Built in 1949 the Bob’s Big Boy restaurant in Burbank CA is the oldest remaining Big Boy location in the country. We totally lucked out when we visited it on a warm Friday night – just in time for their weekly classic car show and weekend car hop service! While we had to scurry in quick to get our meals as we were en route to a show, I wish we could have spent more time gawking at the vintage cars.
While it was a gorgeous warm California night, we opted to sit inside and not out on the patio, as we were able to snag 2 seats at the counter, instead of waiting for one of their many booths. The patio was added to the restaurant in 1993, when the restaurant was also declared a historical landmark by the state of California.
Sitting at the counter we had a lovely view of some of the classic Big Boys that have evolved through the ages. from a lumpydumpy chump to the stylish dip-top boy that folks love today.
(The history of the Big Boy statues and the franchises is a long and varied one, with many of us having a familiarity with the Big Boys in our own states- in Mass for example, the one I remember on Route 9 was Abdow’s, and sometime in the early 90′s one opened at the edge of the Bourne Bridge on Cape Cod, where I had to stop for a photo op! )
While the menu at Bob’s is varied we fell prey to the giant neon sign outside (and the burger above) and knew one of us had to order their Original “Double Deck” burger. Retro Roadhusband had his hands full with that one!
And Mod Betty is a sucker for fried chicken, so when it’s named after someone named Pappy, with secret spices in the mix, well you know what I had to order! Food was plentiful, service was prompt and we gladly hepped some waiting folks to the fact that we were vacating our seats, as the folks before us had done.
While a visit to Bob’s would not be complete without a pose along with the famous Big Boy, you can see he was a popular guy that night, so we let other folks enjoy his company.
We know we’ll be back there again, as this is a Retro Roadmap restaurant worth repeating!
Bob’s Big Boy
4211 West Riverside Drive
Burbank, CA 91505
(818) 843-9334
Open 24 hours
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Fabulous pics … I’m glad that you & Cliff had the time to stop!
I do SO miss the Elby’s franchise of Bob’s in our area. I think they were all gone by the late 80s. I also loved the Elias Brothers versions when I lived in Michigan.
How cute is that picture of you with the Big Boy … it looks as if it was taken just yesterday; you haven’t changed much at all
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