Route 66 is known for diners, roadsides and quirky roadside attractions that served motorists during its heyday.
Some of them still exist.
To mark the Mother Road’s 100th anniversary, in the next few weeks we’ll be visiting some of the restaurants that have been feeding motorists on the Mother Road from the Mojave Desert to Santa Monica.
Our journey begins and will likely end with burgers.
Most of the old-time truck stops on the Mother Road between the Arizona Border and San Bernardino are gone, but there’s one left that’s the real deal. Our destination is Emma Jean’s Holland Burger Diner in Victorville.
Starting point: We’re beginning our journey at the Bagdad Cafe, about 55 miles away in Newberry Springs.
Bagdad Cafe is at 46548 National Trails Highway, as San Bernardino County calls this stretch of Route 66.
This wood-shingle building was once the Sidewinder Cafe, but its identity changed after a German filmmaker used it as the primary location for his 1987 cult classic “Bagdad Cafe.” There was a ghost town called Bagdad farther east, but it no longer exists.
The place has been sought out by European tourists since at least the 1990s, newspaper articles show. Many travelers leave some memory of their visit, such as autographed dollar bills stuck to the walls.
Seemingly, nearly every inch of the walls and ceiling is covered with the flags of the world, bunting, T-shirts, caps, posters, business cards, snapshots and graffiti. The dining room is equipped with musical instruments for spontaneous jams.
Airstream trailers used in the film remain in the parking lot for tourists to examine.
The kitchen has been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the place’s website, but visitors can buy bags of Doritos, Coke cans and bottled water at the counter. bagdad-cafe-usa.com
Next stop: We’re taking a detour to pass the location of the first Del Taco drive-in, opened in 1961 by Ed Hackbarth at 38434 W. Yermo Road in that community.
The stand looks frozen in time, but it still operates as Tita’s Burger Den. Part of its business comes from personnel at a nearby Marine Corps base.
Continuing west for 3½ miles, we reach Peggy Sue’s 50’s Diner at 35654 Yermo Road.
Peggy Sue’s was transformed from a tiny truckstop to a 10,000 square-foot tourist magnet by Champ and Peggy Sue Gabler, who reopened it in 1987. In the early 1960s, the couple were actors in the Bird Cage Theatre at Knott’s Berry Farm and Champ later worked in management at the Buena Park theme park, which is appropriate since Knott’s was inspired by the nearby Calico ghost town.
K.C. Gabler, their son, said that he frequently explains that Peggy Sue’s is not on Route 66 but represents what a roadside diner would have been like.
Out back, there’s “diner-saur park” populated with metallic critters. Past the entrance done up like a rainbow jukebox, kitsch of all kinds adorns several dining rooms. Betty Boop, Elvis Presley, James Dean, the Blues Brothers and “The Wizard of Oz” are all memorialized in artwork and collectibles.
Waitresses in turquoise and pink uniforms serve foods of yesteryear, including grilled liver and onions and malts from metal cups. More people seem to go for cheeseburgers with onion rings, steak and eggs, hot cakes and “I Love Lucy” cream pie. Meals run around $16-$22. peggysuesdiner.com
On to Barstow: Heading south on the 15 Freeway, we rejoin Route 66 on Main Street and stop at the oldest operating Del Taco at 401 N. First Ave., a short walk from the Mother Road.
Hackbarth rebranded an existing Taco Tia restaurant, the name Del Taco, in 1964, as a timeline decorating its dining room illustrates. Taco Tia was a chain founded by his mentor, Glen Bell.
Although Hackbarth sold Del Taco in 1976, he kept three restaurants in Barstow. At 92, he still visits them regularly from his home in Orange County, according to Del Taco representatives. There’s even an electronic billboard on the freeway inviting motorists to come see Ed.
Barstow Del Tacos have slightly different menus with “Barstow Classics” in the $3-$5 range, including Bun Tacos, Barstow Taco Salad and Barstow Tacos with 1960s recipes. There’s also an Orange Cream Shake for $5.
Del Taco is near railroad tracks that helped build the High Desert. On the other side is the Route 66 Mother Road Museum. Among its treasures is a 1958 Edsel station wagon. The museum is at Harvey House, one in a chain of hotels built to serve train passengers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This one dates from 1911.
From here, the easiest way to get to Victorville is to take the 15 Freeway, but motorists can also go back to the National Trails Highway.
Our destination: Emma Jean’s Holland Burger Cafe is at 17143 N D St., a stretch of Route 66 about two miles from the 15 Freeway. There’s not much around it except for the CEMEX Victorville Cement Plant across the street.
There’s more action on the other side of the freeway, including the California Route 66 Museum, which houses vintage and classic cars at 16825 D St,
Holland Burger has the blessings of the Ancient and Honorable Order of E. Clampus Vitus, a tongue-in-cheek fraternal organization with a braying donkey for a mascot.
A plaque installed by the organization in 2011 tells the history of the eatery, which occupies a turquoise-colored cinder block building that dates from 1947.
It gets its name from founders Bob and Kate Holland. In the 1970s, it was acquired by Richard Gentry, a cement truck driver, and his wife Emma Jean, a waitress at the cafe. Their family still owns it.
The dining room is painted yellow, roughly the color of Guy Fieri’s spiked hair. Walls are decorated with autographed posters of the Food Network star, who profiled it in a 2007 Route 66 episode of his series “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” It shows Fieri helping the late Brian Gentry make biscuits and gravy.
The $17 Brian Burger is one of the signature items here. It’s made with Ortega chilis and served on thick grilled toast. The wait staff recommends tring it house-made hot sauce.
Holland Burger Cafe remains true to its origins. Customers sit on swivel chairs at the counter, watching short-order cooks work a griddle. And restrooms are entered from the parking lot. They have old-time soap dispensers from Luron, a discontinued 1930 brand from the Pacific Coast Borax Company, and the doors are marked “men” and “ladies.”
Holland Burger is open for breakfast and lunch and regularly closes at 2:30 p.m. emma-jeans-holland-burger-cafe.gofoodtruck.net
Our next stop: In two weeks, we’ll visit Mitla Cafe in San Bernardino, which holds a unique place in Mexican-American dining.