Stepping Back in Time at Emma Jean's

Emma Jean's Holland Burger Cafe

17143 D Street

Victorville, CA 92394

Driving to Las Vegas is something that everyone in Southern California has probably done numerous times. It is usually about a four hour trip on average. A lot of people are so excited to get to Vegas that they do not want to stop until they have to get gas or use the facilities. Driving home from Vegas, depending on how well you did at the tables, or how much you partied, you only want to get home as quickly as possible. Katie and I usually like to take our time getting to Vegas, finding little out of the way restaurants to hit up on our way out there. This trip I was particularly excited to try a spot that has been on my list of restaurants to hit up since the last time we drove out this way last year. We made sure not to miss our exit off the 15 Freeway, and found our way to Emma Jean's Holland Burger Cafe.

Emma Jean's is another place I had found out about by watching Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives. Guy Fieri and the crew visited back in 2007. They do have funky hours and this place is cash only, so we have not been able to make it here until now. They are closed on Sundays, and only open until 2PM or so the rest of the week. Emma Jean's is about five minutes off of the freeway, kind of in the middle of nowhere, as the following pictures will show you.

Emma Jean's is the oldest standing restaurant in the Victorville area, with continuous service to Route 66 travelers since 1947. The original diner was built using cinder blocks made just south of here, by Bob and Kate Holland. In 1979 the restaurant was bought by a cement driver that ate here since the early days of the restaurant. His wife, Emma Jean, worked here as a waitress, thus he named it after her. The diner is now run by his son, Brian, and his wife Shawna.

From what we could gather during our just before noon visit on a recent Monday, their customers are mainly locals, with a small mix of people that heard about this place on TV. There is a poster of Guy Fieri in the corner, a couple of Route 66 signs hanging on the walls, and the small space is dominated by a counter that takes up the majority of the restaurant. There are about six small tables surrounding the counter, but we grabbed two seats at the end of the counter. Watching the two cooks work in the small area was very entertaining. They worked pretty fast, getting the food out quickly. Brian, who we saw on TV took our order, almost writing down what we wanted before we even said it. He must have known we were going to try what Guy ate here. He's probably seen it a thousand times. So let's see if this place is worth the stop on the way to Sin City.

It was past noon, but they still had some Biscuits and Gravy ($3.75) left, so we were in luck. This was the first thing they made on the show. Brian makes these every morning, at the same table that his Mom showed him how to make these biscuits. The biscuits were surprisingly light and fluffy when we finally broke through to them after digging through all the sausage gravy, not that I minded this very flavorful gravy. It was smooth, only broken up by the large chunks of sausage in there. A great plate to start off with, and a must-try when you make it to Emma Jeans.

Katie deviated from getting food from the Diner's, Drive-In's and Dives episode when she got this Club Sandwich ($7.00). She was pretty happy with this sandwich. It was served traditionally, cut into quarters. The turkey and ham were pretty fresh, and the crisp bacon pushed this club sandwich over the average mark. Katie had a hard time finishing this sandwich, (could have been that pastry that she got at Starbucks that I told her she did not need). This was served with fries, which had a similarity to the french fries that are served at Bob's Big Boy.

The most famous item at Emma Jean's is probably this Brian Burger with Fries ($7.75). For the same price as a value meal at Jack In the Box, you can have your own piece of Americana at Emma Jeans. This burger was delicious. It started with a great cheese bread, which not only provided extra cheese but a nice crunch as well. The juicy burger was topped with Swiss and American, and an Ortega chili. I was worried that the chili would get lost here, but it did come through in some bites. I used a good amount of their homemade salsa on this burger. The salsa could have used a little more heat, but the consistency of it was just right in my book.

We have had some good luck and some bad luck when it comes to going to restaurants that have been featured on Triple D, and this trip to Emma Jean's would definitely fall into the good luck category. We really enjoyed ourselves at this roadside spot. The food is done the old fashioned way. You could totally imagine they were serving this same meal 60 years ago. This is the kind of joint that time has forgotten, and that's a shame. A place where you are just not a number and sent on your way, but a friend and someone that they really hope comes back. This is classic highway food, served just off the beaten track. We are all in a hurry to get to or from Vegas, but Emma Jean's is definitely worth the slight side trip. We will definitely make the time to come back on our next trip out to the desert.

Out of five sleds, (because as I was writing this review, I learned that the iconic movie Citizen Kane was written in Victorville, and of course that movie featured the most famous sled ever), five being best to zero being worst, Emma Jean's Holland Burger Cafe gets 3.5 sleds.

Emma Jean's Holland Burger Cafe does not have a website, but you can find out more about them here: https://www.hollandburger.com/

Quick Pit Stop to Freddy's

Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers

12032 Amargosa Road

Victorville, CA 92392

The food options while driving to Vegas are limited to fast food places, coffee shops, or scavenging to find something to eat at the mini-mart of a gas station. Of course, these options are all fine, because they get you back on the road quicker, and that gets you to Sin City faster. We were leaving Orange County at noon, so that put us in Victorville around 1:30, and that would be a good time to stop and eat. One of the truck drivers at work had heard good things about Freddy's, so that is where we decided to get off of the highway and give this place a try.

Freddy's is a chain fast food joint that specializes in frozen custard and steakburgers. Started in Wichita, Kansas in 2002, this chain has been named one of the fastest-growing burger concepts in the US. They operate over fifty stores in nine states, with 30 more stores slated to open in 2012. With all of this expansion, I was excited to see what they had to offer.

When we walked in the Victorville location it was really hopping. A lot of these people had the bloodshot eyes of a return trip from Las Vegas, but there were also a lot of families sprinkled in the mix as well. Kids were all over the place. After checking out the normal fast food restaurant menu, we ordered at the counter and waited for the food to be brought out to the table. This is how it came out.

Katie will start off Freddy's experience with her lunch, the #6 Combo, otherwise known as the California Steakburger Combo. This differs from a regular steakburger by omitting the usual mustard and pickles that come on their burgers and adding Freddy's sauce, which is more like a thousand island type sauce. Is it just me, or is the California Burger trying to resemble an In-N-Out burger? Anyways, Katie really liked the fresh ingredients here, but this burger lacked juiciness that most burgers have. She called this burger, "good, not great". She also liked these fast food fries. 

Driving the highways makes a guy hungry, so I went with this #4 Combo, a Single Steakburger, and a Hot Dog. First up the burger. Like Katie, I did not note the juiciness that should accompany a burger. The thinness of the patty can be seen in the picture above. I maybe should have gotten a double to make up for the lack of meatiness here. The burger came with pickles, mustard, and onion. The fries at Freddy's were fine, but a little hard to handle because they were so small. I would have liked these more if they had been bigger.

The best part of this meal was the Hot Dog. Not the usual hot dog bun here, they used more of a hybrid, bun/toast, which is buttered and toasted. A very nice touch that adds a slight crunch and enhanced flavor when bitten into. The hot dog itself was not to be outshined here either. They use Vienna Premium Beef Franks here, which have a good snap and a nice beefy flavor. Solid fast food hot dog at Freddy's.

Of course, Freddy's is known for their frozen custards, so we could not leave without splitting a Peanut Butter Cup and Banana Sundae. Truthfully, I wanted this as concrete, which is their version of a shake, but it came out as a sundae. Mistakes happen, so it was not a big deal. I have had a few frozen custards lately and have decided they might not be for me. Custard melts too fast and doesn't hold its consistency. The custard here was kind of bland tasting, but the toppings almost helped make up for that. The banana was very fresh, and you can never go wrong with peanut butter cups. This would have been made better with some hot fudge or chocolate sauce. I will have to make sure to try a concrete next time I am here. 

Freddy's was okay but did not seem better than any other place to stop along the highway to Vegas. The food was good, but not great. The burgers were okay, and the only standout for me was the hot dog. The staff here was really working hard. There was a large staff and it did help get the food out quick, which in turn got people back on the road quicker which is the goal at these roadside eateries. 

Out out of five keys, (because the city of Victorville's motto is, "Key City of the High Desert"), five being best to zero being worst, Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers get 2.5 keys. 

For more information about Freddy's, click here: https://freddysusa.com/