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I-5 to L.A. lunch options

  • 7

Does anyone have a favorite lunch stop on the way to L.A.? We'll hit noon somewhere between Harris Ranch and the southern end of the grapevine.

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  1. Willow Ranch BBQ restaurant at the Buttonwillow exit.

    2 Replies
    1. re: Rapini

      How is the barbecue there? Their website says the barbecue is cooked in an outdoor wood-fired pit, and that sounds good. But their menu is very large and filled with non-barbecue items, so I'm wondering about the real barbecue items.

      1. re: Malcolm Ruthven

        I'm not a big bbq expert, but I thought the food was flavorful and well-cooked. The staff is friendly. It seems to me a big plus that they have lots of loyal customers, and the place is very popular with locals.

        It's my new default I-5 food stop when I travel to LA. In addition, there's a Starbucks nearby, so that I can have an espresso for the road on the way back onto the freeway.

    2. Also at the Buttonwillow exit (#257), Tita's Restaurante y Pupuseria is great for real Salvadoran food.


      1 Reply
      1. re: Malcolm Ruthven

        Tita's comes up again and again wherever I look. I think I'm heading there this time.

      2. As a NorCal Swede and if you are taking I-5, then be sure to stop by the Swedish town of Kingsburg - the one with the water tower that looks like a Swedish coffee pot - Dala Horse restauratn is one place with some Swedish specialties and Swedish deil retail items like hardtack and lignonberry jam - others around town also have a few Swedish items on their menu - not a "tourist" town like Solvang is for the Danish, but a small Valley town that has chosen a special theme that honors how many Swedes did settle there at one time.

        1 Reply
        1. re: glbtrtr

          Kingsburg is on the 99 which at that point is probably 20-30 miles east of I-5