My goal was not to make the same mistake with Alice’s, and so far, I have made two visits and will try to increase that total immediately.
Besides being a legend, the restaurant is a fantastic place to eat breakfast. If you go for no other reason, go for the cinnamon rolls. They are world-famous and gigantic. One roll could easily feed two.
They are just part of the desserts that Mary Beth Gustafson bakes for diners and walk-in customers. There is also a variety of muffins and cookies, and if you can walk out the door without getting an oversized chocolate chip cookie, then you are a better person than me.
If you have a dog, bring them along, because Gustafson has a treat for them as well. For about a year, she has been baking dog biscuits that are in the shape of cookies, and they are made with vegetable beef, milk powder, whole wheat flour, brown rice, gelatin, eggs and corn oil.
My hope is, when the restaurant closes, that Gustafson has some outlet for these unbelievable pastries. She is planning on opening a bakery somewhere in Huntington Beach after the restaurant closes, and I plan to be one of the first in line.
Gustafson is the daughter of owner Alice Gustafson, who began the restaurant with her husband, John. John Gustafson also owned the End Café on the Huntington Beach Pier.
Alice Gustafson was occupying an old, red barn next to the lake in Central Park since 1980 when the city thought it could get more money by converting the building into a bistro that served beer and wine.
As they figuratively readied to throw an elderly woman in the streets, enough people protested and the council acquiesced, letting Gustafson stay until after Labor Day weekend 2010, when she will retire.
