Did you ever have that dream where you were falling, falling, falling through the clouds...
-- but just before you touch the ground, your eyes open and you realize it was all your sleepytime imagination, and that bicycles don't really fly, and your parents really aren't Edward James Olmos and Queen Latifah?
Maybe you're smarter than me and listen to your mom when she tells you not to eat candy before bed because it will give you nightmares about living single to standing and delivering, but even if you're a total floozy-two-shoes who will likely live past thirty, chances are you'll still wake up like me -- with a notion to get to noshin', by goshin'!
So put on some pants [at least] before you jump out the front door, and head for Roni's!
Why Roni's? Well, if you live nearby, why not? It's close. And if you don't live nearby, you can be there in your dreams, where Jane Austen is your waitress and she suggests you order the pastrami on rye and actually READ Pride and Prejudice, not just watch the movie.
Or, ionno... you could just drive there when you're next in Beverly Hills.
Anyuselesstangentway...
Unlike the larger, more famous Canter's, Roni's isn't on most people's short-lists when it comes to "must-eat-ats" for delicatessens in the WeHo-BeHills area, but it's serviceable (even if it doesn't have a bakery with eclairs and brownies and other things that have far too many empty, delicious calories) and gets the job done when it comes to taking the edge of nightmarish hunger at a reasonable price.
The standard deli selection of salty, fattening sandwiches is on offer here (corned beef, steak, pastrami, etc.) on your choice of bread, as is alcohol - though if you want anything harder than Beck's, it's BYOB, babe. You can even get burgers and salads, so the one girl in your group who is a lifelong vegetarian (or even if she just picked up on it in college) can still get full. Like, two meals worth of full.
Service is friendly, but not smarmy and in your face, if that makes any sense (No? I'm sorry, sweetheart. Have some of my fries)
The food is big, inexpensive, and comforting, though honestly not so Earth-shattering that you'll want to marry your four-cheese sandwich in a traditional wedding, with a dill pickle as maid of honor and shoestring potatoes as the flower girl. You've had better, but probably paid more.
(I've said that a lot in my life)
Roni's is somewhat "off-strip" insofar as location goes -- it's not right next to all the pricey, trendy shoppes on Camden, Rodeo, Canon, or the like, so you'll run into far fewer of the kind of incidental, touristy customers snapping pics before they pile back into their minivan, or those broke scenesters who like to hang out in expensive neighborhoods to try to look cool.
The crowd at Roni's are there because they actually intend to eat there, and not just because they passed by and were hungry after trying on dozens of pairs of Jimmy Choos. More family-oriented, as well...
-- A place you can take your parents when they drive out to see how their little boy or girl is living these days.
(Living LARGE, my lovely. Though I'm hiding the candy, because I hear the doorbell, and if mother finds out I sometimes eat a Milky Way for dinner, it's my ass...) read more