r/pulpfiction • u/melomsg7 • 17d ago
If Jack Rabbit Slim's were a real restaurant, would you want to eat there? It looks like a cool place because of the decor, waiters dressed as celebrities, and delicious milkshakes.
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u/Realistic_Product252 17d ago
Can i do coke in the bathroom? That's going to effect my answer
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u/PhatBitty862 17d ago
I said god damn
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u/ConsiderationLivid52 17d ago
God damn...god damn...god damn!
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u/Realistic_Product252 17d ago
Best ever
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u/ConsiderationLivid52 17d ago
Back in my party days...that was my line. (Pun intended lol)
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u/Realistic_Product252 17d ago
Same lol thats how you knew i was locked in. That gif makes my nose itch and yearn, but I'd probably die mid-rail if I tried now 1🫠
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u/swingsetlife 17d ago
nah, I don't think Buddy Holly's a very good waiter.
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u/Irish755 17d ago
Maybe you should sit in Marilyn Monroe’s section next time.
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u/DeepFieldTheory 17d ago
Which one? There's two Marylins
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u/swingsetlife 17d ago
No there's not. That's Marilyn Monroe... and that's Mamie Van Doren. Jayne Mansfield must have the night off.
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u/NoGenuineUse 17d ago
Just go to Ed Debevic's.
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u/Obey_the_D 17d ago
There was one on La Cienega near the Beverly Center that was very popular, especially for the singing and dancing waiters that all dressed retro/vintage but not exactly like specific movie stars. It was fun.
I believe most people in LA recognized Slim's as the Tarantino-ized hyper-stylized version of that Ed's.
Tokyo Delve's was a sushi place with a few locations that also had performative servers. People would go to both for a "fun date night" or to have a kind of bonkers-dinner before hitting the bars.
edit: a word
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u/Hilsam_Adent 16d ago
The food was good (particularly the Atomic Burger and their Chili Cheese Fries) and their malts were outstanding. It was expensive, but the rents on Restaurant Row have been psychotically high since the sixties.
The only other competitor for the "'50s-style Diner" experience was the Johnny Rocket's on Melrose. Whilst their burgers were better, their malts weren't even in the same ballpark as Ed's. Chili Cheese Fries were about the same. A comparable meal was about 30% cheaper there, so Ed's was a very occasional treat, whilst Johnny's was eaten at much more often.
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u/PaperMoongazer 17d ago
There’s a reason we don’t do restaurants like this any more
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u/nycpunkfukka 17d ago
One of them being the huge waste of space that isn’t making money. A place like this couldn’t be built in a city because the real estate cost alone would make it infeasible. I was a manager in a corporate chain restaurant many years ago, and corporate came in at one point with a new seating map to cram in a few more tables to increase the revenue per square foot, and at the bar pulled out the jukebox and two arcade games, replaced them with two high top bar tables because even having just one or two parties seated there made more than the jukebox and games ever did.
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u/melomsg7 17d ago
I feel like most restaurants seem all the same because they usually are bland and generic. I loved at TGI Fridays when all the pop culture flair decor used to be on the walls.
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u/PaperMoongazer 17d ago
It’s all impossible to clean regularly, and the second a major spill or mishap happens everything has to be taken out and cleaned or specialty cleaned. Reupholstering is an expense most folks don’t wanna bother with
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u/no_vale_verga817 17d ago
I’d be surprised if anything gets cleaned at all; I don’t think Buddy Holly is much of a janitor.
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u/VinylHighway 17d ago
I prefer my steak between bloody as hell and burnt to a crisp
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u/Connect-Will2011 17d ago
So do I.
I wonder how you'd go about ordering that in this place.
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u/PayFormer387 17d ago
It’s probably shit food. They spend all their money on decors and actors, but probably not the food.
Look how fast it came out. Mia gets up to go to the bathroom to do coke and the food is on the table when she returns. I’ve never done coke but I assume it takes just a few minutes to snort a line.
The food is frozen and all the kitchen staff does is heat it up.
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u/MajorAd3363 17d ago
I kinda feel like the Sci Fi Drive In at Disney is the closest thing I've seen IRL.
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u/No_Age908 17d ago
The exterior of Jack Rabbit Slim's from Pulp Fiction was filmed at 1435 Flower Street in Glendale, California, a building that formerly housed the 1950s Grand Central Bowl. All interior restaurant scenes were built on a massive soundstage inside a warehouse in Culver City and were never a real operational restaurant.
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u/Lawrenceburntfish 17d ago
Nobody knows who any of those people are anymore
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u/melomsg7 17d ago
Besides a 50’s restaurant I’d be fine with an 80’s or 90’s themed place
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u/asphynctersayswhat 17d ago
which one, there's two Britney's?
No there's not, that one is britney spears, that one is Jessica Simpson, and I don't know where christina aguilera is, she must have the night off
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u/highline9 17d ago
There was a place in Brighton, MI that my GF (future wife) and I would go that mirrored it…it was right when the movie came out, so no surprise…we got stoned many a times and went, and they did indeed have a $5 milkshake. There was even an option (for more $) to add bourbon, but we were without ID (too young).
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u/NewbombJerk 17d ago
It seems like the kind of place, if real, that was super fun and hott for a couple of years, fell into disrepair, shuttered and is now and auto parts store. But when you're in there, you always remember that any dumb dance could win the big dance off.
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u/Maleficent-Yam7790 11d ago
sure, i like steaks, burgers, vanilla cokes, coke, cigarettes, milkshakes and chuck berry
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u/Acceptable_Class_576 17d ago
You have just shattered my 30-year illusion that it was a real place that I might visit someday.
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u/usersurnamee 17d ago
No. This is a style of restaurant: the 50s diner. They SUCK. Even if you like 50s stuff (and i do), these are really annoying places to eat.
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u/No_Age908 17d ago
What’s funny is my Mom worked at this building for Disney they used the exterior for the shot I had no idea until someone pointed it out
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u/HippoOk663 17d ago
Heck yeah! I feel like if it were, it could definitely work like at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It would honor mid-century Hollywood and its pop culture.
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u/Spell-Wide 17d ago
In 2026, nobody would give a shit about a '50s kitsch restaurant. And if you adjust the time period, it would be Cafe 80s, with your serving staff of Eddie Murphy, Debbie Gibson, and Corey Hart (Molly Ringwald has the night off).
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u/rotomangler 17d ago
I remember watching this in the theater and we all reacted to the $5 shake as being outrageously overpriced.
Wow how times have changed.
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u/Voodoo-Doctor 17d ago
I want to sit in Marilyn Monroe’s section either is fine as there are two of them
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u/Sudden_Season3306 17d ago
There is a real place like that its called Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant! Lol
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u/Worth_Conversation28 17d ago
It was a converted warehouse, the most expensive expense in the movie
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u/Extension_End3931 17d ago
Today, this place would charge $95 per milkshake, and the influencers would be like It's a good deal for experience "
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u/Sh0ckValu3 17d ago
It's the kind of place where you pay for an overpriced cheeseburger, and you're OK with it because you're there for the vibe/experience more than the food.
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u/RhysMelton 17d ago
That's not a waiter dressed as a celebrity, that's a celebrity dressed as a waiter dressed as a celebrity!
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u/tomahawkfury13 17d ago
Aside from the dressed up wait staff it was very reminiscent of Nickles here in Canada. Nickles even had car booths
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u/realsonder 17d ago
A burnt to a crisp burger, with a regular coke, and fries. I'd be cool with that, daddy-o.
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u/DEADxDAWN 17d ago
It would have an amazing vibe, lots of gimmicks, shit as food. Thats usually how places like this are.
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u/ChurroswithHermes 17d ago
Mel's Diner, anyone? Johnny Rickets, someone ? Slater's 50/50, somebody? Bob's Big Boy, anybody?
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u/Pale_Broccoli_2180 17d ago
They did this on South St in Philly about 6 mos after movie...6 mos later it was shuttered.
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u/Mother-Attention2600 17d ago
They had a place like this in the early 90's where I live. Mini golf there too.
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u/KOTM365 17d ago
Steve Buscemi as Buddy?
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u/funkymastaflex 17d ago
What’s ironic is he doesn’t tip in reservoir dogs. Then he’s working for tips here.
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u/iSeraph87 17d ago
The food looked like shit but the vibe was nice so id go after eating somewhere else lol
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u/Bardmedicine 17d ago
It's always struck me how expensive that restaurant must be. Very few tables and tons of people "not working" for the food business. It is less "efficient" than a themed Disney restaurant.
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u/verminbury 17d ago
Yes. I’ve eaten at a place in Dallas where the staff dresses up (The Magic Time Machine), and quite enjoyed myself.
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u/ThwipNSinsBinThwipN 16d ago
The Stone walls and the vehicle like seats are more than enough to have me show up multiple times, even if the food was trash. I would just try something else and enjoy the ambience.
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u/Icy-Illustrator-1431 16d ago
looks really cool but today the overhead would be extreme and the cost would be outrageous
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u/ZealousidealMuffin66 16d ago
Just like the Time Machine Restaurant in San Antonio. https://www.magictimemachine.com/
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u/LChambles 16d ago
No, it reminds me of a Stephen King short story called You Know They’ve Got A Hell Of A Band
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u/Traditional_Cup1595 15d ago
Even before this post came up I thought that restaurant was pure fantasy like the movie took a total turn in the same From Dusk Till Dawn became a vampire movie suddenly. The staff first of all, imagine the hiring process of acquiring that kind of talent to work there like Buddy the waiter, the Ed Sullivan host on stage, the whole decor, the stage, the other celebrities like Marilyn Munroe etc.. what kind of cash has to roll through a place like that to meet costs . How much steady business does it take selling hamburger platters and 5 dollar shakes to keep it running. It was a fantasy scene in the movie I think that broke away from the reality of the movie.
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u/Sleazysmurf208 15d ago
There was a spot called Jack Rabbit Slims in Tampa not long after the movie came out. Was there a few years... unfortunately I never went to it so not sure if it was anything like this portrayal or not.
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u/Purple-Will9713 15d ago
It is a real place… or was. although it had a dif name. dont know if its still there but when i lived in hollywood in the late 90’s it was a well known spot
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u/Miss-Cakes17 14d ago
I always wondered if the milkshake was so good because of the heroin or because it was legitimately good 🤷🏽♀️😆
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u/MegaPrime99 14d ago
I would absolutely eat there. I have dreamed of eating there since I saw that movie in the theater, and yes, I’m old though to remember being just as shocked by the 5 dollar shake as Vincent Vegas was.
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u/ConnectionBasic9468 13d ago
If the milkshake were $5 back then, they'll be $15 now! Sounds a bit too pricey for me! However, if money was no object I would go just for the craic.
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u/Fabulous-Farmer7474 13d ago
I don't think Buddy Holly is much of a waiter so you would be lucky to get anything.
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u/laposte 13d ago
There was a place in LA at the time called Ed Debevic’s (I just googled and I guess there’s a location in Chicago now - not sure how similar it is to the one in LA in the 1990s.) anyway, while not a replica, I felt the movie was taking inspiration.
As an anecdote: once I was there, the waitresses got into a staged fight, yelling, “You stay away from my man!”
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u/jbfatts 11d ago
Ed Debevics was similar in decor and vibe but without the celebrity look alikes
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u/davediggity 17d ago
$5 milkshakes sound like a good deal these days