Schwanie’s Grill At The Gap

Location, location, location. AKA Race Track Café. Enter like your going to the races off Katella. Just prior to pay parking booth turn left along property line. Go to the end and you must turn right. Go past what looks like an office till you are at the race track. Turn right and your at the café. It’s a solid 3 star diner for track employees, horse trainers, stable workers and you. Breakfast till noon. Then sandwiches and Mexican food. If you make it while race horses are being worked it goes up to a 4 star diner for atmosphere.

Clean the outdoor eating area up, solve the bird problem, and you have great food and a great view of workouts and the start of quarter horse race action…

We owe our visit to Schwanie’s this morning to Michael W’s review. What a gem! Schwanie’s is a really unusual dining experience, and perfect for someone who doesn’t gamble but enjoys watching horses go through their paces anyway. For one thing, breakfast there on a Friday morning means no crowds — which in turn means no-​hassle parking (we parked right where the Quarter Horse Association offices are) — and no standing in line to order. When we arrived at 9am, the horses were just getting ready for their morning routine, so it was perfect timing if you’re there for that experience, as we were.
Service was quick and friendly: you order at the counter ($ 10/​-​minimum for credit card use) and take your drinks and silverware there; food is served on regular white ceramic plates and brought to you. My mini-​peeve was the coffee came in a styrofoam cup with no refill, and half-​and-​half came from a regular-​sized carton. Soft drinks can be ordered can or glass (plastic).
Food was very good!!! We had a vegetable omelette (when I said «no meat», the server was present enough to ask if I wanted cheese with my omelette — nice!) and bean-​and-​cheese burrito. The hot and moist omelette came with really yummy hash browns. I think there was a sprinkle of Cajun spices in the finish. In any case, I didn’t feel a need to add any condiments. The bean-​and-​cheese burrito came with sour cream, guacamole, lettuce, tomato slices, radish slices and pickled jalapenos — NICE!!! How much for this meal that kept us full till dinner? Less than $ 15/​-​before tip!!!
So, yeah, loved that we have this option, and that we didn’t have to dress up for the experience. I would have given this find five stars except for the plastic and styrofoam, and the fact that that the outside tables were not completely free from bird poop — it wasn’t that bad! But, yeah, there was some bird poop … I guess the horse-​racing community is quite content to keep this eating joint their industry secret, but it is open to the public, although I think our party was the only public there. We certainly received a number of curious looks :-)
Even so, for the price, convenience and sheer novelty, I’m really surprised this place is not more reviewed. Many thanks to Michael W. again!

OK, let’s get to the basics…
The Atmosphere — The building looks like a double wide trailer parked at the end of the Los Alamitos race track parking lot. Still, its a good walk to the front door since its located to serve those people working on the track, not really for visitors. This place is a clean, order at the counter, sit on banquet chairs at folding banquet tables…
The View — that’s what its all about. Get there early to watch the horses being worked out. Pretty cool if you like horses
The Food — Standard stuff — no surprises. Everything is decent and reasonably priced.
The Service — prompt and friendly for counter service…
Plain and simple — for me, the attraction is the horses. If you’re here for the food, atmosphere, or service, you’ll be disappointed. If you want something decent to munch on while watching the horses, there is nothing better for the price.