Tag Archives: closed

CLOSED – Riviera at The Fireside, Westminster, California

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This blog is primarily intended to celebrate classic and historic restaurants that still exist, but occasionally I will be mentioning a restaurant that is gone.

I was planning an upcoming trip to Southern Cal. and since I will be staying on the Queen Mary in Long Beach I thought I would visit an old restaurant in the area. The Riviera at The Fireside has been on my to-visit list for many years, since I first read about it on the sadly defunct L.A. Time Machines web site. I once popped in for a look (and a quick drink) once on my way to LAX from San Diego (and I took pictures, which I can’t find now), but I never got to dine there, despite many opportunities. So I was saddened this week to hear that it closed for good in October 2011, after 44 years in business.

The Riviera opened in 1967 at the South Coast Plaza and moved in 1992 into another long-time restaurant, The Fireside in Westminster just off the I-405 freeway. The restaurant offered Continental cuisine, with flambé dishes their specialty, which included Caesar Salad, Spinach Salad with hot bacon dressing, Filet Diane, Pepper Steak Flambé, Duckling A L’Orange, Cherries Jubilee and Crepes Suzette. Yes, they even flambéd salads! All served by waiters in bow ties and dinner jackets (just my kind of place!) and (as I can recall) the decor was updated original with large black booths, but with newer fabrics and lighting. When I peeked inside it was nicely decorated for Christmas, but it was hard to get an idea of what it was like during the rest of the year.

Riviera at the Fireside

Let this downer of a post encourage you to visit a classic restaurant while you still can. Do it this weekend!

Related posts:

The Butcher Shop, San Diego, California Val’s Restaurant, Daly City, California Original Joe’s, San Jose, California Old Trieste, San Diego, California – CLOSED

CLOSED – Country Bill’s, Portland, Oregon

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In the Woodstock neighborhood of Southeast Portland is a steakhouse that has been owned and operated by the same family since 1964, Country Bill’s.

Inside is a large restaurant but the cocktail lounge is where you want to dine, among its red vinyl booths and wood-paneled walls. I’m not sure if they still use the restaurant side because when I went there recently with my Portland friends Drew and Dana we were seated in the lounge.

I had a New York steak, which had nice grill marks and was done just right. The meals are very reasonably priced and come with choice of soup or salad and potato, but you can substitute homemade dumplings and gravy for the potato (or rice pilaf, cottage cheese, vegetables, sliced tomatoes, or cole slaw).

New York steak with dumplings and gravy and garlic bread

I’m glad my friend suggested this place when I said I wanted to visit an old steakhouse because it has been up for sale since last year as the owners want to retire, and the real estate broker makes its preservation sound unlikely: “I can’t tell you how many people tell me they just need something like a nice sports bar or something.”. Better go soon!

Country Bill’s mascot

Country Bill’s
4415 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland, OR 97206
(503) 774-4198
Open for dinner M-Th 4pm-10pm; Fri-Sat 4pm-11pm; Sun 4pm-9pm; bar opens at 3pm daily

Related posts:

Clyde’s Prime Rib, Portland, Oregon Dan and Louis Oyster Bar, Portland, Oregon Jake’s Famous Crawfish, Portland, Oregon Huber’s Café, Portland, Oregon

The Hayward Ranch, Hayward, California – CLOSED

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Roundup of Bay Area old west style roadhouses – part two of three.

A couple of months ago Le Continental visited Rancho Nicasio as part one of my roundup of old western steakhouses in the Bay Area. Today we’re hitchin’ up the horse and riding to the Hayward Ranch in Hayward in the East Bay. Built in 1948 using wood from an old railroad trestle near Sacramento, and thankfully it hasn’t changed much. At one time the original owners, Leonard and Adele Perillo, had 27 Ranch steakhouses in their East Bay / Tri-Valley (Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore) chain. Now this is the only one left. In 1999 it was purchased by the current owner, Chris Sarantakis, who vowed “I’m not going to change it, I’m going to make it better”.

The big sign is visible from a long way down the road

The restaurant is in a long, low, ranch style building with a rustic interior of walls made from the trestle wood covered with western bric-à-brac, framed pictures, and other clutter (but no cheap beer advertisements or strings of mini white lights – hooray!), and simple old wooden tables and booths.

The menu is typical of old western steakhouse fare and the prices are very reasonable. At dinner you can get a steak dinner with soup or salad, potato or pasta, and vegetable for around $20 or less. They have a bargain early bird menu from 4:00-6:00pm, and they serve breakfast and lunch, too.

I’ve had a steak there many times and have been quite pleased with them, but this time I took the waiter’s recommendation and tried the fried chicken. It was very good: tender and not dried out, with a crispy skin. Not the best fried chicken I’ve had in the Bay Area (and definitely not comparable to the fried chicken I’ve had in the Southern U.S.), but it was a good choice.

fried chicken dinner

A couple of dining companions had steaks: one had the filet mignon and another had a rib-eye. They both said they were tasty and tender.

filet mignon with Bearnaise sauce and sautéed mushrooms

We had some Manhattans with Bulleit rye and they were made perfectly as requested (stirred, not shaken). The service was excellent. Our young waiter was on top of everything and very friendly and affable. For dessert I had the homemade cherry cobbler and it was sooooo good! Perfect amount of fruit, not too thick and gummy, and a crunchy crust. YUM! Don’t skip dessert here!

cherry cobbler

Gorgeous neon sign with cocktail on one side and royal cow on the other.

The Hayward Ranch
22877 Mission Blvd., Hayward, Ca 94541
(510) 537-5522
open 7am – 10pm Monday – Saturday, closed Sundays, bar open until 11pm

Related posts:

Val’s Restaurant, Daly City, California Bob Taylor’s Original Ranch House, Las Vegas, Nevada Casa Orinda, Orinda, California Rancho Nicasio, Nicasio, California

Postcard Panorama

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The Paul Cummins Gay 90s

“A Saloon Created For The Carriage Trade”

  • Professors of the Piano and Banjo
  • Beauteous Feminine Cupbearers
  • Gleaming Fire Pole
  • Amazing Oil Paintings
  • Luxurious. Salubrious. Pulchritudinous.
  • Home of the Biggest Drink in the West
  • Greatest Guest Participation Sing Along Nightly

157 North La Cienega, Beverly Hills, California

– from The Jab’s collection

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