Tomatinos and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest

[Flashback: It is September 1983 and I am sitting in a booth at Joe's Deli savoring a pastrami burger and noting that "Das Boot" (a German film with English subtitles) is playing across the street at the newly re-opened "Capri" (f/k/a the "Clover") under the auspices of the recently formed "Capri Film Society." My namesake, The Younger, has just turned one and lies in his "carryall" in the booth next to me asleep to the tune of a crowded delicatessen. The strami-burger is warm and tasty. All is well in Old Cloverdale....]

Today,  I sat in approximately the same exact location at Tomatinos enjoying an Italian sausage and onion pizza with the Younger while he engaged a calzone the size of a pie full of four and twenty blackbirds. I looked up and gazed across the street and noticed a Swedish movie with English subtitles named "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" is playing at the Capri. A large "O" sticker on the side of the counter facing me caught my eye.  Does it refer to President Obama? Recently vanquished Oregon? I moved closer and noticed this:

The Big-O is for Old Cloverdale. [Website under construction]

It is 2011 and all is still well with Old-Clo not in small part owing to the success of Nona Maria, Inc., the owner of Tomatinos and Cafe Louisa since the mid 1990s.  Yes, when Joe's left for "greener pastures" in Z-Red, the "AmSouth" Tower, over the wall in West Shorter and finally (and ignominiously) to the Lagoon Park Golf Shop, the space in Old Cloverdale was eventually filled by Missy Mercer's vision of future Old Cloverdale eateries.  They were the forerunner of El Rey.  Trendy, edgy, with a little hippie on the side. Although perhaps hard to accept at first, as is most change, Tomatinos and Cafe Louisa have over time become staples with a strongly loyal following of many of the same people who loved Joe's when it was in Old-Clo and serving pastrami to die for.  I confess I am one of them.



Aerial view of Tomatinos' calzone. Is Fat Clemenza in there? 

 Things do change.  The graphic sexual abuse depicted in The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, the last installment of the Steig Larssen's trilogy, may have been a bit too much for the 1983 Gump intelligentsia.  But, as I recall, the intensity of the depth charge scenes involving the crew of a German U-Boat forced us out of our comfort zones then also. Both films are so different and yet so similarly intense and disturbing that they cause you to consider situations you most likely have never faced.

Likewise, Joe's and Tomatinos are very different but in a similar way. Joe's was a Carnegie Deli "Jewish Rye" old school corned beef on rye type of place at what were higher than average prices for Montgomery (as it was called then). Tomatinos is all out simple Italian pizza oven fare with generous portions at fairly high prices.  In other words, they share more than a space.

Tomatinos and Cafe Louisa are open for lunch on Monday and although the total package will run you about $15 bucks (although they have a one slice, salad and drink special for $8) these are little holes in the wall we locals like to frequent.  In fact, I had a few concerns about publishing this information to the world lest they become too crowded. As always, I opted for freedom of information and the court of public opinion.  After all, the secret was out when both Tomatinos and Cafe Louisa finished in the top ten of our reader's poll last month. Now it is official.  They have been reviewed and they deserve a high recommendation.

I would not say "Joe's" would be proud Tomatinos has filled their old space with a local favorite. After all, Joe's screwed up and blew it. The former owners of Joe's probably wish they never left. Perhaps they even hoped Tomatinos would fail so they could go back to their roots.

But Tomatinos had a successful and simple game plan and has maintained high quality for many years. Tomatinos is perhaps deserving of recognition that it has surpassed Joe's and will, in another 25 years or so, be the subject of another column about why things are still good in Old Cloverdale.

"Das Boot" to "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" and Joe's Deli to Tomatinos. Change is good. Melissa Mercer is no Lisbeth Salander, but in this case her Tomatinos was the girl who kicked the status quo in Old Cloverdale to help make it the vibrant food/entertainment district it remains today. We at LITG highly recommend it even if you are not steeped in nostalgia.

The Girl Who Will Kick Your.....