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Established in 2013, California Al's Restaurant has quickly become a favorite place to enjoy great food of the Lodi locals, and residents of other areas, like me, who appreciate a great family diner. As with all of my reviews, I have no affiliation with the restaurant reviewed, and there is no monetary gain on my part, as I am simply a person who likes to eat, and I love to write-up, and publish my dining experiences.
Photo: It's 11 o'clock on Monday morning, November 7, 2016, and we've arrived at California Al's Restaurant, ready to enjoy a great meal. The main entrance is to the right of the photo, and the parking lot is on the other side of the building. I'm shooting the restaurant from this side, as the morning light makes for a good photo.
Photo: The dining room is quite compact - the photo shows most of it - and is furnished with tables, with lots of room to move around. Since we arrived after breakfast, but before lunch, the restaurant was lightly seated, which makes for good photos.
Photo: California Al's Restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch, and Al's is serious about breakfast, as breakfast is served anytime the restaurant is open. Since it was 11 in the morning, and this was my first meal, I debated between breakfast or lunch, but lunch won out. Sharlene and I ordered nearly identical from the lunch menu: California Burger for each of us, but with subtle differences. Next time I visit, I'll order breakfast.
Photo: The service is fast and friendly, and our burgers arrived about fifteen minutes after we placed our order, delivered by our friendly server, Diara... honey, I hope I got your name correct! Great, friendly service, with a smile, and she even brought ranch dressing for us to dip our onion rings and fries in, which was a nice touch. The couple seated behind us were quite amused with my photo-taking, and laughed the whole time I was taking photos. I'm happy they were such good sports.
Photo: Thanks to our friendly server, Diara, for taking our photo, as we prepare to enjoy a delicious lunch. We both ordered California Burgers, with small differences... see the next couple of photos. I love the checkered paper, and the burgers and fries in baskets... doesn't that remind you of the 1960's?
Photo: My California Burger, which includes bacon, avocado, along with cheddar and jack cheese. If you order "everything" on your burger, you get lettuce, onion, tomato, and a slice of dill pickle on the side. I ordered my burger cooked "medium," with "everything," and I received a juicy, delicious, "old school" burger, garnished only with the toasted bun, and a little bit of mayonnaise. Condiments, including ketchup, mustard and relish were available on the table to add, but this burger was so delicious, I just ate it "as is," and enjoyed every bite. Included sides include fries, onion rings, potato salad or green salad; I went with fries. This meal was amazing! Definitely an "old school" diner kind of lunch...
Photo: Sharlene's nearly identical lunch of a California Burger, except she opted to omit onion, have her patty cooked well done, and order onion rings, rather than fries. We "mixed and matched" onion rings and fries between us, which was the plan. Like my burger, Sharlene's burger was fabulous.
Photo: I love to post a close-up photo of a fine burger, and California Al's Restaurant definitely serves a wonderful, "old school" cheeseburger. Great food, friendly service, reasonable prices, and "old school" dining atmosphere. Open for breakfast and lunch, with breakfast served all day, California Al's Restaurant offers a wonderful dining experience in Lodi. California Al's Restaurant Copyright(c) 2016 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. This site has been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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