(Not Just) Another Casino Diner: Caravan Cafe

Thanks for tuning in for what turns out to be a pretty uninspired review of the Caravan Cafe. Which is a shame, because the dining experience was actually inspiring.

The Caravan Cafe is located in Slot World, which is across from the 7-11 on the corner of 50 East and Fairview Drive. The diner's hidden off in a corner of the casino, and I never even knew it was there. Turns out I was actually missing something good. In the tradition of casino diners, this place will be known as "The Slot World Diner," regardless of what the name over the door says. I'd give you the link to the Slot World diner's webpage, but the Slot World website inexplicably asks me to log in when I click "dining" at the bottom of the homepage. Go ahead, try it. I can tell you right now the username "eggs" and password "benedict" doesn't work. But hey, maybe you'll figure it out!

Slummin' It: Burger King

I found myself in North Carson this morning and in great need of a breakfast sandwich, as I usually am. Oddly enough for a breakfast enthusiast who purports to be the authority on Carson breakfasts, I didn't know where to go for this breakfast sandwich. There was a 7-11 nearby, and a Burger King. The 7-11 I had been in before (The 395 N. and College Parkway location) and wasn't thrilled with it. Their coffee refills are 99¢ plus tax, whereas the 50 E. and College Parkway 7-11 charges only 75¢, tax included.

Offtopic: Teddy Grahams!

Remember Teddy Grahams? Man, I do. These graham cracker snacks were introduced in 1988. They were really heavily promoted when they came out. We didn't even have a TV when I was growing up and I still remember the commercials. They featured the bears playing in a rock band and you can see the commercials on Youtube. If you want to sing along, the words to the song are:

ITEM! Real Butter at the Nugget Diner!

In a promising development at the Nugget Diner, today's waffle was served with real butter!

The waffle was the only breakfast food on today's trip to the Nugget Diner. I overcame the siren song of the breakfast burrito and ventured instead into the strange world of Lunch. Little did I expect what would arrive with that waffle.

A Tale of Two Potatoes: Hash Browns vs. Home Fries

They are the best of potatoes, they are the slightly less good but still not the worst of potatoes, they are the eternal question before breakfast orderers nationwide, they are cold and undercooked, they are blackened and overdone, they are swimming in fake grease, they are flavorful with genuine butter - in short, these potatoes are so alike and so different that in the noisiest of diners servers insist on patrons deciding, for good or for evil, whether they would like hash browns or home fries with that.

Let us explore the world of these two breakfast potato choices...

Places where you can find breakfast in Carson

...and some places where you can't. Now, when I say "breakfast," I mean breakfast foods. This includes breakfast sandwiches and the like, meaning that convenience stores are lumped in as "places." You might take issue with this, insisting that nothing purchased at a gas station convenience store is really even food. I see your point. But in the awesome and diverse realm of greasy breakfast foods, there can be no such discrimination. If it sells a premade, hot breakfast sandwich, it clears the bar for designation as a place where you can find breakfast.

So why even include convenience stores, when they all sell breakfast sandwiches anyway? Ah, but they don't! For example, you might think that every 7-11 offers breakfast sandwiches. You would be wrong. Someday, you will thank me for telling you this.

Had you not known, that day would have gone like this:

Hollandaise Horror: Inundated Eggs Benedict

Benedict Arnold

No discussion of eggs Benedict is proper without some kind of subtle reference to Benedict Arnold. Contrary to popular belief, Benedict Arnold did not invent eggs Benedict. Rather, he invented Hollandaise sauce and the chicken.

Which brings us to today.

I've had eggs Benedict at three diners in Carson: the Nugget Diner, Mom & Pop's 3^rd and Carson Diner, and The Grille at Gold Dust West casino. (Technically, at The Grille I had "Gold Dust Benedict.") When you're in Carson and in the mood for a pretentious-sounding breakfast, where should you go?