Bun ‘N Burger Restaurant from “An American Summer”

I must apologize in advance for today’s fairly short blog post as I just got back from spending pretty much the entire day (over seven hours – not kidding!) on the set of CSI: Miami yet again.  And while I promise to write a detailed post about my experiences there in the very near future, I’ve unfortunately gotta keep this particular column short and sweet.  So, without further ado . . . a few weeks ago Mike, from MovieShotsLA, took the day off from work so that the two of us could do some stalking in the Malibu area.  But before heading over to the ‘Bu, Mike told me that he was taking me out to breakfast – at a filming location, of course.  That filming location turned out to be a little place named Bun ‘N Burger restaurant that was featured very briefly in a movie called An American Summer.  Before that day a few weeks ago I had never actually heard of An American Summer, which premiered in 1991, but as fate would have it, the flick starred a very young actor by the name of Brian Austin Green, aka David Silver from Beverly Hills, 90210.  So, of course, once I learned that little tidbit of information, I just had to run right out and buy myself a copy of the movie. 

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Bun ‘N Burger restaurant shows up in one very brief scene in An American Summer, the very cheesy (but in a good way) and very 80’s plot of which revolves around a young Chicagoan named Tom (aka Michael Landes) who is begrudgingly sent to live with his aunt in California for the summer while his parents go through a divorce.  While in Los Angeles, Tom ends up befriending a young surfer named Fin (aka Brian Austin Green) who not only teaches him how to sell sunglasses, deliver newspapers, and surf, but also how to pick up girls.  At the very beginning of the movie, right after the boys first meet, Fin takes Tom to Bun ‘N Burger restaurant for some “java”, because as he says, “Every grown-up drinks java!”  LOL

Amazingly enough, Bun ‘N Burger restaurant still looks very much the same today as it did back in 1991 when An American Summer was filmed.  As you can see in the above screen captures and photograph, even the signs that appeared in the background behind Tom and Fin in the movie are still there in real life over 19 years later!  A few more signs have been added since that time, but still so darn cool!

Mike found this location thanks to the fact that he used to work directly across the street from it in the late 80s and would frequently take his lunch breaks there.  So, when he saw An American Summer for the first time in the movie theatre he recognized the place immediately.  🙂

  Bun ‘N Burger restaurant, which was first established in 1941, is a super cute little roadside diner which features red leather booths, authentic ‘50s style furniture, a sit-down countertop, black-and-white checkered flooring, and countless old time photographs papering the walls.  It is such an adorable little spot, in fact, that I am actually quite shocked it hasn’t been featured in more productions over the years.  And despite what some online reviews have stated, the place serves up some fabulous food, including Mike’s personal favorite – the famous Bun ‘N Burger breakfast burrito.  Unfortunately, though, because I am still on my new low carb diabetic diet, I didn’t get to sample the breakfast burrito, but instead opted for three hardboiled eggs.  Mike was a bit flabbergasted over my menu selection and, after I ordered, said , “I take you out to breakfast and you order three hardboiled eggs?????”  LOL   What can I say – diets are absolutely NO fun.  But, let me tell you, his burrito looked fabulous and if I ever get the urge to cheat, you know where I’m heading.  😉 

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Bun ‘N Burger restaurant from An American Summer is located at 1000 East Main Street in Alhambra.