White Castles and other late night craves.

Here I am at 3:45am, just 15 more minutes until White Castle starts serving breakfast. In less than half an hour I'll be six or eight egg sandwiches heavier!

What are your late night/early morning crave spots?

Once a month we spend the weekend in Springfield MO, go to Aloha (the only attempt at a tiki bar for hundreds of miles) for lunch, attend a dance social that night, then at about 2AM its...Steak n Shake! We've had the same waitress for five years and she always keeps our pop glasses full at this 1950's neon and flashing light purveyor of chili-macs. I may just have to shoot a pic of it soon and post it.

Madame Bong.

the best thing about Steak'n Shake is that you can order everything with cheese :)

i find any vintage diner is perfect for post-midnite cuisine...

j$

(cos your grows up and your grows up and your grows up)

In-n-Out Burger Baby!

anyone ever been to the EAT-RITE in St. Louis? i think they had a food item called "the nightmare..."

KRISPY KREME!

I always crave McGriddles after a rough nite of drinking. Only the bacon, egg and cheese ones though.

I crave Bacon Egg & Cheese McGriddles before a heavy morning of drinking.

McGriddles are gross. Santa likes them!

At 10:30pm they start pulling the hot buttermilk donuts out of the fryer at the local Winchell's and start dipping them in the hot chocolate frosting.

Sabu the Coconut Donut Boy

On 2004-03-04 09:54, Unga Bunga wrote:
In-n-Out Burger Baby!

I've seriously considered moving to California for the express purpose of being closer to an In-N-Out Burger - was out there 2 years ago and it was absolutely the best! The only problem with the wife being a vegetarian she wasn't up for it! Also of note was Del Taco - just like Taco Bell but with french fries! Wow!

del taco...

are you hip to the mother ship?

In San Diego (my hometown) it's taco stands late at night: Alberto's, Roberto's, Hilberto's, Adelberto's, etc. My favorites are Los Panchos, El Cuervo, La Posta.

Nothing beats a carne asada burrito, roll tacos, and a horchata after a night drinking!

How I miss it up here in the bay area. The "tacquerias" up here all serve huge garbage burritos stuffed with beans and rice and some gristly, greasy, unidentifiable meat. It's quantity over quality.

Here in the bay area there's only a handful of late night joints, while in LA there's a million great late night places, from Pink's to Johnny's Pastrami to the all-night gourmet at Pacific Dining Car (which I've yet to go to but am dying to try). Remember Oki Dog in the early 80s?

On 2004-03-04 15:44, thejab wrote:
The "tacquerias" up here all serve huge garbage burritos stuffed with beans and rice and some gristly, greasy, unidentifiable meat. It's quantity over quality.

I caught me a case of that 'tacqueria' once. Didn't get off the turlot for 3 days!

I crave mexican food from Detroit's mexicantown - Armando's or Xochimilcos. They serve you and OBSCENE sized platter of stuff, covered in 6 pounds of melted cheese.
There's no mexican food even close to that level of lactic hedonism here in Toronto.

Living in north San Diego County I can vouch for the Mexican food. Roberto's carne asada and chicken tacos, Fiesta Mexicana's albondigas and guacamole and the fresh home made tamales door to door salesmen sell. All served with pickled carrots and jalepenos. Autland, this Carniceria buy my house sells the best Carnitas. And for breakfast don't forget Machaca. MMMMMMMMMM Mexican Food.
Mahalo,
Al

Al, you sound like a true mexican food afficianado. A man after my own heart. I'm always elated when I find a new place. My old late nite haunts were/are: Robertos / Albertos (carne asada burritos), Julio's (on University near Fairmont) for the Guadalajara Taco & Negra Modello beer and Lydia's in Imperial Beach for the Botana. Nowadays I've been hittin' the Chipolte in LaMesa for burritos 'cause they're close to home & I go to bed earlier now. ZZZZZZZZZ

The afore-mentioned Steak n Shake in Springfield MO last Saturday night/Sunday morning.

i took my east coast girl to the steak and shake on brentwood blvd near clayton mo. several months ago. she had never been to one and thought it rocked.

incidentally the brentwood location is within a mile or two of where the legendary mainlander was, http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=7987&forum=1&start=0

thanks for the swell images tikijackalope, makes me miss good ol missourah... j$

the origanal pantry, never without a coustomer since 1924. sit down and prosto... some surley ex-felon slides a bowl o slaw in front of you with a pile o sour bread. no one seems to care what you're gonna have later, yur starting out wit slaw. Food's pretty much the same as '24. cash only. figiroa (sp?) and 9th near staples center.

Bwana, your post reminded me of a seedy place I just love, Wyandotte BBQ 2. The guys in back look like they could cut your throat or fix you a sandwich, makes no nevermind to them. Nice & greasy.

I grew up in California and this thread is making me truly homesick. Suburban New York sucks for fast food!

I have not consumed corporate fast food - McDonalds, Burger King, Wendys, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, etc etc etc - for over 12 years, but after a few too many drinks, the urge to eat grease is overwhelming.

Fortunately(?), Chicago is a mecca for independantly owned all-night junk food joints.

There are more awesome all night pizza joints, 24-7 greasy spoon diners, 'we never close' burrito stands, and legendary 4AM hot dog havens here than anywhere else I have been.

For the uninitiated: a Chicago hot dog is a completely different animal than any you've ever been served anywhere else in the country, a unique entity and a must-try even for those that normally fear and loathe tubes of processed meat by product.

Wiener's Circle, Hot Doug's, and Super Dawg are the big three.

When looking for late night chow, I go no further than LA's own Thaitown. 3am and you still have a pick of the litter (in a good way). These places are pretty cheap too.

Thai Palms
Saumanlung Cafe
Krang Tedd
etc

Its great to read that some of you can find nice little independent places. When I travel, I always want to find some completely independent place with the ambiance of Edward Hopper's Nighthawks, but usually only find a Burrito Express or a run-down Sambos thrice-removed where people go to chain-smoke and buy lottery tickets based on their kid's parole date. sigh Late night gems are wonderful; keep 'em coming!

On 2004-03-11 03:18, paranoid123 wrote:
These places are pretty cheap too.

Thai Palms
Saumanlung Cafe
Krang Tedd
etc

Not to mention Thai Palms has Thai Elvis!

detail of 2 above related to above:

On 2004-03-11 09:43, Johnny Dollar wrote:
detail of 2 above related to above:

Grrr.... there are few things in life I loathe more than this guy's 'art'....

(twas tongue in cheek)

for added enjoyment, there are the versions with "neon..."

tikijackalope-
I do a fair bit of traveling and always seek out older independent places, from burger joints to steak houses, so always ask on Tiki Central before taking a trip. I may be able to save you some time.

Chicago -
I didn't get to try all the hot dog stands in Chicago last summer, but I loved Super Dawg for their food served at your car in a little box, and the decor with the hot dog mascots on the roof can't be beat. The "who has a better hot dog in Chicago" debate has probably led to many a fight, but any Chicago dog is head and shoulders above what we have here in the Bay Area! The only place that came close was Kasper's (not Casper's) in Oakland, but sadly they closed "for remodeling" last year and haven't reopened since.

I also didn't have time to sample an Italian beef in Chicago - doh! Oh well, next time I'll have one and wash it down with a fresh lemonade, followed by an Italian ice. Chicago is arguably the best city for tasty, quick food. New York has been overrun by chains but there are still a few jems like the place where you can get 2 hotdogs and a papaya drink for under $5 - Joe's Papaya?, and their pizza by the slice is the best. I would vote L.A. for second best after Chicago.

thejab kindly offered

tikijackalope-
I do a fair bit of traveling and always seek out older independent places, from burger joints to steak houses, so always ask on Tiki Central before taking a trip. I may be able to save you some time.

Thanks, I'll take you up on that. I always consult Roadfood.com and a few other sources before leaving on a trip but the "open 24 hrs" places are a neglected strata in most cases.
It looks like I'll be doing another Rt 66 trip from Joplin MO to Flagstaff AZ late next month with a long diversion to Tucson (do you think Kon-Tiki management would notice if I snuck in paint remover?). Does anyone know of any cool all-night spots in Tucson?

I'll have to keep quiet abouut Tuscon because I haven't spent much time there. I did stay in Bisbee, AZ at the Shady Dell Trailer Court for a few days, but we only stopped in Tuscon for lunch (great Mexican food places abound) and continued on to Phoenix to spend the night, so we could save time the next day for Jerome and then the Grand Canyon.

Perhaps weirduncletiki could recommend some Tuscon spots?

thejab mentioned

...continued on to Phoenix to spend the night, so we could save time the next day for Jerome and then the Grand Canyon.

I love both of those. I also love the vintage Alco streamlined locomotives that pull the train from Williams to the canyon. On topic, there is a converted ex-Dennys at the East end of Williams which I believe stays open all night but aside from looking at the boomerang profile roofline, I wouldn't recommend it. Its got that just-bought-yesterday RT66 decor and powdery scrambled eggs.
Next time, for a mix of nature's beauty and man's roadside efforts, check out the Painted Desert.

Then stay at the Wigwam motel in Holbrook...

...go South through Salt Creek Canyon...

...and on to "The Thing" East of Tucson

Btw, among the odd assortment of dubious artifacts at "The Thing" is this mask...not tiki, exactly, but as close as many masks I've seen in "tiki" restaurants.

On 2004-03-11 14:38, tikijackalope wrote:
thejab mentioned

...continued on to Phoenix to spend the night, so we could save time the next day for Jerome and then the Grand Canyon.

I love both of those. I also love the vintage Alco streamlined locomotives that pull the train from Williams to the canyon.

I'm a big streamliner and old deisel locomotive nut and the Alco PA is my favorite engine from that era! It can also be seen pulling the Napa Wine Train.

On 2004-03-11 14:38, tikijackalope wrote:
Then stay at the Wigwam motel in Holbrook...

There used to be a whole chain of Wigwams, but the only ones left are Holbrook, Arizona and Cave City, Kentucky. I've stayed in the Cave City one several times: only 40 bucks, the wigwams are immaculately maintained, and the guy who owns it is as nice as can be.

There's still a Wigwam Motel in San Berdoo (San Bernadino) on old Highway 66, but it's pretty run down and sleazy. Some time ago they had a sign saying "do it in a teepee"! They probably have hourly rates.

Mrsmiley and I toured the place once on the way to Palm Springs (no, we didn't stay there). The owner showed us a room and they had painted a hideous psychedelic mural on the round ceiling. The furniture was really ugly, quite unlike the one in Holbrook where they've maintained the old rustic furniture.

thejab stated:

I'm a big streamliner and old deisel locomotive nut and the Alco PA is my favorite engine from that era!

Cool! I grew up photographing the twilight of the F-units on the MKT, KCS, GM&O, Rock Island and Santa Fe. Come to think of it, they were about concurrent with the rise and fall of tiki. Here's a Williams, AZ Alco for you:

And if you voyage to Omni Hut, be sure to take a side trip to the Tennessee Central Railway Museum in Nashville, a place that refreshingly trusts that you won't fall off something and sue them. Here's an E-8 I shot from the platform of a switcher.

Just for you, here are a couple shots of an Alco near the museum property. I'm afraid it has seen better days.

tikibars noted:

I've stayed in the Cave City one several times: only 40 bucks, the wigwams are immaculately maintained, and the guy who owns it is as nice as can be.

Yes he is; we stayed there last year on a googie, tiki, trains and beads (the g/f's passion) vacation. As a matter of fact, the plastic jackalope bank that became the prop for E-postcards to our friends is from the Wigwam's giftshop.

As you can see, the Cave City location is more pastoral than Holbrook. I shot this while enjoying the night noises.

Btw, I recently ran across what I believe are the remains of yet another Wigwam Motel in Lawrence KS.

And back on topic to late night food, here is the afore-mentioned place in Williams, AZ.

The trains are great. What a beautiful place that Wigwam is. The Holbrook owners would have a hard time making their locale look so inviting.