The Chips family says good bye to Sam and Visits Southern California

 My son sam is moving to Alhambra, California. Sam, Trudy and I flew down to Southern california for the move. During our stay there we said our good-byes, took some time out to visit some fun places with sam and his siblings, and ate as much road food has we could that was reasonably close to Alhambra.
      Day 1
    Our flight arrived at Ontario airport at 9:15a.m. Sam's birth family picked him up so could practice his driving. Trudy and i decided to drive to the nearby town of Glendora and stopped at the road food recommended place The Donut Shop. Ayersian had recommended this place highly and we tried the incredible strawberry doughnut. It is a pastry shell filled with fresh glazed strawberries(7 large ones),,so large you are provided a fork to eat it with. it was quite simply the best doughnut i have ever eaten, the very eggy pastry shell filled with 7 very large and very sweet berries. The flavors worked well together. On the site review you can see the peach donut which is very similar but a few weeks out of season. This place has other flavors but the strawberry lingers in the memory. Arrange a stop here if you are within 50 miles of the place and u will enjoy one of the great treats of your life..
      Trudy and I then drove to Pasadena where we lunched at Houston's, an upscale chain that serves a huge prime rib french dip sandwich that is wonderful. The Sterns recommend this chain in their 500 things book and I must say it was tender and rich and large enough that a single sandwich filled up both of us.  I recommend this place highly. It was a surprise to me the sandwich was that good.
       Our final stop of the day was Galco soda shop in the nearby Highland Park area of Los Angeles. This place has a huge supply of sodas from all over the world. I found a caramel soda, an ouzo licorice flavored soda, coffee flavored soda from New York, an Ecuadorian strawberry soda. This place is a must stop for anyone who loves soda and likes to check out unusual flavors. Again thanks to Ayresian for finding this place and taking the time to post a review.

I still, cry at Sam leaving to go to California.....but he is of age-you did the best, and you are all connected now.......and what a fantastic extended family! He is lucky!!!!!!

Day 1(con)
                 We had awakened at 4.a.m to catch our flight to Ontario so all of us rested in the afternoon. Sam and I drove down to Anaheim in the early evening so we could catch the Los Angeles  Angels game against the Baltimoe Orioles. Exploring Anahem Stadium was a blast. This was my third visit to see the Angels and the third different stadium configuration. The stadium double decks that were there for football have been torn down and the stadium is much more open air with the view of the surrounding country quite spectacular. All star Jared Weaver pitched well, scattering 3 hits over 8 innings andd leading the Angels to a 3-0 win. We got to see future Hall of Famers Albert Pujols and Jim Thome bat so it was a pleasant experience for what will be our last game together for quite a while.

Hi James,
 
Sorry we couldn't catch up with you.  I can attest to those strawberry donuts.  A friend brought me one a couple of years ago and I'm still dreaming of having another.
 
What did you think of Galco?  They started offering the huge array of sodas prior to the new chain Rocket Fizz which to me limits its choices.
 
I found the place had a dirty feel to it, but it might have been that the store, itself was just old.  I was there probably 6 - 7 years ago and they also sold a great selection of Italian packaged food items.  Don't know if that is still a fact.
 
Please say hello to Trudy for me. 

Hey Mr Chips, thanks for much for the props for Donut Man and Galco's, two of my favorite SoCal places!  Some places that we visit kinda write the review themselves, and those two certainly fit the bill.  Your praise for Donut Man is huge, coming from you who can have Voodoo Doughnuts anytime you wish!  Marlene is correct about the dingy nature of Galco's, but I think it's more due to the age of the building itself.  I don't recall any Italian food items there, other than retro candy for sale.  They do have a sandwich counter in the back of the store, but we have not tried it yet.
 
I hope you & Trudy are doing well, for you have trained Sam well for his next chapter in life!    Chris

Mr Chips, you did well, you taught him how to dream, he is now living the dream. Great job ..........Bill

I loved Galco's. There was a place in downtown Vancouver, Washington called Moxie that was very similar in terms of product, though it had a slightly smaller group of sodas available and closed 3 years ago.. It had a similar atmosphere and appearance. I met the owner of Galco's, liked him and he told me that he had been an Italian grocer forced to go into soda after his produce supplier stopped serving him. I thought the building made it a little dingy but I thought the vast amount of soda product available made up 4 any defects in appearance. and I visited the place twice more during my visit as it was very convenient to sam's birth parents place and to Pasadena where Trudy and I spent a lot of time shopping and eating.

I'm heading for the Oregon coast in Aug and LA at Christmas. I'm thinking Voodoo Donut in Aug and Donutman in Dec. This site is as much about sweet treats as it is any other food............Bill

Let's try and set up a quick meet when u come in August. if u like pie, there is a wonderful place that i have not yet reviewed for the web site. Plus there is a wonderful a food cart pod with great food. that i want 2 showy fellow roadfooders. 

mr chips


Let's try and set ups quick meet when u come in August. if u like pie, there is a wonderful place that i have not yetrreviewed for the web site. Plus there is a wonderful food cart pod with great food. 

What do you think of" Build to grill" Food truck, Voodoo donut ??? they are close. Where is the pie place ????? I have been known to put a piece of pie on my donut........

Mr Chips, I'm also going to stop at Otto's Sausage Kitchen on the way home, so I could stock up on some sausage, YES, I will be having a sausage while I'm think ing over what to buy.what are your Ideas ??????

The pie place is in the Montavilla neighborhood of Porland and is called the Bipartisan Cafe. It is the 2nd best pie place in Porland and i love the atmosphere.

The pie place sounds good, are there any good pods close to that cafe. It's a easy stop for me off off 84. There are only 46 pies to chose from, do ya think we can find one we like....I'm thinking a few pcs are coming to the ocean....Bill

Booo you didnt call me
 

I will in the future, Elise. We will visit sam overThanksgiving or martin luther king if we can arrange it and depending on what sam wants.
 

Day 2 of our trip was a family day. Trudy, , myself and Sam's brother went to Galto's soda 4 a visit and to buy sodas for a family barbecue. Sam's uncle and aunt who live in Moreno Valley invited me and Trudy to a family barbecue to meet Sam's birth father's parents, numerous cousins,and a couple brothers. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet Sam's extended new family and it was wonderful.Tudy and I were accepted by all and treated wonderfully, we had a large number of interesting conversations with a number of different family members. Sam's aunt made a delicious Peruvian potato salad, his birth mother some Asian dishes and there were copious amounts of barbecued ribs.Sam's aunt  also made a delightful agua fresca of melon(canteloupe) that was very sweet and very refreshing. Sam's uncle mixed the juice with vodka to make a delicious cocktail that I really enjoyed. Sam took advantage of his uncle's pool to catch footballs while diving into the water.Sam's family also helped prep him for his California permit test which he was scheduled to take the next day. It was a wonderful day. Seeing the love and support of his family did not make Sam's impending departure any easier but it showed he will be loved and appreciated by his new family and made me very comfortable with his decision to move to socal.

A whole new world has opened up for you, Trudy and Sam.
 
Wonderful!

Thank so much for sharing this trip with us Mr. Chips. Best wishes to Sam and you and your wife too. It sounds like he is so lucky to have more than one family that loves him!

Having met you I know.
 
Otherwise, your words do not betray your sincere love for family.  I know you have Sam's best interests — and always have had his best interests — as the root of every generous step you've taken along the way.  This adventure, of course, is an example of that ... one we should all learn from Mr. Chips and Trudy, two people I hold to be highly-credential role models in all of the above ... for us all. 
 
I'm inspired by your generosity of spirit and your unselfishness.
 
You have shared a remarkable story with us over the years. 
 
Thank you.  (Obviously still many more, I'm sure inspirational, chapters to follow.)

mr chips


The pie place is in the Montavilla neighborhood of Porland and is called the Bipartisan Cafe. It is the 2nd best pie place in Porland and i love the atmosphere.

I hope you do write a Roadfood review for Bipartisan Cafe.  Great atmosphere with very good pie.  Thanks again for taking us there.

Day 3 of our trip was almost literally a blur. I woke up unable to see very well and was unable to focus well enough to read a book or newspaper. trudy convinced a reluctant me to go to Kaiser urgent care and we managed to get an early appointment. We navigated the freeway system and made it to the doctor who immediately diagnosed pink eye and dehydration. An IV and eyedrops made me good as new and Trudy ant with sam and his birth mother to take Sam's california driver's permit test and to meet with admissions officers at the community college he wishes to attend. I rested for a bit, grew restless and then spent an active afternoon in the Pasadena area.
        I was surprised at how good the road food was in Pasadena. I lunched at Roscoe's Chicken N Waffles in Pasadena and had a chicken breast and waffle. The fried chicken was good, the waffle okay but frankly I did not feel it was anything all that special. I wasn't ripped off but i did not feel the special excitement i felt when eating the extraordinary donut in glendora or even the high-end french dip. I might eat at Roscoe's once but i won't make a special effort to eat there again. 
     My second stop of the afternoon was the aptly named Pie N Buger just down the road a piece from Roscoe's. I had a slice of olalleberry pie,a berry that is a combo of loganberry, blackberry, and raspberry and was developed by the same folks who developed the marionberry. It was named for a lake near Oregon's Mt. Hood and it had a nice tang and an agreeable  combination of sweet and sour. The restaurant itself is a throwback, accepting only cash and looking like something out of the 50's. It is close to Cal Tech and i think eating there raised my I.Q 20 points. One of my regrets on this trip was that i was unable to return to this place for a burger. Once again Ayersian's tip was a real winner and I thank them for the recommendation.
         After lunch, I made the short drive to the Highland Park area of L.A. near the soda shop. my purpose was to visit the Los Angeles Police museum. The museum is located in the last remaining Los Angeles police station built in the 20's and is an interesting experience. I liked the features on the history of the department and the display on the uniforms from various eras and the development of the uniform for female officers. There was a riveting real time film of the North Hollywood bank shootout of 1997(it was on my birthday), a display on the police struggle with the SLA and recreations of the felony and non-felony jail cells. My favorite display was the Dragnet case, featuring replicals  of fictional officers Gannon and Friday's badges as well as one of the gray sport coats worn by Webb in the sixties series. It was an interesting museum and well worth a visit for any roadfooders visiting Galco's.
   I learned two things about the museum later. I was told that one part of the opening credit scene from Barney Miller was filmed there(no confirmation) and was told that former chief Gates was thrown in the slammer here for punching a fellow officer( confirmed and Gates later became the commander of the station). A great time. 
      Sam passed his permit test, and we all  had spring rolls for dinner made by sam's birth mother. Delicious.

fDay 4 of our trip was spent with the three children, son Sam and his brother Victor and his sister Samantha. We decided to spend as much of the day as we could at Expositon park, a little ways from downtown and just across from USC. The complex includes a natural history museum, a science museum, an African American history museum, a rose garden, the Memorial Coliseum stadium and the LA Sports Arena. 
             Eight year old Victor is a big dinosaur fan so he, Samantha and Trudy headed there. Sam and i headed to the Colliseum, hoping we could get inside.  It has hosted two Olympics, two Super Bowls, a World series. and numerous Rams,Raiders, USC and UCLA football games. We saw the entrance and a bit of the stadium but could not go inside. A great way to start the day. We then walked past the Science Museum and discovered a special exhibition about Cleopatra was there. Sam reluctantly agreed to accompany me and we saw it. It featured jewelry, artifacts from an underwater archeological expedition in Alexandria, temple statuary from upper Egypt and a document signed by Cleopatra. And it had a better than usual audiotape about the exhibition. Well done, informative and a lot of fun. The other 3 had seen dinosaurs, precious gems and lot of taxidermied animals which Samantha had not realized were dead at first. She was horrified and still recovering when we had lunch. Samantha was deeply interested in Cleopatra so she and Trudy went there while the men explored the science museum. There was a touch pool, a small aquarium, and lot of exhibits about ecological zones. Young victor asked a lot of questions about everything and the incredibly patient guides answered them all. 
        We all enjoyed walking through the rose garden despite the heat. After we returned to Alhambra we ate at the IN N Out, enjoying animal style burgers and neapolitan shakes. Not much road food but a lot of fun and some precious time with Sam

Donut Man!!  There's nothing like it.
 
I love their fresh fruit donuts, but the chocolate-iced Bavarian is one of the best ever.  If you go back, do give it a try--just remember it's very rich!!

Day 5 saw our time with son Sam coming to a close. He made an appointment with the California DMV to take his drivers test the next day just before our departure. He chose to rest on this day so Trudy and I spent the day eating road food and sightseeing.
      My day began with a visit to the road food reviewed El Tepeyac restaurant. The place was also on the MAN vs. Food T.V show where the host tried and failed to eat a huge burrito and there was a nice feature about the family that owns the place.
       The place features huge burritos. I ordered the carnitas hollenbeck burrito which was so huge that it provided breakfast for Trudy and me and dinner of Sam. Tasty meat and a lot of it. I also saw the burrito that the man v food host failed to finish. Six people at the table took substantial portions and there was still some left. I openly gasped when I saw how huge it was. Large amounts of good food are always welcome at any road food place and El Tepeyac is a must stop for any serious lover of Mexican food.
         Trudy and I had a late morning snack at the road food reviewed "Mom's Tamale"s. The Spinach and Cheese tamale was quite good and we saved sweet pineapple and coconut tamale for later in the day. But the best thing we ate was homemade flan. It reminded me of cream bulee with burnt sugar on the top and a  crisp chewy,sweet texture. It was quite simply the best flan i have ever eaten. The servers in the restaurant were the cook's son, daughter and niece. They told her of our praise and she came out to thanks us. Our visit here was another reminder of the value of this website. This spot was small storefront in a residential neighborhood that i would never have found on my own and i was rewarded with the best flan ever.
         We next dove to Glendale to eat lunch at the road food reviewed restaurant" Elena's".I learned from the review that Glendale is home to 65,000 Armenians, the largest group of Armenians in the world outside Armenia. Elena's is a wonderful neighborhood place that served as a fine introduction to the cuisine.
      The meal began with an Armenian bread (much like pita)served with some sort of pickled cabbage( served like taco chips bout obviously a different texture and flavor0 that was pink in color and delightfully spiced. I ordered the lentil soup which was lemony and thick and good. Trudy ordered a barbecue lamb that was tender and flavorful. Our waitstaff was native and spoke english fitfully( always a good sign in an ethnic restaurant). The atmosphere was interesting. At one table sat 10 Los Angeles  police officers partaking of the food. At another were 8 police officers from Glendale.  i have never felt so  safe at any meal.
        Elena's was a great experience. A new cuisine, a local ambience, unpretentious staff and good food. Another coup for the road food website.
    Our next stop was supposed to be at the road food reviewed "Best Fish Taco in Ensenada""s Glendale restaurant for a shrimp taco. I pride myself on calling ahead but this time i did not do so. And unbelievably Trudy and i were travel manned. When we returned we discovered the  Glendale location of the restaurant had closed and the mini-chain had slimmed down 2 one location in Los Feliz. We handled the travel man very well but are still a little upset about it.
        We spent the afternoon at the Norton Simon museum in Pasadena.We had last visited it 13 years ago when it was under rennovation. It has an excellent Europeans and Asian art collection(Degas works are plentiful and exciting).The sculpture garden features some wonderful works by Rodin and it was pleasant to spend time with a cool drink and look at the art and the pretty flowers. This trip was highlighted by pleasant times in Pasadena which has good road food restaurants and excellent museums.
      We took the Pasadena freeway til the exit for York avenue and a last visit to Galto's. This freeway was the first freeway in the world and has not design changed since. The exit to york was 5(sic) mph. The original Dr. Pepper at  Galto's hit the spot.  It was such a wonderful store and i can't wait to get back.
        Dinnner was at a small chain mainly headquartered in the San Gabriel valley called"The Hat". Pastrami burgers are a favorite and the pastrami goes well in the the burger. Fries served with gravy are called wet fries and a great compliment to the burger. Took the kid's to Fosselmen's ice cream shop in Alhambra( a road food reviewed place ) had nutella and blueberry ice cream scoops. Good . A nice finish to a good day.

I am enamored with you, as well as with Trudy. While you are going thru something incredible, you manage to give us a report! I have been following it all, and have the ut most respect for you, my friend.Prayers, blessings and love from Bob and I.

Jim, you hit a lot of great places.  Good choices.  I think I've been to all of them except for Elena's.  Should I put it on my list?
 
 

I think Elena's was pretty good. But i don't know Armenian food. A lot of the meat is shish ka bob. And I loved the cabbage and bread. It was a unique experience for me. The food was kind of a combination of Greek, Middle eastern and eastern european. I'd be interested in your opinion, Marlene, but i think it might be worth the effort to eat there. Be advised that there is almost no parking  by it. I'd read the review and be guided by it because the reviewer knew what he was talking about.

Thanks, Jim.  Parking is an issue with me.  It infuriates me when I have to walk distances after finally finding a parking space.  Walking hurts!  Paying to park in the restaurant's own parking lot also bugs me.
 
If in Glendale, I might give it a try.  Glendale just isn't a destination usually.
 
Did you happen to stop at Porto's Bakery in Glendale?  It's also an amazing place.  If not, I suggest it for next time.  It's on Brand Boulevard.
 
 

We didn't go to Porto's bakery. Maybe next time

Our final and 6th  day was Thursday July 12th. Sam slept in a little but his birth mother got him up and insisted he go out for breakfast with Trudy and me. He joined us at El Tepeyac for breakfast. We talked about his plans for the day which included his taking his California driver's license test, some of our memorable meals together, his first meeting with Trudy, his first meeting with me.  I cried with the realization that this was our last meal before he began his official new life in California and the realization he would not be returning with us back to  Portland. The empty nest was very real at this point. The food was good, the tears  a combination of joy  and sorrow. Returning to the house, we said good-bye. Hugs, kisses and more tears as we left him in the hands of people we knew would care for him and love him as he started his new life. Rose and Victor , his birth parents had been kind enough to open their home to us and we were grateful for the chance to say good-bye to our son. Many hugs, Sam came outside to embrace, hug and tell us good-bye. He finally had wo go back inside and prepare for his test. Trudy and I drove off, leaving Alhambra and beginning our new life. God bless you and keep you Sam Hilton.

Mr. Chips, thank you so much for a truly wonderful and moving write-up.  I always enjoy your reports and your writing is an inspiration.  Sam certainly has a lot of love in his life and you and Trudy have prepared him well for the journeys to come.  
-Bill

Thanks to the many folks who commented on this report and said so many nice and supportive things.