Beadles Cafeteria

In Pasadena, Beadle's Cafeteria has always been the place to get comfort food: gooey macaroni and cheese, stacks of green Jell-O that defy gravity, chicken pot pie with a buttery crust and Thanksgiving-style turkey with stuffing on almost any day of the year. Beadle's has been serving this familiar fare since 1956. It's a restaurant that on its best days, when it bustles with activity, resembles an upscale school lunchroom, with green plastic trays and rows of linoleum-covered tables.

It's getting harder to find that plate of green jello. There was a time when the cafeteria was the undisputed king of Southern California dining. Before World War II, the cheap food and sprawling dining halls brought together strangers new to the region and created lasting bonds. The meals were inexpensive, and there was something altogether modern in the dining experience, which did without menus, waiters and tablecloths.

It's getting harder to find that plate of green jello. There was a time when the cafeteria was the undisputed king of Southern California dining. Before World War II, the cheap food and sprawling dining halls brought together strangers new to the region and created lasting bonds. The meals were inexpensive, and there was something altogether modern in the dining experience, which did without menus, waiters and tablecloths.

In Pasadena, Beadle's Cafeteria has always been the place to get comfort food: gooey macaroni and cheese, stacks of green Jell-O that defy gravity, chicken pot pie with a buttery crust and Thanksgiving-style turkey with stuffing on almost any day of the year. Beadle's has been serving this familiar fare since 1956. It's a restaurant that on its best days, when it bustles with activity, resembles an upscale school lunchroom, with green plastic trays and rows of linoleum-covered tables.

Ernest Vavra says he has spent $170,243.83 at Beadle's Cafeteria in the past 33 years--and he has the receipts to prove it. "If it wasn't for Beadle's, I wouldn't know where to go," says Vavra, a large, grizzled man of 83, as he picked over the last crumbs of his lemon meringue pie. "Other restaurants don't appeal to me. This is where I like to eat." In fact, Vavra has been eating at least one meal a day, seven days a week, at Beadle's since it opened on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena in 1956.

Twenty-seven Pasadena restaurants are donating a portion of their receipts from last week to the city's schools. The "Food for Thought" campaign, sponsored by the Pasadena Restaurant Assn., is raising money for the Pasadena Education Foundation. The foundation is trying to raise $1.5 million for school programs by the end of July. $1.3 million has been raised to fund a variety of academic programs and to buy computer equipment.

Here are some reliable sources for this quintessential comfort food: * Beadles Cafeteria: Here is the lunchroom chicken pot pie of our childhoods: flaky pie crust, creamy gravy, chunks of chicken and just enough peas and carrots to add a little color. ($3.10.) Beadles Cafeteria, 825 E. Green St., Pasadena, (626) 796-3618. * The Grill: A generous bowl is filled with a rich, creamy gravy, chicken breast, peas, carrots and onions, sealed under golden puff pastry. ($15.50.

There's nothing like meatloaf for stick-to-your-ribs satisfaction--so here are a few good versions. Prices are for dinners, unless otherwise noted. * 72 Market Street: This famous and heavenly meatloaf is steamed in cheesecloth and served with a heady clove-scented gravy, mashed potatoes and sauteed garlic spinach. (Meatloaf, $16). 72 Market Street, 72 Market St., Venice, 310-392-8720.

Roast lamb is one of the great dishes of spring, whether it's served with flageolet beans in the French manner or with peas and mint jelly, American style--or even in a sandwich. Here are a few places to find this increasingly rare old favorite. * Byzantine Greek Cuisine: At this new Greek restaurant in Glendale, a generous portion of lamb oven-roasted with garlic and herbs is served with rice, roasted potatoes and a fresh vegetable.

My Uncle Jack, a retired management wizard who now consults all over the world, is furious that the old Beadles Cafeteria in Pasadena is gone. "That place had atmosphere and history, and when you get to be my age, you appreciate those things. Not everything has to be brand spanking new." When I told him that the whole block had been torn down, he winced. "You kids used to love that long wooden corridor you had to walk through to get your tray," he said. "You used to call it the monster's tunnel.

Ernest Vavra says he has spent $170,243.83 at Beadle's Cafeteria in the past 33 years--and he has the receipts to prove it. "If it wasn't for Beadle's, I wouldn't know where to go," says Vavra, a large, grizzled man of 83, as he picked over the last crumbs of his lemon meringue pie. "Other restaurants don't appeal to me. This is where I like to eat." In fact, Vavra has been eating at least one meal a day, seven days a week, at Beadle's since it opened on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena in 1956.