The Old Place
The Los Angeles Letter
LA Drivers are conditioned to look ahead, searching for opportunities - to merge, exit, or gain a car length through a stealthy lane change with a non-existent turn signal. But head North of West Los Angeles, crawling along the 405 freeway, riding the Sepulveda Pass down into the Valley. You’ll find yourself traveling back in time to LA’s rural past - albeit one now decorated with vineyards and Coachella vibes.
The Runyon family once fled their eponymous canyon due to LA sprawl in the 1930s for undeveloped canyon communities of the Santa Monica Mountains, which spread through the Valley, along the 101 freeway, and West to Malibu. The Runyon’s son, Tom, a true son of Los Angeles, began buying Malibu land after the War for $38 an acre, eventually purchasing a boarded-up country store post office in the unincorporated town of Cornell, California, about four miles from the 101 freeway. Tom turned the dilapidated old place on Mulholland Highway into “The Old Place” in 1970. Since its opening, the place was favored by celebrities of the era like Jason Robards, Steve McQueen, Ali McGraw, and Bob Dylan, where they mixed with locals who were “hillbillies, cowboys, and good hardy folk (https://oldplacecornell.com/history).”
You’ll know it’s not 1970 anymore because the bikers have all become dentists, and more than a few influencers are slithering about. Ignore them. The Old Place is otherwise largely unchanged. The rough-hewn wood siding and the old-Western false front on the entrance, crowned by a massive set of antlers, let you know that you’re not really in Los Angeles anymore.
The restaurant promises “honest food cooked over fire,” which seems right. You can smell the oak burning when you pull up and park in the dirt lot or on the shoulder in front of the building. It is full-service Thursday through Saturday, with only two seatings—5 and 7 PM—so make a reservation. You will order Littleneck Clams with butter and white wine and the rustic sourdough because they are legendary, and you should order the 18-ounce rib eye as well.
There is also outside service with a different menu. I recently had a steak sandwich: Sliced Sirloin, bleu cheese aioli, and Grilled Onions, served with outrageously good potato wedges and grilled over oak. I sat in a little makeshift booth and ate off a picnic-style table next to the order and pick-up windows. You can grab beer and wine there, too, or try the Cornell Winery in a separate building on what feels like the same property but has different owners.
The first time I visited The Old Place, in the analog age, I was alone, wandering about Kanan Road, trying to find this place I had read about. It was a discovery when I arrived, working the grid of my Thomas Guide. Even in our digital age, it still feels like a discovery each time I visit. There is respite in the canyon - a break from the rhythms and algorithms that run our lives these days. The roads wind on forever, and you can keep driving and diving into the terrain, picking out the useful things and disregarding the rest. And that’s why we’re here, isn’t it? In Los Angeles - with its traffic, and crime, and ungovernable sprawl. You can find anything here; some of it is real and authentic, and the rest is just made up as we drive along.
I remember sitting at the long bar, salvaged from a saloon in Virginia City, and ordering an Olympia Beer, which was first brewed in 1896 and didn’t survive the pandemic. The “Oly” sign was in the window, so it seemed right. I had the clams, and I listened to a couple talk about nothing, an old-timer talk about needing new windows but that he didn’t trust these plastic windows they were making now, and a woman who was reading a paperback book.
The Old Place is now run by Tom’s son Morgan Runyon. He understands the context of what his family built. The website quotes him: “Serving humanity, history, and good meals.” Seems right.
Just go.
xAP
Really? You misspelled Bob Dylan’s last name? Come on! Be better… !
Jon and his friends have gone there a few times ! They love it ! Quaint ! ❤️💯👏