Last Monday (as in the 2nd) I went to dinner with Victor. His car was in the shop and he needed a ride to Van Nuys. We both decided we didn’t want anything near work, as that source of nourishment has been “played out.” I said “lets just drive closer and closer to your apartment and we’ll find something, the good lord will provide!” We passed many Mexican restaurants and some other places but I plowed on. Then, when we were almost there (Victor lives a block east of the Van Nuys Flyaway/airport) I saw it. Right in the middle of the crappy part of Van Nuys was – Kountry Kitchen; a restaurant made out like an old fashioned Bob Evans. Now those of you in the midwest might say “so what?” Keep in mind this is the heart of Van Nuys, which consists of fast food, strip clubs, tiny 99 cent stores, and nothing written anywhere in English.

We walked in and the inside was even better. The whole place carried out the “Kountry” theme, with stained glass of chickens in the farmyard and so on. We both ordered (mediocre) omelettes. However, we both ordered the strawberry lemonade, and received plentiful refills – each time with a new plop of real strawberries. As we were preparing to leave some sort of congregation of older military men and women started assembling. There was nary a non-white skinned person in the house (save for the wait staff and Victor). This must be the only place the remaining (now elderly) Van Nuys population (once middle class –white folks– homes in the middle of orange groves) can go to feel “at home.” Of course we were also the only two people in the place under 55.

I searched, but couldn’t find a website for the restaurant.