Late Night Eats in Ridley Park

 Stargate Diner and Restaurant

240 W. Chester Pike

Ridley Park, PA 19078

My favorite part about being on vacation is the freedom to do what you want. Back home, it's rare that we eat dinner past 7pm, but while we're on vacation and can sleep in, anything goes. We had just attended a soccer match, and not wanting to eat at the stadium, we were all famished when the game was over close to 10pm. I quickly searched for restaurants that were still open, and that brought us to Stargate Diner in Ridley Park. 

Ever since the pandemic hit a few years ago, it's been hard to find diners that are open 24 hours. From what I've gleaned, Stargate Diner reduced their hours for a time, but now they are back to serving their community every hour of the day. This used to be a Burger King many years ago, but it's been Stargate Diner for at least 13 or more years. There's another Stargate Diner in Delaware, but I need clarification on the connection between the two.  

Our eight-person group arrived at just past 10pm and were met with a nearly empty restaurant, but some charming staff set us up in the back of the dining area. In true diner fashion, the menu at Stargate is enormous. They serve breakfast all day, and there are plenty of choices. Sandwiches are also plentiful here. Deli classics, paninis, clubs, cheesesteaks, burgers, open-faced sandwiches, and pulled pork sandwiches, which they call porkers, are all available. Then, if you still need more selections, they also offer more significant dinners featuring steak, seafood, and Italian offerings. It was quite a lot to take in. We quickly made our selections and waited for our food to come out. 

Usually, when I'm eating after 10pm in a diner, I always veer towards the breakfast side of the menu. I deviated from that course of action, but others we were with did not. Hot Cakes with Bacon ($9.99) and Two Eggs with Bacon ($9.99) both got passing marks. The bacon was crisp, and the pancakes were golden brown with plenty of butter provided. One drawback was the packaged syrup, which didn't taste as good as pouring it from a syrup dispenser. The eggs were cooked to a perfect over easy, but the home fries could have been more seasoned and crisped up.  

Philadelphia is known for cheesesteaks and Italian pork sandwiches, but Scrapple should also be mentioned. It might surprise some people living in the Mid-Atlantic region. Still, scrapple is only on a few menus around the rest of the country and is almost nonexistent in California. For those who do not know what scrapple is, it's an ethnic food of the Pennsylvania Dutch. It's made by mincing ground pork, adding spices and a coarse binding agent like buckwheat or cornmeal, and then frying it. It was actually terrific. It has a good crunch on the outside and a sage/pork taste, like a firmer sausage aura to it. I'd order it if it was available on more menus back home. 

Another thing we see very little in California is Creamed Chipped Beef ($5.49). Erven gave it a whirl at Stargate Diner and really found it enjoyable. The dried beef is submerged in a thick white sauce that drowns out the dried steak. It was okay but very filling. I'd only be able to have a couple spoonfuls of this at the most. Erven did an admirable job of almost finishing it. 

The rest of us got sandwiches and other assorted things. The Bacon Burger ($11.99) looked good from across the table. It came with lettuce, tomato, Swiss cheese, and two strips of bacon. There were also plenty of fries included on each plate. Rocio tried to be extra fancy when ordering the Tuscan Panini ($11.99).  This pressed sandwich came with chargrilled chicken breast, roasted red peppers, provolone, and basil pesto sauce. Rocio ate half of this and let Erven take the rest back to the hotel for breakfast in the morning. The only fried fish I could find on the Stargate menu was the Fried Fish Flounder, and I'm pretty sure the one pictured above was not that. I don't know who ordered this, but it looked basic from where I was seated. 

My standard meal when eating in a diner is a Patty Melt ($11.99). The menu called for rye bread to be used here, but I believe they used just regular white bread, which was fine. Plenty of grilled onions and Swiss cheese joined the eight-ounce patty between the bread. It was a good patty melt and made even better when I asked for a side of Russian dressing for it. The fries were your basic frozen fries, which were fried crispy and hot. Last But not least was Katie's selection, the Turkey Bacon Panini ($11.99). This was a better version of the Super Bird I've had many times at Denny's. They were generous with the sliced turkey and bacon and the melty provolone bound nicely to both meats. Katie had wished that there was a bit more mayo on here to moisten it up a bit. 

As I was writing this review, I knew just how I would sum up our visit to Stargate Diner. Stargate is a solid choice if you need food after 10pm and want something other than fast food. This is not fine dining by any means, as the food is pretty average, but they have an enormous menu, making it impossible for anyone eating here not to find something they want to eat. The prices were fair, our food came out promptly, and the service was efficient and pleasant. It's not always something that happens when eating this late at night. 

Out of five cherry trees (because George Washington led his troops through this area in 1777 on his way to Willmington, and he was famous for chopping down a cherry tree), five being best to zero being worst, Stargate Diner and Restaurant gets 2.5 cherry trees. 

For more information about Stargate Diner and Restaurant, head to their website by clicking here: https://stargatedinerpa.com/

Blast From the Past at Galley Cafe

Galley Cafe

829 Harbor Island Dr.

Newport Beach, CA 92660

Some people do not believe in time machines. I'm here to tell you that they do exist though, in the form of restaurants. There are some restaurants where if you closed your eyes, put away your cell phone, forgot about the upcoming presidential election, and wiped your mind clean of ever hearing about the new Star Wars movie, you would swear that you were picked up and placed in another decade.

Restaurants like this are rare, but they are around. Five Crowns, Mrs. Knott's Chicken House, Watson's Soda Fountain, and the Crab Cooker are all pretty good examples of OC restaurants that have not changed in all their many decades of being in business. Sure they may have added a few items to their menu, or maybe remodeled their decor a bit, but these are pretty much the same as they are today, as when they started. You can add one more restaurant to this list, Galley Cafe in Newport Beach.

Galley Cafe has been around since 1957, and not much has changed since then. This small diner sits in the middle of a residential area, close to the road that takes you to Balboa Island. It's not a big restaurant, with only 10 or so tables, and some counter seating available. The Galley Cafe brings to mind Ruby's on the Balboa Pier, back before they became corporate. The nostalgia is not pushed on you like it is at Ruby's, but you definitely know this restaurant has been here forever.

Owned by the same people that now run Wings Cafe at the Fullerton Airport, the menu is not going to shock you with its creativity, but it brings plenty of people to this out of the way location. The menu is dotted with the standard breakfast items, sandwiches, burgers, and plenty of ice cream specialties. It was a little too early for us to try their famous shakes and malts, so we made our breakfast selections rather quickly, and waited for our food to make an appearance, as we enjoyed the view from our booth of the Balboa Yacht Basin and Beacon Bay beyond that.

My dad starts things off for us with this Omewich ($10.55). Equal parts omelette and patty melt, this uses a third pound beef patty with cheese, and an omelette, sandwiched in between two slices of toasted white bread. I could tell my dad liked this, but was not in love with it. He said he'd probably get the chili cheese omelette on his next visit here. This came with one side item, and he went with the unusual choice of cottage cheese. Odd, but he's never been the kind of guy to follow the crowd.

My mom likes her first meal of the day to be pretty basic, and that held true to form here at the Galley Cafe, when she ordered this One Egg Breakfast ($8). Really not much to talk about here, as this was a solid breakfast with three strips of bacon, an over hard egg, and a good sized helping of hash browns. A solid breakfast, but not one that is going to blow too many people away.

I should have taken a picture of the inside of this Breakfast Burrito ($9.99), but I didn't want to halt Katie's progress on it anymore than I usually do. This was a pretty basic breakfast burrito. Eggs, bacon, and cheese on the inside, and for a walk on the wild side, she used the provided pico de gallo. She had no complaints about this breakfast burrito, and was actually surprised that it was as good as it was, for only having three things in it. It kept her satisfied until dinner.

This place came across my radar when the OC Weekly rated the Galley Cafe as having one of the best chicken fried steaks in the county. That was all I had to hear to make me order this. This Country Fried Steak ($11) came with two eggs and hash browns. Was this the best country fried steak I have had? It was not, but it was definitely better than most. The meat was good, but what made this for me was their very tasty gravy, which had a great consistency to it, and would have been great on anything.

Galley Cafe is a great place to come if you want to relive the past, and want to get away from the present for an hour or two. The breakfast food here is all very solid, and you will leave here satisfied, but not blown away. I thought the prices were more than fair for the amount of food that you get. I'd be interested to see how their burgers and ice cream treats are on my next visit. The service here was nice and relaxed while we were here. Be aware that this is a small restaurant, and during peak times there might be a wait, but the do get the food out rather fast, so it should not be too long before you can dig into your food. Glad there are still restaurants like this around OC, places where you can decompress from modern life.

Out of five oars, (because this is how galley ships were powered back in the day), five being best to zero being worst, the Galley Cafe gets 3 oars.

For more information about the Galley Cafe, go to their website here: http://www.thegalleycafenewportbeach.com/

Searchers of a Great Burrito at Duke's Cafe - CLOSED

Duke's Cafe

23030 Eastpark Dr. 

Yorba Linda, CA 92887

It's been a while since we've had breakfast out anywhere. There are a couple of reasons for this. We have been busy with family functions lately, and I have had to work on Sundays since my day job is short-staffed. I have yet to have time to watch my beloved Jacksonville Jaguars play this year. It's a blessing since they have started 2 and 5, but they are only one game out of first place in their dreadful division.

Anyway, I want to return to my search for the best breakfast burrito OC offers. It worked out perfectly because we would be up this way for my niece's birthday party, and they would just have pizza from Domino's. We opted out of that business and instead tried a reader's suggestion to try Duke's Cafe in my hometown of Yorba Linda.

Duke's was not here when I lived up this way. Located right near the TGI Fridays and Wahoo's Fish Tacos, this is off the beaten track, but it was still pretty busy on this particular Sunday, just before noon. Duke's reminded me of all those restaurants every neighborhood seems to have. You know, the spots with many items on their menu, like Tom's Place in Anaheim, Ted's down in Laguna Niguel, and Troy's in Orange. These restaurants all have breakfast as the focus of their menus, but there are many other options.

I was surprised walking into Duke's and finding such a big dining room. Ordering is done at the counter, and the food is brought to you. Even at this late breakfast hour, we had trouble finding a seat in the dining room. There's an attached private room that would have added more than enough seating, but it was closed off and only used for parties. The decor here, like the TVs, has an auto-racing theme. Even though it was football Sunday, all the TVs were turned to some motor sports. This could be a nod to famed Yorba Linda resident and drag racer John Force, who has headquarters about a block away. Like John Force in his races, I was excited to see if Duke's was worth burning rubber to try the food here. Let's check it out.

Katie is not usually one to have a breakfast burrito, but she succumbed to the pressure and tried their Egg Burrito ($4.79). This burrito lacked breakfast meats but contained hash browns, cheese, and salsa, which she opted for on the side. She felt this was a very manageable size for a breakfast burrito, as if they were not trying to shock you by serving a massive burrito. She enjoyed what she called "a solid breakfast burrito effort."

Since Katie tried the basic burrito model, I went with the all-out Ultimate Breakfast Burrito ($6.49). This one contained all three breakfast types of meat; ham, bacon, sausage, hash browns, cheese, and salsa. I agree with Katie that this was a very manageable burrito. I had no problem finishing it, but it did have its flaws. I like the meats in bigger chunks than here, and the grease poured out of this burrito. I did enjoy the hash browns, and there was plenty of cheese included in this, which was on the plus side. As I ate this breakfast burrito, I liked it less with each bite. It's not awful, but it's not my favorite breakfast burrito in OC to date by a long shot.

I knew these Buttermilk Pancakes ($5.49) would push me to the limit of my eating, but sometimes, I just crave pancakes. These three pancakes soaked up the syrup but were still dry, no matter how much I poured on them. They were like sponges. The buttermilk flavor was spot on, but I was not too big of a fan of these.

Duke's failed to live up to the hype of having one of the best breakfast burritos in OC. This restaurant is very average when it comes to breakfast. Maybe their omelets are the way to go here or something else we did not get to try during this visit. We had no qualms with the prices here or the service we encountered. They could have relieved the congestion in the dining room by clearing tables a little quicker, but that's just our casual observation on this particular Sunday afternoon. I hope to get some more Sundays off to continue my search for great breakfast burritos in OC.

Out of five stagecoaches (because my favorite John Wayne movie is Stagecoach, and of course, his nickname was Duke), five being best to zero being worst, Duke's Cafe gets 2.5 stagecoaches.

You can see their menu and get more information about Duke's Cafe by clicking here: http://www.dukescafeyl.com/#home

Dropping In On the Beach Barrel - CLOSED

Beach Barrel

3305 Newport Blvd. 

Newport Beach, CA 92663

Back when I started this blog six years ago, one of the first people that I met in real life was Niyaz Pirani. For those of you that read the popular OC Register Food Frenzy Blog, or know his work from the OC Weekly, or his past blog, Fat Dude on a Diet, you know about his great food writing. About a year or so ago, he moved up to Northern California to start a PR company, and those of us left in OC had lost a great champion for all things food in Orange County. The good news is he's now back based in OC, with his PR company, Knife and Spork Public Relations, and even better news, he's back writing again on his company's blog, which you can see here. He's now got quite the impressive lineup of restaurants in his portfolio, and I was thrilled when he invited me and my friend Ryan to try one of them, Beach Barrel in Newport Beach.

Beach Barrel is located on Newport Boulevard, right as you cross over the bridge going over PCH. It's on the right hand side of the street, across from the old Newport Beach City Hall. There's plenty of metered parking on the street, and also a small parking lot just past the restaurant on the right hand side.

Beach Barrel is owned by two friends, Jared Jones and Mac Carlson. Mac Carlson is one of the former owners of the highly rated Social in Costa Mesa. Jared is the founder of Midnight Muncheez, a late night delivery company, which suspended operation last year to focus on Beach Barrel. Beach Barrel is their take on a rustic, surfer style restaurant concept.

Even though the storefront is small, with tables adorned with pennies, surfing images hanging on the wall, and practically an open kitchen, the menu at Beach Barrel is pretty sizable. They have 7 varieties of flatbread pizzas, including a build your own option. There's nine different sandwiches to choose from, along with four unique hot dogs. There's also some salads for people who want a lighter meal, and of course some sides. The guys at Beach Barrel were generous enough to let us order a wide array of their greatest hits from their menu. I was excited to see what was going to be coming out for us from this small kitchen.

If you've read this blog for any amount of time, you probably know that my favorite sandwich in the world is a Cuban sandwich. It's the most balanced sandwich out there. There's the savory pork, the tang from the pickles, the creaminess of the cheese, and the crunch of the pressed bread. Unfortunately, Orange County does not have a lot of choices when it comes to authentic Cuban sandwiches, but now we have this wonderful option from Beach Barrel, the Playa Cubano ($12). This impressive sandwich starts with a very tasty citrus glazed shredded pork, smoked ham, Swiss cheese, Dijonnaise, and house made pickles, all of which is then pressed on the grill. The result is one of the better Cuban sandwiches in OC. It rivals my favorite one at De Simonne's in Huntington Beach. It's that good, and a fantastic start to our meal on this evening.

When I heard that this Shredder Sandwich ($10) was their version of a pulled pork sandwich, I had no doubt it was going to be good. The pork in the Cuban was tasty, so it reasoned that the pork in this sandwich would be good as well. The brioche bun was filled with the delicious pulled pork, slaw, and just enough BBQ sauce to not overwhelm the pork, but compliment it. The crunch from the slaw, along with the very well made bun rounded out this sandwich wonderfully. Not sure who their bread supplier is, but all the bread was great on this evening.

The entrees started to hit the table fast and furiously now, and this was our flatbread pizza choice on this evening, the Buff Chick ($11). I've been in the mood for buffalo wings lately, and this pizza quenched my cravings, for at least this night. This pizza was topped with mozzarella cheese, spicy chicken, buffalo sauce, blue cheese crumbles, celery, and a blue cheese dressing. This could have been a little spicier for my taste, but they got the essence of the buffalo style pizza down at Beach Barrel. I'm looking forward to trying their Jamaican style Jerk Pizza on my next visit here. We were able to sample their jerk seasoning , and it was very flavorful, with lots of spice. Right up my alley.

There's four varieties of quarter pound hot dogs on the Beach Barrel menu as well. We tried two of them, and my favorite one was the Street Dog ($8). This is not like any street dog you could get outside of Staples Center. This was way more complex. It starts with a very good toasted bun, which is topped with bacon, grilled jalapenos, caramelized red onions, Dijon mustard, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. As you would probably expect, this one was filling and so good. The mozzarella surprisingly worked well here, and the jalapenos added a nice pop to this hot dog. The BBQ Bacon Cheddar Dog ($7) was a lot simpler, but pretty solid as well. An abundance of cheddar cheese was paired with a smattering of the mild barbecue sauce, and bacon crumbles. The hot dogs here taste like the meaty ones they have at Costco, which is one of my favorites.

Not on their printed menu, these Garlic Herb Fries were fried correctly, and flavored with just the right amount of garlic. They also had an awesome ranch dressing paired with them. The sauces at Beach Barrel are all made in house, with the exception of the jerk sauce, which is brought in from Jamaica. This ranch was phenomenal, and really had me craving a salad, which is rare for me. I also tried the blue cheese dressing, which was stellar as well. I'd get these fries again, just so I could try that delectable ranch.

Back to the sandwiches, and this Hawaiian inspired, Da-Kine Chicken Sandwich ($12). Shredded chicken, bacon, provolone, caramelized red onion, grilled pineapple, and a house made Sriracha teriyaki sauce, was piled high between the brioche bun. I'm kind of anti-pineapple on pizza for sure, and to a lesser extent sandwiches, but the unusual Sriracha teriyaki sauce, along with the bacon, helped to mask the pineapple here. A good sandwich that hit all the right notes. This was my buddy Ryan's favorite sandwich of the night.

Just when I started thinking that the only thing Beach Barrel was missing was a great burger, this Barrel Burger ($10) came out for us. Visually appealing, and just as delicious, this burger can rival almost any burger in OC. All the essentials are included on this burger. Melted cheddar cheese, romaine lettuce, tomato, red onion, a wonderful house made thousand island dressing, avocado, and grilled bell peppers, are all piled on the brioche bun to create this fantastic burger. I can admit I was a little leery about the bell peppers on this, but they actually worked to provide a good flavor profile to the burger. I'd probably add some bacon when ordering this the next time I'm here, just to make this burger even better.

By this time Ryan and I were getting pretty full, but Niyaz had insisted that we needed to try these Hawaiian Sticky Buns ($8). This dessert was just featured on the KTLA Morning News, and the guys at news desk loved this dessert, as evidenced by their eyes rolling back in their heads while sampling this. A four pack of Hawaiian rolls are topped with marshmallows, a homemade caramel pecan sauce, and a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. Simple, but so delicious. Niyaz is astonished that during the heyday of food trucks, and everyone using Hawaiian rolls for everything, that no one's come up with this before. I'd have to agree with his sentiments. A very good finale to our time at Beach Barrel.

Beach Barrel is proof that great things come in small packages. They are really churning out some great food out of this tiny spot. Everything we tried on this night was a winner, and their is only two problems I see with Beach Barrel. One is that their location is very easy to miss, especially with all of the construction going on these days on Newport Boulevard, but this restaurant is definitely worth hunting down. The other thing Ryan and I discussed on our way home was that we would be unsure as to what to have on our next trip here. The Cubano would be my must have here, and with their great dressings that we tried, I'd probably get one of their salads, so I could save room for the Hawaiian Sticky Buns. Be advised that they have some funky hours. They are closed Monday and Tuesdays during the winter months, and only open for lunch Friday through Sunday. They are open late for you guys that are out in the bars, with a closing time of 3am on weekends. So now there's another option besides Laventina's for your late night hunger in Newport. Really impressive little place, but I should not be surprised since this place is being represented by Niyaz, and his great taste in food. Welcome home buddy.

If you would like to experience Beach Barrel for yourself, get all the details about them, their food, and location by heading to their website here: http://www.thebeachbarrel.com/

Refueling at Pit Stop Diner

Pit Stop Diner

3825 Mission Ave. #D1

Oceanside, CA 92058

2015 is definitely the year of the wedding for us. Before the year started we had eight weddings to attend on seven different weekends this year. Lucky for us, and unlucky for the intended bride and groom, one of the weddings was postponed, so that still left seven weddings for us to attend. All but one has required us to travel at least two hours, and stay for the weekend. Looking on the bright side, this means seven chances to eat at restaurants where we would normally not be around to eat at.

On this particular trip we were coming back from the fun filled wedding of Katie's cousin, Erin. For her wedding we stayed at Harrah's Resort in Valley Center. After much drinking, gambling, and dancing, we were ready to head home on a hazy Sunday morning. We left the hotel a little past check out time, and hit the road for the two hour, traffic filled drive back home. By the time we hit Oceanside, I definitely needed something to soak up some of the leftover alcohol that was still in my system. A quick check of Yelp guided us to Pit Stop Diner.

Pit Stop Diner is located right off of the 76 Freeway, on Mission Avenue. Situated in the same parking lot as the Oceanside Police Department, it's not the most convenient of places to stop for travelers, because there's not really close freeway access to this area. Still, the Yelp reviews were good enough that we decided to take a chance, and divert our travels by about five minutes or so.

Walking inside Pit Stop Diner, it kind of had the feel of Knowlwood's, for those of you that are familiar with the OC mini chain of hamburger stands. There's lots of car inspired/Route 66 paraphernalia all over the place. License plates and street signs hanging all over the walls, old gas pumps scattered about, and even the car above sitting right in the middle of the dining space. Not sure what kind of car it was, but I do know it was a 1962 model, with a really nice paint job.

Ordering is done at the counter, and then the food is brought out to you. Classic American food rules here. Burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, and salads dominate the menu, and breakfast is served all day long, which was a plus for Katie, who was not ready to bypass the first meal of the day, even though it was close to an hour past noon. We quickly grabbed a seat at this larger than it appears diner, and waited about five minutes for our food to come out. Let's see if the food was worth stopping for, or should we have driven on by.

I've been writing this blog for close to six years now, and one of the first things I learned during this time is that burritos are some of the most boring items to photograph, which is odd because they can be some of the most delicious items you will eat. Katie had the Wreck Breakfast Burrito ($4.55). This burrito was stuffed with plenty of egg, bacon, cheese, potato, and avocado. All the essentials for a great breakfast burrito. Katie was very pleased with her selection, and loved the amount of avocado used here. She ate this so quickly that I did not even have a chance to try it, so we'll take her word for it.

Unlike the boring looking burrito above, the camera loves chili dogs. The first of the two things that I hoped would sustain me until we got home was this Chili Cheese Dog ($3.49). This chili dog was pretty good sized, but was definitely better off eaten with a fork. The dog was split, and got a nice crispness from the flattop. It had a slight crunch when bitten into. Topping the hot dog was plenty of chili, shredded cheese, and diced onions. The chili here is very mild, and did not offer much in the way of flavor. This could be due to the fact that there was plenty of onions and cheese also occupying this. Not a memorable chili cheese dog, but it does look better in the pictures than it tasted while we were here.

Part two of my meal was this Bacon Avocado Cheeseburger Combo ($6.35). A very standard burger, with a very thin patty. The burger was saved by the crispy bacon, and the generous serving of avocado slices included on this. They kind of went a little overboard with the lettuce on here, but it was easily discarded, which showed more truly how thin the patties are at Pit Stop. The fries were okay, as they're your standard fast food fries. Not the best burger I've had, but not the worst by a long stretch.

Pit Stop Diner definitely hit the spot for what we were looking for on this afternoon. The food here is not going to blow you away, but it's pretty solid for what it is, diner food. It kept Katie and I full all the way back up the 5 Freeway. Ordering at the registers was a little slow, but other than that, the service was great here. There's also enough variety to keep everyone in your party pretty happy, including the person that's going to be paying for the meal. I mean, under seven dollars for a combo meal is something that just doesn't happen very often, even at the large fast food joints. The low cost of this meal, helped to offset some of the loses I incurred at the casino during this this wedding stay, which was very much appreciated. Now on to the next wedding.

Out of five pink racecars, (because when I hear the words pitstop, it always makes me think of Penelope Pitstop from the Wacky Racers, who drove a pink car in that cartoon), five being best to zero being worst, Pit Stop Diner get 2.5 pink racecars.

Pit Stop Diner has a very limited website, which you can see here: http://pitstop.menutoeat.com/