Jongewaard Ho

Atlantic Boulevard, the main drag of Bixby Knolls, is nearly bare of trees but thickly stocked with family restaurants named things like Polly’s Tasty Foods and Pies. The star of this Long Beach neighborhood is Jongewaard’s Bake & Broil. A lot of families come here daily--and, no kidding, twice on Sundays.

This shrine of American comfort foods, of terrific cakes and double-crusted pies was opened more than 30 years ago by a local family whose name, incidentally, is pronounced YAHNG-word. It has built up a loyal following over the decades, and you can count me among the faithful.

It’s so popular that I’ve despaired of ever getting lunch here without having to put my name on a list and waiting a stretch, my mouth watering at the prospect of the red velvet cake or the pumpkin streusel pie. But at least I’ve learned the little trick of finding a parking space: use the lot at the nearby Church of Christ (except on Sunday, of course).

The modest, wallpapered front room is dominated by a J-shaped counter and a waiting area barely big enough to unfurl the morning paper. Priority seating is in the back room, where you sit in green-and-white tartan booths long enough to lie upon, breathing the aroma of freshly baked pastries.

At breakfast there are excellent pancakes, yeasty cinnamon rolls and coffee cakes baked in large sheet pans, which locals consume with passion before sun-up. The delicately eggy, regally oversized muffins--among them, blueberry, boysenberry and sugar-glazed applesauce cinnamon varieties--are three-quarters muffin top. The owners cagily work pastries into the breakfasts. Muffins can be substituted for toast with any of the egg dishes, and the specials blackboard always lists cinnamon roll French toast.

My favorite meal here is lunch. At 11, or a touch before, soups, cakes and pies become available. Every day there are four soups from the menu’s list of 15. Be on the lookout for the wonderfully smoky navy bean with ham, the creamy tomato with bacon, the farmhouse-style chunky potato-sausage and the sweetest corn chowder this side of an Iowa cornfield.

The entrees are mostly sandwiches. You can get a beefy bacon and Cheddar burger wrapped in wax paper or a vegetarian garden burger based on oats, which could fool all but the most keenly perceptive meat-eaters. The glory of the sandwich menu is the pot roast sandwich on sourdough, made with the crisply browned chunks of standing rib roast.

You’ll have either cake or pie with your sandwich, won’t you? The knockdown winner is red velvet cake, an extra-moist, rich chocolate layer cake that is actually red in color, covered in cream cheese frosting. Pies change daily, but you can almost always get apple, peach, French apple and, at this time of year, pumpkin. The pies, made with fresh fruit, have a dense butter-and-shortening crust that crumbles at the touch of a fork. Then there are chocolate brownie pie, lemon lush pie (based on cream cheese and topped with smooth whipped cream), sky-high lemon meringue, chocolate cream and the lightest coconut cream pie you’ve ever tasted.

The only time I’m ever disappointed at Jongewaard’s, in fact, is at dinner, when the entrees often lack the daytime magic. The broiled Atlantic salmon comes with a sweet glaze and a mealy baked potato on the side, but it tends to be a bit overcooked. The beef stew, nearly all enormous chunks of tender beef and carrots, with practically no potatoes at all, has a pudding-like brown gravy that cloys after a few bites. But you can always find pot roast, browned crisp around the edges, and hand-dipped country-fried chicken with sausage gravy--both artery-cloggers, to be sure, but dependably comforting.

And whatever else you eat, there will be pie.

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WHERE TO GO

Jongewaard’s Bake & Broil, 3697 Atlantic Blvd., Long Beach. (310) 595-0396. Hours: 6:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Beer and wine only. Street parking. American Express, MasterCard and Visa. Takeout. Lunch for two, $13-$18.

WHAT TO GET

Blueberry muffin, red velvet cake, lemon lush pie, navy bean soup, pot roast sandwich, hand-dipped country-fried chicken.