Down the narrow walkway, on the left, to an alleyway behind the street, there's a Beige building with brown trim. Now it's some sort of bar but it used to be an old time diner called Tokyo 77, which closed several years ago. It's a very strange location because it's totally hidden. It's between the streets, in the alley behind. Even if you drove down the streets around the area for years, you may not know that it's there...
A Japanese American family ran it. The owner guy was the cook assisted by his daughter in the kitchen (in her 30's?). The wait staff were very nice older Japanese American women (Bachans... Grandmas...) from the WLA area. They had 3 or 4 daily specials for less than $3. You could get a "Japanese breakfast" for $7. I used to get udon for breakfast! I'd take the kids there on the weekend, when they were small, before heading off to soccer or... We'd sit at the same spot at the small U-shaped counter on old stools from the 60's with thick vinyl covers (only about 8 stools...), some with duct-tape repairs. We'd play I-spy while waiting for the food... |
