Fall of 1999. I stopped in at Bob’s Big Boy, a Burbank icon, to get breakfast. The place was packed, I noticed a seat at the counter and grabbed it. I looked at the menu, then sat it down, so the server could know I was ready. I ordered the biscuits and gravy… always perfect. My first time at Bob’s was during my internship in 96. It was a LA icon and I had to try it. Fantastic food and ambience. When my parents came to visit me, I took them to Bob’s. This was 95, so there was still smoking in Kansas restaurants. My mom asked the hostess for non-smoking. She looked at my mom crazy then seated her. As we sat down, Mom double checked, “are you sure this is non-smoking?” The hostess politely said yes. After the hostess walked away, I had to explain to mom, that every restaurant in California was non-smoking. It was a state law.
I looked around and sitting next to me was Drew Carey. I say hi, he says hello. We started up a conversation. He asked a lot of questions about me, he never really talked about himself. He wanted to know what I was doing in L.A. (I worked for Dick Clark) and about being a midwesterner. He, as you know, is from Cleveland. He was super friendly and funny. Just a very kind individual. As he wrapped up breakfast he shook my hand and wished me luck. He was heading to a taping of “Whose Line is it Anyway?”
Once I finished my food I asked the server for my bill. She says, “Oh Drew picked it up.” I thought that was really cool. What a nice guy.
So I get to work, and tell one of my co-workers about the meeting with Drew. She had a friend over at Warner Brothers. She told me that WB gave Drew a new car as a thank you for working with WB. Drew started walking around the office asking people what kind of car they drove. One of the Production Assistants (an entry level job) told Drew he took the bus to work. Drew tossed him the keys to his Miata and told him it was his.
How cool. I can’t verify that the second story is true, but I have no reason to doubt it. My story is true and it is one of my favorite memories of working in Los Angeles. Maybe I should write some more blogs about my L.A. time. It was a truly unique experience. I might even write about why I moved back to the midwest. Who knows? That’s the fun of this blog. I can write about anything.
Some pictures from 1999. My sister and I at Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank.
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