We used to eat at Giant Chef late at night sometimes when I was in high school and after closing time working at the nearby mall. It used to be open 24 hours, but sadly it has changes owners and the hours have also changed. It's still one of my favorite places to eat in the area, and the food is as delicious as it always was, if not better. Giant Chef is Pleasant Hill's oldest diner, and it's definitely the kind of place you might see on Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives." The food is classic Diner fare with a few ethnic splashes and my favorite part about eating there is, of course, the exhibition kitchen.

Every time I visit Giant Chef I pretty much order the same thing, but there are plenty of other magical things on the menu. As teenagers, we used to get burgers, fries and milkshakes there; but now as an adult, I love to go there for anytime breakfast. My go-to order is an off-menu Eggs Benedict Florentine, which is simply the normal eggs Benny with added spinach and tomato. I've also ordered custom omelettes there, as well as the linguiça, corned beef hash, and steak and eggs; always with a glorious side of crispy hash browns.

Whether or not they remember me each time I go to Giant Chef, which is few and far between, they pretend that they do, and I just love watching the chefs there whip up my order with graceful fluidity. I hope someday that they're able to return to 24 hours, but in the meantime, I'm happy to go there whenever I'm hungry in Pleasant Hill for something I can easily make at home, if only for their masterful consistency.