Los Angeles Times - December 2014
OLD-SCHOOL COOL
Great Diners are Part of Valley History
The southland has more than its share of intense, creative celebrity chefs and brand-new artisanal creations -- and that's great. But sometimes what you really want is to eat at a place where the menu and decor (and probably most of the clientele) have barely changed in decades. Here are a couple of old favorites near you.
NAT'S EARLY BITE
14115 Burbank Blvd, Sherman Oaks
Nat's restaurants have been around for about 30 years, which is long by Southern California standards but fairly recent by diner standards. It's primarily a breakfast, lunch and brunch spot, famous for reasonable prices and generous portions. Nat's can get busy during weekend brunch times, but the chilaquiles and pancakes make it all worthwhile.
Positively Pranked - May 2013
Mariachi Band Prank at Nat's Early Bite
70 breakfasters at Nat's got a free side-order of trumpet and violin with their eggs when they were "Mariachied" by the comedy show Positively Pranked.
L.A. Weekly - Best Of Award 2011
Best L.A. Story With Matzo Brei
Nat's Early Bite anchors a slightly-nicer-than-mediocre mid-Valley corner strip mall, but walk inside and you immediately know it's a big step above ordinary. A spacious, down-home restaurant with just enough stripped-down country kitsch to give it that "authentic city diner" feel, Nat has two big selling points: near-perfect comfort food and an easy vibe. There's also a great backstory: Over the years, owner Nat Elias formed a close bond with 18-year-old Mexican busboy Victor Carlos, an eager immigrant working his way up the restaurant's ladder. When Elias finally decided to retire, he "sold" the restaurant to Carlos in a special arrangement, allowing Carlos to make payments over time. Nat's serves fantastic breakfasts and lunches with bountiful homemade sandwiches, egg dishes, pancakes, etc.; exhibiting perfect cultural mirroring, it serves matzo brei as well as its Mexican equivalent, egg-based chilaquiles. 14115 Burbank Blvd, Sherman Oaks. (818) 781-3040, natsearlybite.com. - Adam Gropman
Daily News "Readers' Best" 2009
BEST COFFEE SHOP
There's a place in the San Fernando Valley where the old adage, "You're only a stranger here once," is uniquely alive and well. That place is Nat's Early Bite Coffee Shop in Van Nuys.
That the food is terrific, American and Mexican styled fare with a side of healthy dishes, is a given.
Valley Magazine "Best of the Valley"
BEST BREAKFAST
Nat's Early Bite has long been a mecca for breakfast aficionados (like Barron's in Burbank and Jinky's in Sherman Oaks). To be sure, this surprise hangout dishes up great morning plates. But don't go expecting goat cheese omelets of French toast with blackberry sauce; Nat's Early Bite is a no-frills coffee shop, and that's exactly why loyal patrons like it so much. Best of all, breakfast is served until the restaurant closes at 8 p.m. And that's cool, because now that you're a grown-up, you can eat all the pancakes for dinners you want. Nat's Early Bite, 14115 Burbank Blvd., Van Nuys; 818-781-3040. - Janice Wald Henderson
Daily News - Nov. 2007
Recipe for success includes hard work with dash of loyalty
The 62-year-old Jewish coffee shop owner an the 18-year-old Mexican busboy formed a close bond working together at Nat's Early Bite Restaurant.
Nat Elias liked the kid's work ethic and appreciated he never complained when he had to pull an extra shift at the Van Nuys restaurant, sometime working 10 hours a day, 6 days a week.
But Victor Carlos would have worked 18 hours a day, seven days a week if Nat had asked him to.
Los Angeles Times - May 2002
Passing Fame in the Valley
At Nat's Early Bite Coffee Shop, owner Hugo Carlos serves French toast and scrambled eggs to regulars such Tom Selleck and Ike Turner (whose color glossy hangs on the wall, inviting diners to join the "I Still Like Ike Fan Club").
"We get celebrities every day," Carlos said.
The Van Nuys restaurant - situated in a packed parking lot next to a dry cleaner and a video store - even attracts "huge names like John Stamos, Geena Davis and that guy from the movie 'Booty Call,' but I can't remember his name," Carlos said. "Bruce Willis' mother has come in too." In the Valley, one degree of separation counts.
Casual Dining
Nat's Early Bite: Memorable and Vice Versa
By Huck Arkin - It's the kind of old-fashioned diner Edward Hopper would've painted if he hadn't stopped taking his meds. Happy instead of sad. The kind of place where you eat there twice and they remember you.
Okay, maybe it'll take three times. Or never, if you prefer to be left alone to read your paper or set up the laptop. But have breakfast, lunch or dinner there once, and you will go back. Again and again. Unless you're more comfortable with high prices, franchise uniformity, or dishes that need explanations.
It's called Nat's Early Bite Coffee Shop...
Los Angeles Times
Sightings: The Checkout Line
Ben: "Like at Nat's Early Bite."
Sandra: "Nat's Early Bite! Corner of Burbank and Hazeltine! It's regular people, it's tank tops, it's thong sandals, it's eggs, it's toast. A regular there? Ike Turner. Why? No one knows. But it feels right, doesn't it? You won't see Tina Turner breakfasting in Van Nuys, but you will see Ike."
