MARY FURR -- Dining Out
Like Santa in his sleigh, the spirit of Christmas has made a stop at
Sunny’s Family Restaurant on Edinger Avenue in Huntington Beach.
Owners Andy and Cindy Zervos have turned the restaurant into a “must
stop” for families with children.
At the entrance is a lovely snow-covered village. The main dining room
has a sleigh full of teddy bears that flies across the room whenever
anyone enters the restaurant.
There are six highchairs just waiting for little diners to order from the
children’s menu, where spaghetti and meatballs with cheese bread has a
permanent spot.
Kids won’t overlook chicken strips with French fries and milk, hot dogs,
hamburgers, waffles, scrambled eggs and bacon.
All are priced at $3.85 and include a “kid card” that entitles all good
little girls and boys under 10 years old to choose a gift at the
entrance.
Grown-ups will enjoy a wide selection of seafood, steaks, pasta,
sandwiches and salads. Top sirloin with shrimp ($12.95), one of the
generous choices, has a thick, grill-marked steak, firm but tender, and
three large butterflied shrimp with tails in a crackly coat ready to dip
into the chunky cocktail sauce.
There’s so much on the plate, a small cup of baked beans in a dark,
long-cooked molasses, old-fashioned cream corn, seasoned rice pilaf or
potatoes or yams.
A dish that appealed to me is ham steak ($7.25), two thick bone-in slices
topped with a pineapple slice and cup of thin, mildly sweet sauce. This
dish also had the rice, creamed corn and (after 3 p.m.) a baked potato.
The ham was rimmed with just enough fat to make you forget the doctor’s
caution.
The menu is so varied you’ll find your favorite dish from among the meat
loaf, pork chops with country gravy, or liver and onions, lots of retro
favorites you haven’t tried since mom retired from the kitchen and gave
up the stove for a computer.
A dessert to bring back memories is a hot fudge sundae ($3.25), a big
schooner of vanilla ice cream dripping in hot fudge with nuts and whipped
cream. There are also freshly baked pies and cakes, or a hot fudge
fantasy ($3.45) -- chocolate cake, ice cream covered with hot fudge. This
is great after a movie with ice cappuccino ($2.55).
So, for the child in you or the child with you, enjoy a preview of
Christmas at one of the Sunny’s. A new one just opened on Beach Boulevard
and Adams Avenue.
MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have comments or
suggestions for her, call (562) 493-5062.
FYI BOX:
SUNNY’S FAMILY RESTAURANT
WHERE: 7148 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach
CALL: (714) 841-9934
HOURS: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, except Christmas Day.
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