A nostalgic dinner cruise

Doug Tabbert

Much of the fare at Jon’s Coffee Shop is a journey back to the

home-style cooking of years ago, and the expansive restaurant filled

with lugubrious brown booths hearkens back to the late 1970s when Jon

first opened his doors here.

Jon’s is a far cry from Starbucks. This is an original diner,

replete with a long counter-top where you can order coffee drinks as

well as breakfast until 10 p.m. every day (and until 11 p.m. on

Friday and Saturday).

There are a couple dozen breakfast options including omelets,

traditional favorites, pancakes, waffles, French toast and the manly

meal ($13.15,) which comes on three plates. The menu claims this

latter meal is for men who “watch football, buy their tools at Sears,

and wash with green soap.” This meal can feed three, as it comes with

a porterhouse steak, three extra large eggs, copious potatoes and

either pancakes, waffles or French toast.

I suggest breakfast not only because it’s a little cheaper, and

less difficult to prepare, but the dim lighting and enveloping booths

seem to illicit a half-awake dreamlike state, at least until your

espresso kicks in.

The deep brown walls are full of impressive maritime paintings,

the ample nooks and crannies are full of decorative sailing pieces

and the servers look like Jimmy Buffet fans in their Hawaiian shirts.

The chef, Captain Temo, has been working here since it opened. I had

to go seafood and splurged on a pirates platter ($12.05), full of

fried seafood. The curry turkey salad with raisins and diced celery

just didn’t mesh well with the nautical theme.

All entrees come with your choice of soup or salad; choice of

potato or thick rice pilaf, and a dinner roll on par with most major

airlines. I was able to sample a unexciting piece of halibut steak,

which was chewy -- worlds away from sushi.

The garden salad, which consisted of Iceberg lettuce and a couple

of spinach leaves came with a watery raspberry vinaigrette that was

wholly inedible; go for the soup, either chicken noodle or split pea.

My platter was much better, and had three strips of greasy

batter-fried cod that went down easily with a generous swab of tarter

sauce. The breaded shrimp retained its tasty integrity and the rotund

scallops were robust with their unique juicy flavor. The big chunks

of cooked carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower helped balance a meal

that’s on every cardiovascular specialists no-no list. There are

plenty of options to choose from at Jon’s, but I suggest you don’t

venture to far from home.

The dessert, like the carrots, are big. There are banana splits,

brownie sundaes and fruit pies. I tried a piece of homemade

cheesecake topped with strawberries ($5.05) that according to my

server, “everyone loves,” even jaded restaurant critics. The

gelatinous slice with its delicate graham cracker crust was delicious

and unusually light for cheesecake.

* DOUG TABBERT is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have

comments or suggestions, e-mail hbindy@latimes.com