My dad once gave me some advice. “Son” he said. “Never play cards with a man named Doc. Never eat at a place called ‘Mom’s’ and never sleep with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own.” Sage advice from a merchant sailor. Like most things my dad told me, I chose to go against his better judgement and ate at a place called “Mom’s”. But more on that later. Allow me to give you the lay of the land.

I don’t know what Tom Joad was bitching about. I went to Julian, California in San Diego County and it looks like people have a blast picking apples.

Actually, we were a little late for the apple-picking season. One of the draws to this historic town is that it has an idea climate for growing apples. These days, folks from the flatlands ride up in the early fall and pay for the privilege of picking a few bushels.

But I digress. Like I said, we were a little late in the season for that. So what is there to do? The downtown is several blocks long and lined with stores that specialize in chotchkies of all variety. On a cold fall morning, it’s striking place to wander along and window shop. The town was founded in the 1870’s and has a plethora of historic buildings.

So back to eating at a place called “Mom’s”. The other big industry in Julian is the apple pie industry. I’m sure that if you ask people about the place, they’ll all have their opinions about the place to eat. We rolled the dice on Mom’s because it had the biggest line.

And pies they had. Pies of all variety. Pot pies, apple pies, cherry-apple pies. You can even choose between crusts. I think that we found the exception to the “Don’t eat at ‘Mom’s’ rule”.

So after our pies, we wandered. What is there to do? Well, we got duped into seeing the Julian re-enactors. More on that later. If you find your way here, give this one a miss.

Another thing my dad hipped me to was walking in old cemeteries. When I was a kid, he used to take me through hikes in the one out on South Bass Island. Julian has a really beautiful one seated up on top of a hill at the end of downtown.

Julian makes for a nice day-trip on a fall afternoon.

Clifford Clinton was a bold man. How bold? First, he opened a business that catered to the everyman in the middle of the Great Depression. Second, he took on the mayor of Los Angeles, the LA Times, and the LAPD. That little disagreement got so heated that the LAPD set a bomb off in his Los Feliz home. Needless to say, he was undeterred and as a result, he changed the power and scope of LA politics. If you want more on that, follow this link.

Clifton’s is like a moment frozen in time. This is a place that serves the stick-to-your-ribs kind of food that the shuffling masses in the last century yearned for. Clifton’s specializes in the dense fair that our grandmothers told us would make us grow big and strong.

The Clinton family has hung in there at the same location with the same menu for over seventy years.

The food is just one thing that sets Clifton’s apart from the rest. The décor is another reason to show up. The three-floored cafeteria is set up to look like a cabin, complete with real wood paneling, fishing bears, and a running stream. There is also a chapel for those that are weary in spirit.

Stop into Clifton’s and get a piece of pie and some coffee. It should be on everyone’s to-do list the next time you’re in downtown LA.