Named the best jazz club by Los Angeles magazine in 2010, The Baked Potato remains a tiny but important treasure on the city’s music scene and its whimsical logo is a perfect example of the charm and imagination of vintage menu art.

The venue was opened in 1970 by the famous Wrecking Crew pianist Don Randi, one of a loose collective of American session musicians based in Los Angeles who played on many studio recordings in the 1960s and 1970s, including hundreds of top 40 hits. 

Born in 1937 in upstate New York, he was a musician and arranger for record producer Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound in the 1960s. He played piano on These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ by Nancy Sinatra and was a member of her touring band for decades. He also performed on the Beach Boys’ Good Vibrations and God Only Knows.

That’s quite a musical pedigree and it’s no wonder The Baked Potato, opened in 1970, became a mainstay for many of America’s best musicians from jazz to rock.

The idea for the food offering came from a visit to London, says Randi’s son Justin, when his American father and British mother saw street carts selling hot baked potatoes with cheese wrapped in foil.

Baked potatoes are still on the menu at The Baked Potato, you will not be surprised to hear. One restaurant critic admiringly called them ‘mutant size.’

Judging from the prices, we believe this menu is probably from the 1970s. 

The Baked Potato runs the Don Randi Baked Potato Music Scholarship - This scholarship provides financial assistance to aspiring musicians, helping them pursue their passion for jazz, fusion, and contemporary music. More information in the link below:

https://www.thebakedpotato.com/product/don-randi-baked-potato-music-scholarship/