Community Corner

'Good Girl Dinette' Starts Serving Breakfast From Today

Grab a pint of pho—or porridge—at the Avenue 56 restaurant that serves Vietnamese comfort food with an American-diner twist.

It’s been about four years since Diep Tran opened Good Girl Dinette, a popular restaurant on 110 N. Ave. 56 that the owner and head chef describes as “American diner meets Vietnamese comfort food.”

Through much of those years, Diep has been waiting to realize one major culinary goal that will finally become reality today, Saturday: Serving breakfast.

“We wanted to have a thoughtful menu, and that took a while for me,” Diep told Highland Park-Mount Washington Patch on Thursday amid preparations for the restaurant’s breakfast launch.

The menu boasts a dozen dishes—from a pho and porridge to pound cakes and pies, and some interesting savories in between.

“I love every one of them,” Diep replied when asked to name a couple of her favorite dishes. Finally, relenting, she pointed to item # 3 on the menu: Maggi Steak & Eggs.

Of course, this being L.A. and not Vietnam, readers are bound to wonder what on earth Maggi is. “It’s a brand popular throughout the world, except in America,” Diep explained, adding that item # 3 on her menu includes Maggi seasoning. (Maggi also makes instant noodles consumed widely across Asia.)

Another of her favorite breakfast dishes is the Croque-Garçon Manqué, said Diep, describing it as a bacon-and-cheese breakfast sandwich that’s her version of the classic ham-and-cheese croque-monsieur. A garçon manqué is a tomboy in French, explains Diep—a bacon-loving tomboy in this case.

Good Girl Dinette has been “doing great,” Diep said, adding that she loves Highland Park and “can’t think of a better place to have opened my restaurant.”

Diep had considered opening the dinette in Eagle Rock—she lives on the cusp of the ER and Highland Park, in the 90041 zip code—but when the space on 110 N. Ave. 56 opened up, she fell in love with it.

“I just knew it was home,” Diep said, adding: “You know, this used to be Jackie Goldberg’s campaign office.”

Goldberg is of course well known as the first openly gay member of the Los Angeles City Council. “She was a champion for the whole district,” said Diep, who, too, is openly lesbian. “When I found out that she had her office in this space, I thought, my diner has to be here.”

Good Girl Dinette will serve breakfast everyday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Said Diep: “We’ll be open for early risers as well as those who like to sleep late."


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