The morning that I visited Stone Soup in Studio City, California in 1987


Time-travel with me to the San Fernando Valley in 1987. This isn't an imaginary journey, I actually lived there then, in a, ahem, "less than fashionable" suburb called Canoga Park.

The main street through the Valley is Ventura Boulevard, which was named that way because it was the road from Los Angeles to Ventura, which is just north. I used to drive up there, and go visit Santa Barbara, where I lived from 1983 to 1987, because I had favorite restaurants that the locals introduced me to. In the Valley (by the way, the San Fernando Valley is simply referred to as "valley", in spite of there being a lot of valleys in the greater Los Angeles area, it's where "Valley Girls" came from who said things like "gag me with a spoon!") I really didn't know anyone, and I was on my own.

One Saturday morning, after sleeping in late, I decided that I would just take a drive down Ventura Boulevard (this time going south) and see if I could find a nice little place that served breakfast. I drove and drove, and went pretty much to the end of Ventura Boulevard, in Studio City. For those of you who are familiar with the area, near Vineland.

I really didn't want fast food, and most of the places that I passed just didn't seem to have the sincerity that I was looking for. Don't get me wrong, there were (and are) a lot of wonderful places to get breakfast on Ventura Boulevard, but I was being like Linus looking for a sincere pumpkin patch (if you know what I mean).

I stopped at a little place called "Stone Soup", which was still serving breakfast, so it must have been before 11:30 (but not much, I loved to sleep in in my twenties). I looked for a photo of it on the 'net, but only found a review from 1989, so that's what I posted in the pic up there.

It was a sincere little place. I had scrambled eggs and sourdough toast, which is what I always get when I go out for breakfast. I was alone, of course, but I've eaten alone a lot, so I just sat back and enjoyed my food and joked a bit with the server. I always would ask what city I was in, because they change so quickly in the Los Angeles area, and found that I was in Studio City (yes, there are studios there, mostly TV studios).

I don't mind looking like a tourist, or a bit of a bumpkin, so when the two ladies who were the only other people in the tiny restaurant joined in on the conversation with the me and the waitress, I asked them if they could recommend places like this, as I was new in town, and I assumed that they were locals who would know. They didn't recommend anything, but a few minutes later one of them approached me and handed me a note, which said (as closely as I can recall) "I've never done anything like this, but if you'd like to maybe go look for restaurants with me, here's my number".

I finished my breakfast, put the note in my pocket, smiled in their direction, and went on my way. Welcome to LA!
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