Norma's Restaurant

At Norma's Restaurant in Ingelwood, CA, just east of the airport on Century Blvd., one cannot beat the price for the early bird dinner specials! The plate called Connie's Meatloaf was huge at only $4.99, with two large slices of hearty meatloaf served alongside your choice of potatoes (get the crispy hash browns) and corn in a thin creamy butter sauce. The edges of the meatloaf were nicely browned with the center still being moist and juicy. The brown gravy on top was not especially tasty so I pulled out the ketchup and hot sauce, which turned a good meatloaf into one of the best.

Norma's appears to be frequented primarily by locals but is a great place to stop on the way to LAX to get wholesome food at super-low prices in a clean, 1960s type diner atmosphere (a real time warp here) with friendly service to top it all off. That's why we stopped - to avoid getting ripped of by the food vendors at the LAX gates.

One note of caution - eat inside the diner and run to your car in the back lot after eating because the surrounding neighborhood is high traffic and filled with low-life hustlers who will take your wallet and steal your car in two seconds flat.

Enjoy!

Ken Forbes
Woodland, CA