RIP Huddle
Having grown up in Mission Hills and eaten breakfast a hundred times or more at the Huddle, having been a delivery driver for Special Delivery next door, and having the morning off from the wife to indulge my greasy spoon addiction, I decided to walk up the Huddle, long famous for their 35 cent coffee and dreadfully slow kitchen. It's been a few years since I'd been, and I left wondering when it died and got replaced by the abominable imposter currently occupying its space? The prices have skyrocketed and the quality, while never much above mediocre, has plunged to previously unfathomable levels.
I sat at the counter and watched the cook make his art. A five year old finger painting would come closer to Picasso than this guy. The Henricks (long time owners) have long been givers of second chances, and this guy fits right in as someone who recently graduated from rehab or prison, which I'm not sure. Perusing the menu I was shocked by how high the prices have escalated over the last few years. No that anyone expected 35 cent coffee to last for ever (its now 1.25), but their prices are probably 35% higher than other like-minded greasy spoons such as Perry's on PCH or Toby's at Balboa Golf Course.
I thought about making an ala cart menu, but when I saw that an egg was six bucks (2 for 6.50), I asked if they were organic quail eggs or something. Nope, just ordinary eggs. chicken, white, 1.89 for a dozen at Albertsons around the corner. Then why is an egg that cost maybe 15 cents retail going for 6 bucks? the waiter couldn't say. I asked about the biskits and gravy. 7 bucks for a "full order" and 4 for a half. What comes with?
Full order has two biskits. Half has one, I'm told. Eggs come with that? Not without ordering ala cart. So if I wanted one egg and one biskit I'd pay ten bucks? Yep, I'm told. Hmmmmmmm. Let me think awhile. I keep watching. I didn't bother to tell him that at PErry's, two biskits with gravy costs 2.50, nearly 300% LESS than what the huddle wanted for theirs.
Not being impressed by any of the omelets I saw being made, I opted for the Pork Chop with eggs over easy. At toby's, the same dish goes for 7 bucks with one chop, 10 bucks for two. At toby's medium-thick chops are dredged lightly in seasoned flour to seal the moisture, crisp the outside and give flavor, and then fried on the flat top and served hot.
At the Huddle, one chop and two eggs is 10 bucks. The chop is paper thin, fatty, and sits under the dreaded press, sure to squeeze all moisture out well before it reaches your plate. dredged for flavor and texture? Nope. Salt and pepper perhaps? Nope. Dried out rubber with no flavor? Bingo.
At least the toast and homemade strawberry-rhubarb jam was as good as ever. Thank heaven for small favors, I guess...
But the Huddle did meet my expectations when it came to pacing. 25 minutes after ordering, the dude straight outa rehab started making my order. It took less than five minutes from start to finish. In the 25 minutes between my order and when he put the chop down, he had made two omelets and a few orders of fried chicken and waffles, the obvious peoples choice in the hour I was there. Every other order seamed to be fried chicken. It came from bags, already breaded. It looked better than the boxed, frozen breaded fish for the fish and chips that I remember from Friday nights during lent, also from the frozen food section at Albertsons.
Figuring out why things go so slow isn't that tough -- the place is small, has a single flat top, and room for only two cooks. Explaining why they move at the pace of a snail is a little harder to figure out.
The entire experience left me 1) irritated that my wife's disdain for the place was finally vindicated and 2) wondering when, and why, the owners decided to start gouging their customers for bad food. Are they looking to suck every last buck out of the joint before selling out? If so, why didn't they do that when the entire block was redeveloped a few years ago?
Mediocre food sold cheap with a smile by truly nice people was the norm for the 35 years I've been coming. It was never great, but it didn't have to be. The charm of the joint made up for the food's shortcomings, and really, greasy spoon diner food rarely soars, so expectations are what they are
Charging whopper prices for awful food is unconscionable. That 95% of their customers are locals who can walk up from the neighborhood and have low expectations probably explains why they remain in business. But it doesn't explain or excuse the complete disdain for those long-time loyal customers, regardless of the motivation.
RIP Huddle. read more