Like most moms I know, a huge part of my life is concerned with food… as in, how to keep a steady supply of it in the house, how to get it onto the table in a timely manner, how to vary the menu enough to keep my four guys happy, etc. There are days I am up for the task and even consider it artistic expression, and there are days (once or twice a week around 5 o’clock) I want to run screaming down the street… all the way to Eagle Rock, home of The Oinkster.

With an indoor dining area that seats fifty, and a large outdoor patio for fifty more, this is an ideal spot to take the familia. Here even finicky eaters can find something delectable, while your average gourmand is in (seventh) hog heaven. The menu is built on sandwiches and burgers, rotisserie chicken, salads and sides. There are lots of veggie options as well. The standout pastrami is cured for two weeks, rubbed with special spices and slowly smoked with applewood. It is peppery and delicious, and the leanest pastrami a health nut could ever dream of eating. The Oinkster style is Dad-O’s favorite, with gruyere cheese, caramelized onions and red cabbage slaw. The BBQ pulled pork sandwich is equally savory, with a vinegary Carolina BBQ sauce. My middle son likes it best, minus the onions and slaw, with lots of the house-made ketchup. (The ketchup is so good it tempts an otherwise honest woman to steal a squirt bottle for home.) My other boys order the Choice Angus burgers, which are a whopping 6 ounces of lean ground steak. I get the rotisserie chicken with black beans, rice and plantains. The beet salad is out of this world, with goat cheese croutons that will leave you shamelessly begging for more. (Think Oliver Twist.)

During a recent visit, we were lucky enough to have a precious minute of Chef/ Owner Andre Guerrero’s time. When asked what his inspiration for the restaurant was, he answered, “I thought about all my favorite foods from childhood and came up with this menu. So after more that thirty years in the fine dining world (Max, Sherman Oaks, and Senor Fred to name a few) I decided to have a little fun and opened The Oinkster eight months ago with my two sons. People deserve good, natural food.” Only his food is better than good, it’s almost perfect. Almost, because the buns don’t stand up to the meat in his burgers; they tend to fall apart, though the foccacia on the chicken salad sandwich does better. What’s next for The Oinkster? The good chef plans on serving really good wine, hand slicing his pastrami and maybe even some live music on the patio during the summer. What else could a person ask for?

Well, maybe a large order of beautiful Belgian Fries. Beautiful fries? Yes, golden works of scrumptious art, like no other fry you’ve ever seen, served with a dollop of garlic aioli. Premium beers, specialty sodas, Fosselman’s ice cream shakes, and Oinksterade round out the meal, but as the old saying goes, Chef Andre has saved the best for last with cupcakes that will send you reeling back to your happy childhood, even if it wasn’t altogether happy. Our family favorite is the peanut butter and jelly cupcake, which is some kind of special, with the creamiest butter cream frosting imaginable.

It was Chef Andre’s fiancé who came up with the name The Oinkster. She thought it was funny. I think it was insightful, because patrons are apt to grow little curly tails and root around their plates for hidden fries to dip one last time in the aioli. The only time my husband and I are bummed that our boys have eaten all their dinner is when we go to The Oinkster. Then we go wee, wee, wee, all the way home.

The Oinkster, 2005 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock, (323) 255-OINK, www.oinkster.com. Open Mon.-Thurs. 11a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 11a.m. to 11p.m.; Sun., 11a.m. to 9p.m. Major Credit Cards Dinner for 5 under $50.00 with drinks and dessert.