In distinctly Southern California fashion, this Burbank standby built in 1949—it’s the oldest surviving Bob’s Big Boy location—is all about the automobile. Its colossal neon sign and familiar, rotund Big Boy recall a time when roadside restaurants screamed at drivers for their attention. The parking lot also hosts a classic car meet-up on Fridays. Inside, a lengthy concave countertop cuts through the comfortable coppertone diner. The most notable feature, though, is a sense of pop culture history, with a designated booth that the Beatles once dined at and the knowledge that David Lynch neurotically came by every day at 2:30pm for seven years to slurp down a chocolate milkshake.
The classic food here is hot, tasty and fast, and unlike the other remaining outposts in Downey, Norco and Northridge, the Burbank location serves plates of chicken fingers, chili cheese fries and burgers until midnight on weekdays and 3am on weekend evenings. The old-fashioned shakes here are legendarily thick—I like the orange creamsicle flavor—and the kitchen also serves all-day breakfast, if you’re into that sort of thing. Be sure to take a moment to appreciate the iconic Big Boy statue outside.