22 • THE <strong>Reader</strong> November 2015
<strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong> THE <strong>Reader</strong> • 23 reStaurant reView Crazy Otto’s Diner Makes <strong>SCV</strong> Debut Antelope Valley institution opens outpost in Canyon Country By Michele e. Buttelman Features and entertainment editor Crazy Otto’s Diner was founded on Sierra Highway, adjacent to the train tracks, in Lancaster in 1975 by Otto Lindsel. The diner, which started with only 12 seats, now has five locations. Canyon Country Just because it’s a diner doesn’t mean you can’t get a spectacular salad. The Cobb Salad ($10.99), with lettuce, tomato, turkey, bacon and blue cheese crumbles includes a thinly sliced hardboiled egg, as well. Crazy otto’s Diner in Canyon Country is decorated in “diner kitsch” with old license plates and a replica of the famous numbered wheel to be spun every time a train passed at the diner’s original location in Lancaster. The seat corresponding to the number on the wheel won a free meal. hosts the newest member of the Crazy Otto’s family and joins locations in Lancaster, Acton and Rosamond. The diner serves breakfast and lunch 5 a.m.-2 p.m. daily. The restaurant is located on Soledad Canyon Road in part of the location that once housed the El Chaparral Mexican Restaurant, a fixture in Canyon Country for decades. The cozy, brightly lit diner is decorated in “diner kitsch” with old license plates lining the walls and a variety of posters and other “memorabilia” on display. Behind the counter is a replica of the famous numbered wheel that was spun every time a train passed at the diner’s original location in Lancaster. The seat corresponding to the number on the wheel won a free meal. The original location was so close to the tracks that the restaurant building would shake as trains passed by. After the 1994 Northridge Earthquake Metrolink expanded rail service to the Antelope Valley and Crazy Otto’s had to give up its original location. Crazy Otto’s is famous for their huge omelettes, and has held the world record for The Club house sandwich at Crazy otto’s ($10.99) is a huge mouthful of ham, turkey, bacon, lettuce and tomato on toasted white bread. Choice of sides. making the world’s biggest omelet several times. If you are a breakfast aficionado then this is your place. In June of 1993 Crazy Otto’s Diner broke the world record for the largest omelette creating an omelette that measured 1,364 square feet. The omelette gauntlet had been thrown, though, and Japan broke enough eggs to steal the “World’s Largest Omelette” crown. In October of 2002, Crazy Otto's Inc., brought the “World’s Largest Omelette” title back to the U.S. More than 200 volunteers, we were able to assemble an omelette consisting of 34,000 eggs, 200 pounds of cheese, 50 gallons of milk, 500 pounds of bell peppers and 75 gallons of crushed tomatoes. The omelette was prepared on 11 portable grills and took approximately 6.5 hours to create. The omelette measured 1,850.9 square feet. Unfortunately, in 2012, chefs in Portugal created an omelette weighing 14,225 pounds, 6 ounces and made using 145,000 See Restaurant Review, page 28