Anderson's

2.9 (B-)

Food * * *
Service * *
Ambience * *
Value 7.5
Cost $
 Dish

Price

  Value Rating
Traveller's Special (All You Can Eat)

$4.95

  * * * * * *


Driving back from Los Angeles, someone noticed a sign, "Santa Nella - Anderson's Pea Soup - 198 miles." It was about 2:30pm, so we decided to stop in for a mid-trip meal. Anderson's is very much a tourist trap in the middle of nowhere. They have a big motel/hotel and huge tacky windmills easily seen from the freeway. They have a big tourist shop with Anderson's products and cheap audio tapes (kind of like a big flea market) near to the entrance of the restaurant and coffee shop.

For some reason, the coffee shop was really packed, so we went into the restaurant ("same menu, same price"). The waitresses were all wearing slightly (well, actually, very) tacky German-mountain folk dresses, and the waiters wore tuxedo-black suits. We all gazed at the menu, but instead of being adventurous and trying an ostrich burger, we all four opted for the Anderson's Pea Soup Traveller's Special - fresh bread, drink, and all-you-can-eat soup. We all ordered milkshakes (though not exactly what we expected - more McDonald's style, the strawberry was excessively pink!) The soup hit the spot! It had a vastly different effect on each of us. The largest in our group could manage only one bowl, the petite ladies in our party managed nearly two, and I managed three, though I felt a little heavy and bloated afterwards, but, oh, so sated. The service was pretty fast, though the waiter lapsed a little in bringing all four milkshakes and was sometimes a little inattentive in bringing the soup.

It was a very satisfying (inexpensive) meal while travelling, though I'm not sure if I would recommend trying anything but the soup. The prices seemed to shoot up for much of anything else. On the other hand, there isn't much in Santa Nella or on I-5 for that matter, so of all the restaurants in Santa Nella, I wholeheartedly recommend Anderson's Pea Soup.


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This page modified on February 12, 1997 by E.
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