“Tally Ho! You Gotta Go” Tally Rand Restaurant Burbank, CA

As the West Coast Road Reporter for Retro Roadmap, I have the pleasure and privilege of visiting dozens of great Retro Roadmap Worthy places and enjoyed the sights, sounds and smells of them all. But on a recent visit to Tally Rand in Burbank, California I was so overcome with joy I did something I've never ever done before:

I bought a T-shirt!

Look at that cool design and tell me you don't want one.

Tally Rand may well be my favorite place ever!

The Tally Rand started as a coffee shop with a counter in Burbank, California way back in 1959. Along the way the place grew and evolved into the a coffee shop/diner/family restaurant hybrid it is today serving up the freshest food packed with “Homemade Quality You Can Taste” to those of us lucky enough to walk through their welcoming doors.

This landmark features three old school dining rooms with deep burgundy leather booths. The front room is the breakfast spot with lots of natural light and a great old school cozy counter complete with a pastry case.

Look up and you'll even see one of those old fashioned number thingys used to tell your waitress the food is ready. I have no idea what it is called but know it is cool and has been there for decades.

The second room is the busy lunch and dinner space that looks like it may have been remodeled in the past decade. The only reason to go in there is to use the restroom.

The third room is the most intriguing because it appears untouched by time.

It is a subterranean hideaway that resembles the “Reagle Beagle” from the 1970s sitcom “Threes Company.” Just five steps down from the front room you slip into another world with a retro bar, second set of rest rooms and a back exit for quick getaways.

The lighting is dim and the folks there at lunch eyed me suspiciously. Hence no photos of it.

It seemed like the perfect place to meet your mistress for a quick bite before... You know. Or to meet a hit man to have said mistress bumped off when things go wrong. Yeah, it is that kind of room.

(OMG I SO WANT TO CHECK OUT THIS PART OF THE RESTO! Mod B)

Safely back in my booth, I devoured my hot open turkey sandwich which featured hand carved white meat (the place serves up 200 pounds of turkey each day) and crispy french fries coated in a blanket of homemade turkey gravy. Topped off with cranberry sauce, this dish made my families thanksgiving meals taste like a Hungry Man TV dinner. It was that good.

My pal called his patty melt “Too good for words.”   All the lunch specials come with your choice of garlic bread, corn bread of a homemade muffin.

Here's a tip. When offered a homemade muffin as a choice, go with the muffin!The Tally Rand bakes them here on site every morning.

But make sure you leave room for dessert. Tally Rand has a wide selection of home baked pies and pasties including an old time favorite Bundt cake! You read right—BUNDT CAKE. Dessert doesn't get any more retro delicious than that.

This year marks the fifty-fifth anniversary of the Tally Rand. Why not stop in and help celebrate? You'll be the one getting the gift. And make sure to ask for Dot. She's a hoot!