Doughboy's

I never thought I'd find a place so affordable yet tasty in Beverly Hills.

Doughboy's is famous for their red velvet cake (far left). At $5.50 a pop, their cakes are really big for the price. I think they save on labor because the cakes are not preciously decorated, but I like down home desserts more than overly fancy ones anyway.

I sat at the bar so I could stare at the baked goods. Look at all the choices, and how enormous they are! I wish I'd put up a hand for scale, because those coconut macaroon cookies were easily as big as an open hand. The biscotti are a foot long, and the lemon bars are about four square inches.

Just like everything else in the restaurant, my french onion soup came in an enormous crock. I think there was about a quart of soup in it, plus half a baguette. I ate less than half and was stuffed. The cheese was so stringy that I actually had a really hard time getting it to break so i could eat it. Which, of course, means I loved it. Most of Doughboy's entrees are under $10, and all the choices sound really good. Creamy polenta and muesli were on the breakfast menu, an assortment of pancakes and waffles in the griddle menu, mufalettas and other kinds of sandwiches, grilled cheese and tomato soup combos, meatloaf sandwiches, and a list of about 7 kinds of chilis and soups. The guy next to me had a bowl of chili the size of a pho bowl. Two people could share an entree and a dessert, get a couple drinks, and get out of the restaurant for under $20 total. Incredible. Just incredible.