Devoted attendance at Dick Church restaurant

On my many road travels I have often encountered the roadside diner, where the waitress calls you doll and means it. I like that the food might not be adventurous, but it is always genuine. I like that a family, not a corporate office, owns it and works there.

That is probably why I like Dick Church’s restaurant. It claims to be the oldest restaurant in Costa Mesa and I can find nothing that disputes that. It could be one of the oldest in the county, opened since 1947 and owned by the same person since 1983.

The restaurant has long been a hot spot for breakfast and lines are commonplace on the weekends.

At lunch, city employees can be seen in a booth next to college students and professors. The comfort of the place is palpable, though the décor may make one’s appetite temporarily vacate. Orange booths with copper studs take one’s mind off the wood-paneled walls and macramé plant hangers with semi-living plants.

But the waitresses are attentive and friendly without being intrusive and if you go there more than once they seem to remember.

In between the chatter of gums and clatter of plates is the food, as comforting as those who deliver it.

Breakfast is solid, simple and plentiful. The omelets are basic, but fresh and tasty. The California omelet has green chilies and avocados, while the shrimp and avocado omelet is an interesting combination.

California cuisine is evident throughout the menu. The garden and Baja burgers are examples of this. The garden burger is a 100% vegetable patty, while the Baja burger uses green chilies.

The sandwiches, such as the Aspen and henhouse, have California influences with avocado and sourdough bread. The most notable sandwich is the Monte Cristo, that has both Swiss and American cheeses on egg bread with powdered sugar.

The stalwarts that keep truckers and vacationing families filled are prevalent as well, like the BLT, rueben, hoagie, French dip, tuna melt, patty melt and steak sandwich.

If gas prices are making travel prohibitive this Labor Day weekend, one portion of that ordeal can still be enjoyed. Eat the soup, burger and pie special at Dick Church’s and make your waitress your new friend.