think, he is not quite right. Soooo, your point??? LOL

Hope:    The food arrived after what seemed like an eternity and went downhill from there. My omelet was certainly not the ‘fluffy’ variety offered by the menu, had no avocado and the country gravy was cold; not lukewarm, but COLD. Truth be told, it wasn’t so great to start with and it’s MUCH worse cold. The potatoes were so-so. We finished up and unlike being out in the Ventura area where we have a pattern of walking around downtown and planting ourselves at Palermo’s Coffee House, we’re out of our surroundings and aren’t quite sure where to go. We cruise down Davenport Road for awhile and then back to Newhall Ranch Road and the 126. On the ride home, the sun made a bit of a debut, but it remained rather chilly and if I didn’t know better, would swear it was going to rain.  We split off in Fillmore with Gary heading to Simi Valley Harley to hang out with his club brothers and I rode out to catch the tail end of the Strawberry Festival in Oxnard.

Gary:     All in all it was just an OK day. The weather never really warmed up, the food was just OK and riding though ‘civilization’ was just like everything else. OK, so we learned our lesson, we were just trying to give you enthusiasts, Sunday riders, a closer place to go without venturing out too far into the wilderness. Don’t get used to it, as I think Hope will agree, we are done with the urban ‘Breakfast for Bikers’ experiment…lol… The service here is just OK. It is another one of those O.K. Café’s. In fact we decided to start a new rating system. ‘Off the charts’, ‘OK Café’, and ‘Don’t bother’.

Halfway House Café                                                                                       15564 Sierra Highway                                                                                 Canyon Country, CA                                                                         661.251.0102

 

DW's Country Cafe

Hope:    Today was indeed a day of surprises…

As I started to check the weather forecast for the day, it seemed that every time I did so, there was a 2-degree loss and an increase of the chance of rain. Shit! Regardless, we decided to defy the odds and ride. Surprise #1-Gary was on time! No kidding, huh? In fact, he was actually 2 minutes early!! In fact, he did me a big favor and changed my spark plugs while I was locking up the house (never use cheap spark plugs). While throwing my stuff in my saddlebags, he told me a funny story about a friend who seems to think that putting your bike on a Dyno(meter) has something to do with breaking in a new/rebuilt engine. How lame is that?!?!

Gary:     I actually woke up this morning about 6:30AM and when I walked outside to get the paper, it was raining. I could not believe it. The previous evening, I got caught in drizzle as I was riding back from a club event in Banner (yes, I rode 400 miles after being up till 2AM Friday night, watching my kid’s band perform in Hollywood. See--I am a tough old biker… LOL!), so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. I got back inside, made some coffee, and said ‘fuck it’ and got in the shower and got ready to go. In the meantime, Hope called and was wondering about the weather. By the time I was done getting ready, the sun was shining in the Valley as she was informing about the cloud mass in Fillmore, thinking it was going to rain again. But as we have done before, we decided to defy the odds and ride anyway. (She is as tough as any dude I have ridden with and rides better than most of them; especially the guy that thinks a dyno-tune breaks in a bike…lol.)  I got on my bike at 8:40 and was in Fillmore at 9:28AM... Surprise, surprise…on time and ready to go.

Hope:    Not wanting to venture too far from Heritage Valley in case the skies opened up, we headed down Telegraph Road through Santa Paula and into Ventura. The beautiful 2-lane road brought the amazing smells of lemons and strawberries, and picturesque views of the mountains, miles of orchards, and a flower farm. We took a left onto Victoria Boulevard and hung close to the right lane, not wanting to miss the quick right-turn into DW’s County Café. There was plenty of parking available and upon entering the restaurant, lots of empty booths (they don’t offer a counter).

Gary:     Even though we have ridden this road many times before, I never tire of it and because their early-morning rain made the air especially crisp and clean. With the crops being wet, it brought out some of the most incredible aromas you can imagine. Hope actually slowed down (surprise) so we both could enjoy the scent of the strawberries.  You know it must have been great for her to slow down. With the clouds in the very blue sky, with all the flowers just going crazy and the lemons, well, just close your eyes right now and picture it. Beautiful, right? You have to take this ride people! DW’s Country Cafe is another place Hope has found. I am amazed (surprised) at her ability to keep coming up with these places.

Hope:    The menu was filled with usual breakfast foods-eggs, bacon, sausage, French toast, pancakes, etc., but also featured original skillet breakfasts, machaca and eggs, chicken-fried steak, and rib-eye and eggs…Surprise #2. I had a really hard time choosing just one, so I chose the ‘Nine Juan Juan’-a wonderful combination of grilled potatoes, onions, peppers, Ortega chiles, chorizo, scrambled eggs and cheese, served with a side of tortillas, corn or flour.

Our waiter, Joseph, was great. I asked him to rate the country gravy and he offered to bring us some..which turned out to be a half-order of biscuits and gravy. It was a perfect way to start the morning meal and stopped our stomach from rumbling. After gobbling it down, both of us decided it was very, very good and Joseph informed us it was on the house…Surprise #3!

Gary:     We both had a hard time ordering and spent some time drinking our coffee and tea (along with digging into the biscuits and gravy appetizer) before making a decision. I ordered the Rincon Hash and Eggs which is a combination of ham, bacon, onions, green peppers and sausage, mixed with grilled potatoes and served with over-easy eggs on top. The eggs were cooked perfectly, and the rest was, well, just great. It was all very tasty and fresh. I ordered raisin toast but they were out of it and Joseph recommended cinnamon toast. Cool with me and a great choice, the toast was very good. This was a pleasant surprise because not many cafes offer this kind of variety of toast. There menu is vast as Hope has stated with many of our favorite breakfast foods. Again, and I can’t say this enough, this is another one of those places with personality and to us, it is just as important as the food. This place delivers.

Hope:    As our meals were served and we dug in, the restaurant started to fill up f-a-s-t. The service was wonderful—we were attended to by three different waiters and one waitress at different times. They were cheerful, attentive, and very friendly.

After an hour and a half, with our bellies full and still no appearance of raindrops, we headed to Ventura to hang at our regular stop at Palermo’s Coffee House for some sorbetto and people-watching.  After a few more hours, we decided to hit the road, stopping on the way home to photograph a local flower farm.

Gary:     We also visited the Ventura Museum which to my surprise is quite nice with some amazing art work. The sculptured dolls show the history of the Czars of Russia and makes for an amazing exhibit. There is also mosaic tile art in the courtyard that you have to check out. And let’s face it--we needed to walk around to make room for the sorbetto. LOL

Hope:    As we made our way back into Fillmore, the temperatures were dropping, but we still hadn’t encountered any rain…Surprise #4. 

I would highly recommend DW’s Country Café with a ‘9’! Bring your appetites and enjoy!!

1985 S Victoria Ave
Ventura, CA 93003

(805) 642-9841

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J & M Cafe

Gary:   Man, I got up this morning to the sound of my cell phone text messaging beep going off starting at 7:10AM. I am like, “Who the hell is up this early that needs to talk to me?” So for about an hour I tried to ignore it, but to no avail. Finally I had to see who this was... Guess who? You’re right, it was my darling partner-in-crime, Miss Hope, who was up and raring to go and you know what the text message was? The frigging weather report and she is telling me how shitty it was going to be for the ride today. So as I am starting to get ready to actually be there on time Hope reminds me (another text and she used to hate texts) that it is Mother's Day and to call my mom. So instead of procrastinating, I just made the call, wished my 83-year old mother a Happy Mothers Day and then started to get ready. I did text Hope back letting her know that I would be delayed due to the amount of communications I had to do this morning and her reply was ‘yes dear’. Now our way of saying that to each other is far from endearing. It is actually our way of being sarcastic to one another. It’s like ‘whatever’... Anyway, with that out of the way I finally made it to the garage. The weather report was correct though and it was again, overcast and drizzling. Hope calls it a conspiracy..

Hope:   After a trip out of town and an incredibly busy week, I was soooo ready to get out on the bike. The temperatures this week were on the warm side, and what should have continued into the week took a nose dive and lost 20 degrees somewhere in the transition. Crap! Again with the damn weather conspiracy!! Gary went on to tell me about how in the 60s, there was actually talk that the Russians were controlling our weather patterns. Of course, that makes no sense whatsoever, since Russia has MUCH worse weather than ours. You would think that if they could pull off a stunt like weather control, they would start in their own country and turn Siberia into a summer resort! Or maybe Gary consumed too much of that Russian vodka back in the day…lol…

Surprisingly, the one who would have forgot to call and wish his mother a Happy Mother’s Day arrived on time. And for the record, “yes dear” is just another way of saying, “fuck you!”

Gary:   When I arrived in Fillmore, Hope was already out the door but amazed that I was on time. Her bike being ready, we take off. Now, I just rode 45 minutes to get there and didn’t even get a chance to pee and I needed gas so we didn’t get too far that one part of me is about to overflow and the other part is about to run out; strange dilemma.  Hope had already had some places picked out and as usual I just let it go. The funny part is she changed her own mind. I will let her tell you about the ride there and what changed her mind...

Hope:   Nonetheless, we decided to ‘pick a place’ and headed out to enjoy the day. My first thought was to check out the Cajun Kitchen Café, but after riding a few miles down the 126 in what turned out to be a sunny day in the mid 60s, Gary decided he had to stop in Saticoy. It was at that point that we decided to head all the way to Oak View to the J & M Café. Unfortunately, we were both already hungry, so we had to fight the urge to stop at Allison’s Café for a cinnamon roll and coffee. We headed to Ventura by way of Foothill Boulevard, took a quick left at Seward, a right on Main Street, and another right into the Boulevard and followed that into Oak View.

Gary:   This restaurant is a pretty discrete joint. If you didn’t pay attention you would drive right past it. I would anyway because I never know where the hell I am going. We walk in and we sat at our favorite spot, the counter. Here we are always able to get a good vantage point of the action in the place. The service was not exactly what I would say exceptional but there were only a couple of waitresses working so they were pretty busy. Once we got our coffee/tea, we settled down a bit.

Hope:   Gary tells no lies…this is a non-descript place and if you didn’t know it was there, you’d miss it. We walked in and although there were a few people waiting to be seated, the counter offered 2 empty seats begging to be occupied. Despite the place appearing pretty full with customers, I could only count 3 people working in the dining room, so it looked like they were a bit short-staffed. And this was Mother’s Day!! We also appeared to be invisible, as there was no one to greet us, ask us if we wanted coffee, or provide us with place settings or menus.

We finally let the waitress know we’d like one coffee and one tea and while studying the menu, I picked up part of Friday’s local newspaper and low and behold, Sharon, our waitress at the Vagabond Coffee Shop is featured on the front page in an article about raising the retirement age.  It seems that many of the Vagabond’s waitresses are well, seasoned. Sharon is 68 years young, Yvonne is 71, and there’s another who will be 85 in September! But I digress…

With coffee and tea served, I headed to the closest booth to grab some silverware. The waitress returned after a little while and with my stomach rumbling, I ordered the chicken-fried steak with scrambled eggs, and homefries. And again the waiting continues…

Breakfast was served about 15 minutes later and well, it was o.k. The service improved somewhat but overall, everything was just o.k. In fact, I’d call this place the O.K. Café.  The chicken-fried steak was formed into a perfect patty and probably previously (store-bought) frozen, the scrambled eggs were not fluffy, but rather flat and well done; the homefries were good but nothing to write home about.  Let’s face it—one cannot live on homefries alone!

Gary:   My food was OK. I ordered pork chops and eggs (over easy of course), with sourdough toast and home fried potatoes. The eggs were cooked exactly right, the pork chops were good but a little dry which can make them tough and the potatoes were OK. The coffee was OK as was the service, the look of the place, the parking and the jam which was of the packaged sort. So, to tell you the truth, it is hard to write anything bad or good. It was just OK. Would I go back again? Yes, because it wasn’t bad. But with so many other great places around I would have to have a really good reason. I will let Hope tell you about dessert.

Hope:   Truth be told, the ride was the better part of the morning and luckily, we still had to get back home.  And since we were already talking about Sharon and the Vagabond Coffee House, we decided to head there for some homemade berry cobbler for dessert. How sick is that????????????????? And to make matters worse, after we finished the berry cobbler, Gary decided to order a double-order of their apple cobbler. Now THAT’S sick, doncha’ think??

J & M Café (The O.K. Café)

490 Ventura Avenue
Oak View, CA 93022-9615
(805) 649-4712

The Vagabond Coffee Shop

Gary:     I woke up this morning ready to ride.  I walk outside and notice it is drizzling. Man, not another Sunday of damn rain. So I text Hope with options; Ride, shine it, or cage it. She, with her way with words, reminded me that she is not a sissy. So, not to be outdone by a ‘girl,’ I got on my bike and headed north. When I left Northridge, it had stopped drizzling but as soon as I approached Valencia it was lightly raining. At this point, the bike I just spend hours detailing is now getting wet. Damn it, I had to keep telling myself, I am not a sissy, I am not a sissy. I arrived at Fillmore a little after nine and Hope was ready to go. We are bikers so weather is just an annoyance, not a deal breaker. We ride to eat and we were both hungry in spite of the weather.

Hope:    Our ride started out quite miserably, for a Southern California day. Temperatures were supposed to reach 70, but they were still in the 50s when we left Fillmore. A few miles down the road, it started misting. Misting turned into heavier misting, and by the time we reached Ventura, I was riding by Braille, as my glasses were completely fogged up and the rain hitting my eyeballs was downright painful. My jeans were wet from the knee down, as was my facemask (thank god I wore one).The roads were miserable and well, the ride just sucked.  We found the place easily and walked into another world….

Gary:     When we arrived our only agenda was parking the bikes, getting inside and having some breakfast. Of course, it is never that easy. There is a hotel next to the restaurant, so we both tried to negotiate parking under the eve by the entrance of the hotel. The lady inside wasn’t buying our story so we just did a little u-turn and parked on the restaurant side under the eve.  It turned out to be no problem and no one bothered the bikes but on a nice day there is ample parking on the street and in the parking lot. I was still concerned about my detail job on my bike, like it mattered anymore. Upon entering the restaurant Hope heard this…..

Hope:    “Wake up and be happy,” were the words of wisdom offered by our exceptional waitress, Sharon, at The Vagabond Coffee Shop. The Vagabond Coffee Shop boasts, “Home of the BEST breakfast,” in the Ventura County Star and well, I’d have to agree with them!

This place is huge! It’s a big L-shaped restaurant which offers 2 long counters! So, we headed through and claimed our area. Sharon greeted us and did me a favor and reprimanded Gary, who was already acting a-fool. As we watched all the activity in this place, it was remarkably well run, like a well-oiled machine. Waitresses as well as kitchen staff were not only smiling and laughing, but joking with the customers and each other. Our waitress has been there 13 years, and compared to some of the others, she’s a newcomer! Some have been there 35+ years!

Gary:      Sharon actually smacked me in the kisser to straighten me out. It was a love tap mind you and it made me really laugh. Sharon is quite the character and I really enjoyed the ‘motherly’ attention.  The owner of this place, Jolene, has been running this place for 35 years. Her husband, who is no longing with us, used to manage the place for the original owners, who gave him free hand at running it like it was his. He must have done a great job for them because he eventually wound up owning it. Jolene has taken the reins and I must say this place is fantastic. She is quite the lady and super nice.

Hope:    Everyone was friendly and obviously having a good time. Being Easter Sunday morning, there were the regulars, tourists, and people just looking for good eats on a holiday morning. The volume of food churned out by the kitchen staff was remarkable. It was non-stop Again..this is a huge place, probably seating 200 people. Accommodating a party of 20 or so would be a piece of cake!

Gary:     Hope is right, this place can accommodate any large group for breakfast and the way the staff hustles, there would be no problem getting good service. I marveled at the old school way of how the waitress’s handled the plates of food. No trays here. They stacked the plates on their arms and these are no kids doing this. These are experienced waitresses that take pride in their jobs. What a pleasure to see. 

Hope:    There is the regular menu, a separate menu for breakfast specials and more specials posted on the dry erase board by the entrance. We chatted, goofed around, and did our ordering. I settled on chicken-fried steak, home fries, scrambled eggs, and (you guessed it) an English muffin. Our food arrived and we continued to be doted on by Sharon and the others. The chicken-fried steak was really chicken-fried and fork-tender! The potatoes were seasoned, crisped and yummy. The eggs were scrambled perfectly and served with some very good homemade salsa as well as a couple of fried yellow jalapeno peppers. The English muffin was buttered (with real butter). My only problem was that I knew there was no way I could fit all this food into my belly.

Gary:     I ordered the T-bone steak with over easy eggs (you get 3 here), country potatoes and rye toast. The steak was 16 ounces of delicious meat, cooked just the way I like it, the eggs were close to over-easy but you know what? I didn’t give a shit; this place was just too much fun and they were close enough for me to be perfectly happy. I have to really point out that because of the service, the joking, the care, the constant refilling of the coffee for me and the tea for Hope, there are some things that are not that important to be picky about. The way the eggs were cooked was one of those things. 

Hope:    Looking around, the place was decorated by ‘40’ pin-ups and when I asked what it meant, I was told the restaurant is over 40 years old, but they couldn’t find any plus signs! The waitress told us, “We’ll be 40 ‘til we’re 50” and at the rate they’re going, they will have no problem reaching that milestone.

As if the fun, laughter, and full stomach weren’t enough, Gary finished his breakfast and went in search of what the restaurant had for dessert. We were informed by the owner, Jolene, they used to serve homemade pie, but now only offer cobbler. I am very hesitant to order dessert, as I’m really picky. I do not consume pie filling out of a can! However, Jolene informed us it is homemade and it is made from real fruit, not the gloppy stuff sold in a can! True to her word, it is real fruit topped with a flaky crust dusted with sugar, served warm and with real whipped cream. It is out of this world.

Gary:     I loved the cobbler. Hope was real hesitant because of what she just stated but I knew if it was good we would be battling for the last bite. She won. In fact, she actually scoured the dish with her spoon so well that I don’t think the dishwasher had to clean it. I loved this place and would go back anytime.

Hope:    Two hours later, with my jeans still wet from the knees down (and fitting a bit more snug than when we started out), we finally said our goodbyes and thanked everyone for a wonderful time. I got a hug goodbye from Jolene and we promised to return! Great service, great food, and despite the crappy weather, this place was FUN! I HIGHLY recommend The Vagabond Coffee House!!!

The Vagabond Coffee Shop

760 E. Thompson Blvd.

Ventura, CA

(805) 643-1390