This will be a test of how well I have been listening. Zing originally opened earlier this year under the guidance of David, the owner of Zang around the corner. At that time it was more of a bar with Asian influenced small plates. For some reason it did not play out and was closed fairly quickly. David explored several options for the space and ended up leasing it to the partnership that now owns it. 2 of the 3 partners chose to keep the name as it was when it opened in October. None of the reviews prior to October 2010 reflect the current incarnation of Zing. What it is now is a cafe with American favorites and variations thereof serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. While the name ties it to a successful and well liked restaurateur in downtown Glendale it doesn't immediately describe the atmosphere and cuisine.\n\nI've eaten a breakfast and a lunch here now. The service has been excellent both times (Thanks April and Stephani!). I've also had the opportunity to chat with James, the operating partner, both times. The atmosphere the second time was better with classic rock playing and sports news without sound on the 3 big screens.\n\nThe reason most folks eat out is the food. As a general statement it comes out as average. As a general rule of thumb if you want repeat customers you need to be able to have a complete meal with a beverage for no more than $10 plus tax and tip or it becomes a destination place. Both of my meals here qualified. The emphasis here is on decent food and large portions in that price range. Those of you familiar with Scramble will recognize the menu layout as the basics, the in house specialties and the options. However the emphasis is placed on the tastes and not so much on the healthy.\n\nFor my breakfast here I got the saut\u00e9 scramble. My biggest minor complaint was with the chicken. It was large chunks of white meat that was really tough without much flavor. It reminded me of being cooked in the microwave which is something I will do at home if I am going to use it in a stew or something that will cook a long time to tenderize it and allow it to absorb other flavors. The rest of the scramble was quite tasty and the potatoes were really good. The chicken would have been better in smaller pieces. As it was I stopped eating when I was no longer hungry rather than when I was full.\n\nThe problem with the burger was the meat was sort of tasteless. I ordered medium and got medium well but it still had enough juices so I could dip some of my fries. Normally that would mean it had enough fat to be tasty but in this case it seemed it was just water added in the processing of the ground beef. The rest of the fresh ingredients were not quite able to carry the overall taste, but it wasn't like it was bad or anything. I should note here that a $6 burger, fries and a fountain drink at Carl's Jr is in the same price range with nowhere near the atmosphere. The fries were thin cut with the skins and perfectly cooked.\n\nA few things I would change. I prefer my toast buttered right out of the toaster and I would prefer my toasted bun with mayonnaise rather than dry. I am sure this is done for those who may not like the extra fat and now I know the system I can probably change it by how I order.\n\nI gave this a 3, rounded down from the 3.5 I can't use. It will most definitely be added to my regular rotation
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