Diablo Dish: Eddie Papa’s American Hangout Shutters

Apr 09, 2023

Known for its cotton candy, sociable atmosphere, and familiar menu choices, Eddie Papa's American Hangout will, to the disappointment of many, be shutting its doors.

A longtime community favorite on Hopyard Road just south of Interstate 580 (next to the Courtyard Marriott), Eddie Papa's was family-friendly and family-owned. Customers will have chance to return for a final meal, but after 15 years, the restaurant will be closing for good, likely at the end of this month.

There are few guarantees in the razor-thin-margin, what-have-you-served-me-lately restaurant business, and LB Steak's venture into San Ramon and City Center Bishop Ranch was no sure thing.

But two years have gone by, and LB Steak has settled in on Bollinger Canyon Road. The restaurant will offer a special $105 three-course, prix-fixe meal to celebrate. The special menu will be available for lunch and dinner through Friday and features a 22-ounce rib eye as the main course.

LB Steak

Though White Pony Express isn't a restaurant, it serves the equivalent of 10,000 meals a day to the many in the East Bay who struggle to find enough food to eat. A decade ago, though, White Pony Express didn't exist, and it was only through the efforts of Walnut Creek psychologist Carol Weyland Conner that it now serves more than 80 agencies from its warehouse in Pleasant Hill.

It all began when Conner, who walked through Walnut Creek on a regular basis, noticed how much food local restaurants had to throw away, while at the same time, hungry people didn't have enough. That was ten years ago, and Conner took $800 and a great idea and ran with it, creating one of the largest food rescue operations in California.

Conner, who passed away last week, will be deeply missed, but her creation will continue helping the less fortunate—though like all nonprofits, White Pony Express can still use help from volunteers and donors to guarantee it can keep doing its good works.

Concord has a new Indian option with the opening of Namo Indian Cuisine on Monument Boulevard near Oak Grove Road. A quick perusal of the menu reveals standards like tikka masala, aloo gobi, and lamb korma on the entrée menu, plus a lunch menu served thali, or bento box–style, with an entrée complemented by basmati rice, naan, black lentils, salad, Indian pickle, and a dessert.

Taking over a location that had sat empty for five-plus years, Daruma Sushi is livening up San Pablo Avenue between Allston and Bancroft ways in Berkeley. Though obviously there's sushi on the menu, Daruma also offers donburi, hot soups, and bento boxes as well.

A popular stop for students looking for sweets and caffeine, the Cinnaholic in Berkeley near the UC campus is sadly no longer with us. Note, however, that the Cinnaholic in Concord is still open.