Jason DeMartino
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jasondemartino.bsky.social
Jason DeMartino
@jasondemartino.bsky.social
Writer, ink artist, and once-and-future TV production worker... if, you know, studios ever get their act together.

www.jasondemartino.com
www.etsy.com/shop/jasondemartino
https://bio.site/jasondemartino
The neon sign is 70 feet high. You can't miss it. The giant Bob's statue stares you down from Riverside Drive.

It's spitting distance from the Warner Bros. lot. Michael Mann's "Heat" filmed here. It's recognized by the L.A. Conservancy. And they even still occasionally do car hop service here.
August 30, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Bob's Big Boy Burbank - the oldest remaining Bob's Big Boy in America. It was built in 1949, and incorporates a Streamline Moderne architectural style WHILE moving into the new coffee-shop, car-culture, Atomic esthetic that would become prominent in the 1950s.
August 30, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Counter service, sawdust on the floors and filled with cops and lawyers (probably the odd criminal, too). Philippe's has been in a long-running feud with Cole's (another old LA institution) about who created the French Dip sandwich. It's not important who you believe. It's important you PICK A SIDE.
August 30, 2025 at 7:24 PM
one of LA's oldest continuously-open restaurants, since 1908! it's been family run ever since Philippe Mathieu established it in Frenchtown (did you know LA used to have a Frenchtown?). It moved to its current location in 1951, when Frenchtown was razed to make way for the Hollywood Freeway.
August 30, 2025 at 7:20 PM
There was a big flap last year, when this location was in danger of closing down... I think a Dave's Hot Chicken was going in. The whole city said "Nah", and the closure was backed off. In a city where so many of our historic restaurants have been closing down lately, saving this one was a win.
August 30, 2025 at 7:02 PM
The great paean to Googie architecture, a quintessential greasy spoon. This is the oldest still in existence, from 1957, on La Cienega. Giant signage angular forms, lots of neon. People call it a diner, but it's more of a classic coffee shop that serves diner-style food (architecture nerd alert!)
August 30, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Which is valid. If the situation were reversed - say, a 120' bird tried to offer me a pizza - I'd have some concerns, too.
May 10, 2025 at 5:51 PM
She's 3 oz of pure attitude if I don't keep the feeder filled.
February 17, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Sure! Thank you!
February 15, 2025 at 2:28 AM