La Fuente -- 987 S Garey Ave Pomona, CA 91766

My Meal Cost: $27.50 +tip (for 2). Health Rating B. Yelp 4.5 stars

Wow, two weeks in a row where I got to eat at an actual sit-down, waitress service restaurant with metal flatware and real dishes. After all those weeks of fast food it was a nice change.

This week is La Fuente Mexican & Seafood restaurant. Having looked at it on yelp I was prepared for a good experience since last week at Mexico Lindo was so good and this one had 4.5 stars as compared with Lindo's 4 stars. Then on arrival I noticed the dreaded B rating in the window. Hmmm. But I've had some really good meals in B rated places and wasn't to be deterred.

I had noted that on yelp some reviewers commented that it was a good place to come after a concert at the Fox as it's open 24 hours.

Due to her recent retirement (although she also would have been on summer break during this period anyway) I was able to bring the Lovely Mrs. C along with me. While she is a self-described "gringa," I was fairly confident that she would find something that she would be comfortable with and I was correct.

Upon entering you notice that the interior is dark and seems a bit dated. This place could certainly use some brightening up. It has that "old style" Mexican restaurant feel inside with a large fountain near the center of the room which is being used as a planter, under some dated ceiling lighting and with murals on the northern wall. A TV (which I had my back to, but which Mrs. C had a good view of) showed old black and white Spanish language films. Mrs. C gave me blow by blow descriptions of the typical '30s romance plotline of a singer who is down on his luck, who falls for a waitress who becomes ill and their ensuring romance, with a lot of singing. All without the aid of understanding any of the dialogue.

The service was not real attentive. However, it was friendly and the waitress when she was at the table was helpful. The menu was extensive and had breakfast dishes, traditional Mexican dishes, seafood, and a number of steaks and more "dinner" type items, including a selection of appetizers. In addition, they offer beer and mixed drinks (Margaritas), sodas, and aqua frescas.

Since we were there for lunch, Mrs. C opted for a Coke and I opted for Iced Tea. The beverages were brought to the table quickly along with a basked of chips and a small molcajete of salsa. The salsa was fresh and had a bit of heat, but not so much as to deter Mrs. C, so I take that as a sign.

Having arrived at about 12:30, there was only one other diner in the place, but while we perused our menus a party of 3 young women arrived, who appeared to be regulars as there was some lively banter with the waitress (all in Spanish) and they seemed to be having fun.

For our lunch, Mrs. C ordered pollo (chicken) enchiladas. In order to be able to compare with Mexico Lindo, I ordered the fajitas mixto. Mrs. C reports that her enchiladas were quite good although a little spicy for her palate. Mine arrived on two separate dishes. On one was beans, rice, and a small undressed salad of lettuce and chopped tomato. The second was a sizzling skillet with the fajitas (corn tortillas came a little later--after I took the photo below).

The rice was some of the best Mexican restaurant rice that I've had. It had an almost creamy texture and flavor which did not require the addition of anything. It also had peas, carrots, corn, and lima beans mixed in (something like fast food Chinese fried rice). The beans were also some of the best. Like most refried beans at places like this, it came with a little cheese on the top, but also had some (I believe) chorizo mixed in which gave it a little different texture and flavor. EXCELLENT.

As for the fajitas. They also were a little different than my meal last week. About the same portion size, it included, in addition to the shrimp, carne asada beef, and chicken, sweet green and red peppers, onion, fried tomato, and broccoli. I didn't find the shrimp here to be as flavorful as at Mexcio Lindo and it was a little tough, but the beef and chicken were very well cooked and spiced. I did miss the crema which would have added to the flavor as I filled a tortilla with the various incredients. 

All-in-all a very good dining experience and I can imagine that it would be an exception place to have a late-night, early-morning meal when all the other restaurants in town have rolled up the sidewalks. I expect we'll be back although probably not at 2:00 am.

Conundrum

I've finally gotten to the point in this journey where I have to make a decision about just what is a "Garey Avenue" restaurant. Originally I thought it would be only restaurants that had a Garey Avenue address. However, as I move north on Garey, the next group of restaurants that appear to face Garey have an address on Mission Boulevard. The Mission Promenade center has a single Mission Boulevard address so the Starbucks, Subs Cafe, and Flame Broiler, which face onto Garey are included in that. Also, while Starbucks and Subs Cafe have entrances that face onto Garey, Flame Broiler, while it appears to face Garey, only has an entry from the parking area accessible from Garey or 4th streets. What's a body to do.

I've decided that I'll go to each one and include them here. I've also been perplexed about what to do about O'Donovans in the Mayfair hotel. Its entry is clearly on 3rd Street, but most of its dining room wraps to Garey, so I've decided that I will include it also. Now I don't have to worry until I get to Foothill where I may be faced with some of the same issues. But that will probably be in early 2017.

UP NEXT: Starbucks