Bakersfield, CA – Milt’s Coffee Shop

The Burgerdogboy likes a traditional coffee shop/diner as much as he digs burgers, dogs, and pizza, but it would have made for a really unwieldy URL, so there you go.

Milt’s happened to be across the parking lot from my motel, and I was in the mood for a good club or French dip, as I am fairly often.  (Shallow, huh?)

I wandered over and pulled on the door;  locked.   Wot wot?   Circumnavigated the building, found the appropriate entrance, and walked in, two or three waitresses were wandering around, the place was perhaps 25% full, it was about 930p on  a Thursday.

Took me a couple minutes to get someone’s attention, as I was standing at the register, not the hostess station.  I knew what I wanted, and I knew I wanted it to go.   “French dip, onion rings, and one of these t-shirts, please, to go.”    The waitress took my order, rang it up, and went off shift.

It didn’t take all that long to be served, the cook seemed to have speed down to a science, as he was putting up quite a few orders while I waited.

The waitress filled my bag with condiments, napkins, flatware, and a large cup of au jus, but apparently failed to see that the lid was secure.  Barely made it back to the motel room before the bottom of the bag gave out. No big deal.   I stepped out to get a soft drink, and watched a guy put the same dollar bill in the machine over and over again, 10 or 15 times, before he gave up.  He gave me a look like somehow this was my fault.  It was a Pepsi machine (boo) but it did have water, so I opted for that over a Diet Pepsi.

Back in the room, I looked over the sandwich and rings.   Looked pretty tasty, but an immediate thumbs down on the roll (equivalent of a Pepperidge Farm sandwich roll, and on the au jus, which, held to my delicate nose, gave off the distinct aroma of the packaged variety, whether from powder or can.  I really enjoy those restaurants which go to the trouble to take pan scrapings and make the au jus from scratch, including some debris.  There are places in New Orleans that make such good gravies, you wonder whether you should eat it, or bathe in it.  Just my opinion.

Milt’s menu describes their dip as “tender sliced roast beef on a ciabatta roll.”   The beef was tender, brisket, flavorful, not all that thin, and as I have already mentioned, the roll was a negative.  And not ciabatta by any stretch of the imagination.

The rings were good and delivered with a side of ranch.   They were still crisp when I got to the room, my “usual trick” is for crisp food in take-out styrofoam, to poke some holes in the container before I leave the restaurant, that was the escaping steam from the sandwich has somewhere to go, other than zapping out the crispness of your food.  Just a theory.

All in all, a passable meal.  One of those times where I sum it up by just saying, “it was what it was.” Milt’s menu is online.  They are open early and late.

Milt's Coffee Shop, Bakersfield

Milt's Coffee Shop, Bakersfield

Milt's Coffee Shop on Urbanspoon

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