By 
Chef Michael Tang, who has worked in renowned restaurants in LA and the Bay Area, opened a breakfast pop-up in October: Stanley’s Dinette.
Named after Michael’s father, Stanley’s Dinette operates through a walk-up window on Sundays in East Hollywood, offering refined takes on nostalgic diner classics: a showstopping waffle, elevated coffee sodas, a creative hash brown, and a mouthwatering wagyu pastrami sandwich.
At Stanley’s Dinette, Michael is not following trends or hype. There is intention and a meticulous emphasis to create the best possible breakfast food with thin profit margins.
The crunchiness and airiness of the waffle were on another level. The syrup beautifully permeated the deep pockets and crispy edges, while the lightly salted, unctuous French Bordier maple butter softened the caramelized sugar. The result? A gloriously silky and moist combination in every bite that I’m still dreaming about. While most places use the old-school batter, this waffle was a lot lighter. Michael said, “We use West Coast wheat and work really hard to make a crispy, glassy waffle with a moist interior. It’s a hybrid of a Liège-style and American yeasted-style waffle.”
“Why is it only $6?” I asked Michael. He replied: “Probably because I’m bad at business stuff, but I’m learning quickly. I’m able to charge $6 because I don’t pay for my own labor and Fountain Grains and Greens is giving me an amazing deal on rent. I also think it might be cannibalizing other sales and bringing down the check average. I might have to make it 2 for $12 or bring it up to $8. Customers are probably going to be pretty pissed at that, which is a mistake on my part (laughs).”
Michael and the team at Stanley’s Dinette used to work at Leopardo on La Brea Avenue at the helm of Michelin-starred chef Joshua Skenes.
April, the lovely cashier, said that Michael spent two years perfecting the waffle recipe. “Sometimes they’d serve it at Leopardo with caviar. Once he made it, everyone was like ‘Ok, you definitely have to keep this. This is the best waffle we’ve ever had’.” I told Michael about the life-changing ice cream at Leopardo. He replied: “Yeah, that ice cream took a long time to develop.”
The pastrami sandwich comes with a generous spread of mustard and rye bread from Bub and Grandma’s. Michael makes the pastrami himself, and you can order it either fatty or lean — but fatty is where it’s at: impossibly tender with a rich, peppery smokiness, and surprisingly not overly greasy. Michael said: “The pastrami is a 9–10 day process, brined for 7–8 days, and we cook it pretty much 24 hours in smoke over California coastal oak and almond, then steam it.”
April said: “Since you’re here early, I definitely recommend getting the hash brown. We always sell out.” A lightly buttered russet potato topped with coarsely grated russet to amplify the texture. Add the ketchup served on the side, and you’ll be on cloud nine.
Michael gave me a brief breakdown of the rest of the menu:
“The coffee soda is cold brew from Dear Francis. It has coffee beans mixed with kokuto sugar from Okinawa, citruses, and warm spices. I carbonate the mixture, and that’s our drink!”
“The Shumai Slam is kind of a fun Americanized mashup of a xiaolongbao dumpling made into a breakfast sandwich.”
“The McStanwich is a bit of a monstrosity (laughs). It’s sausage, egg, and cheese between two waffles!!”
“Out of all of them, which one is your favorite?” I asked. He replied, “It’s the waffle, but I’m so sick of waffles right now (laughs). I’ve eaten so many.”
Since it was Super Bowl Sunday and there were no people in line, I went back for a second round of Michael’s mind-blowing hash brown and waffle. About an hour later, Stanley’s Dinette shared on their Instagram stories that they had just sold out of their magical hash browns.
Although they’re currently testing the menu, Michael has more plans on the horizon: “As I do the pop-up, I think it’s going to be more like a cafe. Hopefully, we can expand the drink menu to include some fun drinks so that customers can grab a drink and a sandwich and feel like they got good value.”
Notes: With only three tables outside, seating is scarce. You’ll be given your order in a bag with utensils regardless of whether you eat there, so if there’s no seating, you can eat it in your car. 🙂
Address: 4850 Fountain Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90029
Sundays 9:30 am – 2pm or until sold out.
Instagram: @stanleysdinette
