Diddy Riese ~ 926 Broxton Ave. Westwood, CA 90024
Story by Rebecca Finer
If you’ve skittered through Westwood, you might have noticed that people aren’t just lining up for The Hangover or Chipotle here. The biggest queue is outside of a little shop called Diddy Riese, which according to their website, has been, “serving Los Angeles since 1983.” Though these lines go out the door and all the way to the end of the block most nights, Diddy Riese seems relatively unknown to the greater Los Angeles Area, outside of Westwoodrows and of course, UCLA stus. With creativity and deliciousness pouring from this stalwart, it’s time that people learned who Diddy Riese is. Their slightly ridiculous sounding company name is actually named after the grandmother of the owners, nothing to do with that producer who dances in his rappers’ videos.
Enough background though, let’s get to the reason the Westwood community is willing to wait in a line that often takes a good twenty minutes to get through. Imagine the most scrumptious cookies in an assortment of flavors: Chocolate chip with walnuts, white chocolate macadamia nut, peanut butter, white chocolate chip, double chocolate with nuts, oatmeal raisin, chocolate with white chocolate chip, sugar cinnamon, and last but not least, candy.
Guests pick two of these cookies as bookends and smash them together with a huge dollop of your choice of Dreyer’s ice cream, making the best ice cream sandwich L.A. has flaunted this side of the Cool-A-Coo. Pay your dollar fifty, CASH ONLY, and you have your hands on one of the tastiest and cheapest desserts around. To think that a cup of coffee at 7-11 is more expensive than an In-N-Out burger and a Diddy Riese sandwich makes me realize why this economy is in such bad shape. WTF?
As I sing the praises of this oddly named, yet delectable eatery: Diddy Riese, I do have one complaint. Why, oh why, did you people go into business with Dreyer’s ice cream? Dreyer’s, so similarly named to Breyer’s, isn’t the best ice cream. It would really amp up the quality of that lovely sandwich if they ventured forward into business with a better ice cream company. That’s just my opinion however, and may just be my inner health nut refusing to enjoy myself when I’m dangerously close to pure bliss. I have heard from other Diddy Riese patrons that they are huge fans of Dreyer’s. Who knows? Maybe I just want the cookie selection sans ice cream. Also, you can get a “Diddy Dozen” of cookies for just $3.75. That will buy you enough warm, soft, and altogether delicious cookies to satisfy your blue Monster-style cravings.
If you’re not up for sweets, you can also satisfy your hunger with a hot dog they offer on the menu, along with an Italian ice, which you can get with ice cream for an extra fifty cents. They serve some quite palatable brownies as well. With only one location and such loooong lines, it might be time they branch out a little into the franchise business, so more than just the well-heeled, well-educated Westwood crowd can know their name.
