‘50S SNACK SHOP LET’S YOU TAKE A DIP AT THE BEACH

On the family tree of Balboa-area nostalgic dining, first came Ruby’s, the burger shop on Balboa Pier with the letter-perfect ‘40s cafe interior. Then came Bubbles Balboa Club, the swank ‘30s nightclub replete with understated Art Deco and sophisticated jazz.

Now the owner of Ruby’s and Bubbles has acquired the site of the original Jolly Roger on Balboa Island and converted it into a credible ‘50s snack shop named Dippy’s Island Cafe.

History oozes from the very walls of the place. One room is built out of timber from the old Balboa Bridge. Though I’m told the building actually dates from the late ‘40s, the transformation was made complete by borrowing the authentic ‘50s habit of covering interesting wood with frumpy white paint.

Everything is mild and cozy in the ‘50s manner, from the rounded lunch counter to the tables topped with pink plastic. Pale pink, with the occasional accent of Lincoln green, is the trademark color. The servers, of whom there is a small army (all young and thoroughly Balboa-beachy), are uniformed in pink shirts like some strange Scout troop.

Retro-’50s dining is a big trend in L.A. But what is ‘50s cuisine? I mean, how would it differ from the sandwich and soda fountain stuff of Ruby’s? Not very much. Home cooking may have changed a lot in the ‘50s because of convenience foods, but restaurant menus stayed about the same. The clever decision here is to make the star of the menu the “French Dip” sandwich (the source of the name Dippy’s, of course), which certainly came into considerable vogue in Southern California during the ‘50s.

It is claimed that the French Dip was invented by a Los Angeles restaurant named Philippe’s (whose name is pronounced to rhyme with Dippy’s, by the way), but the basic idea has been around a long time. Thirteen centuries ago the Prophet Mohammed’s favorite dish was meat mixed with bread and broth, and the European idea of a soup was originally the same thing (onion soup is just about the only soup left that still includes the bread). What made the French Dip new, or perhaps just American, was the idea of serving meat, bread and broth in the form of a sandwich that you dip (usually until quite soggy and a mess to handle) into a little cup of broth.

Dippy’s dips are pretty good--even the turkey dip, which labors under the difficulty of getting a strong turkey broth. Outside Philippe’s the Original, it’s hard to find any French Dips these days except beef and possibly pastrami, but Dippy’s serves fully five of them, including a lamb model that the Prophet would surely have liked. They come on grilled French rolls with the option of adding cheese (jack, Cheddar, Swiss, even bleu) or grilled onions.

The other thing that might distinguish Dippy’s from Ruby’s is its Mexican food, which is pretty ‘50s as well. There’s a luscious two-cheese quesadilla (pardon me--a Dippydilla), a mountainous plate of Dippynachos that include some OK black beans along with the chips and cheese, and good deep-fried taquitos stuffed with roast beef.

Other than that, the menu is much like Ruby’s, though it promises to add more sandwiches, salads and other specialties in the coming weeks and breakfast beginning in March. At the moment we have a Ruby’s-style grilled cheese on sourdough, an albacore sandwich (with or without melted cheese) that doesn’t fall apart in your hands like the one at Ruby’s and an excellent all-beef hot dog--a hot dog that actually tastes like a sausage. As at Ruby’s, the chili is terrific: meaty, mildly hot and rich with cumin. You can get it served over french fries for the ultimate lunch counter gross-out.

The turkey sandwich is a little tea-roomish, served as it is on raisin bread, and Johnny’s Favorite is basically a sort of Reuben with cole slaw, pastrami and cheese. The BLT is generous with bacon, and the ham and cheese on rye features fried, thin-sliced ham that tastes curiously like Italian prosciutto. If you want to try everything at once, there’s a mammoth Super Club sandwich containing roast beef, pastrami, turkey, ham, swiss and bacon.

For dessert you can get carrot cake (a good old-fashioned one with cream cheese frosting), fruit pies with American crust (can’t say I was impressed with the peach filling, though), and a variety of fountain treats made with Breyer’s ice cream. There are sundaes, including an exemplary hot fudge, milkshakes, ice cream sodas (there’s nostalgia for you) and malts--not the old-fashioned foamy kind but the semi-frozen malt that Bob’s Big Boy popularized in the ‘50s. Dippy’s thoughtfully provides sturdy wide-bore plastic straws, really essential in dealing with a frozen malt. They’re about the size of peashooters and Dippy’s may regret this decision when school lets out, but I’m still grateful.

Lunch-counter prices prevail. The Mexican appetizers are $2.50 to $3.95, soups and chili $1.75 to $2.95, lunch salads $4.95. Sandwiches run $2.45 to $4.25 and desserts $1.35 to $2.65.

DIPPY’S ISLAND CAFE

203 Marine Drive, Balboa Island

(714) 675-DIPS

Open for lunch and dinner daily; breakfast beginning March 9. MasterCard and Visa accepted.