Starbucks -- 101 W Mission Blvd Ste 106 Pomona, CA 91766

My Meal Cost: $11.90. Health Rating A. Yelp 3.5 stars

Here's where this concept blog gets a little weird. What is a restaurant? What is a restaurant on Garey Ave.? Well, I've self-defined these as restaurants where the building has at least one face on Garey and serves food. I guess Starbucks qualifies, even though the address is Mission Blvd. Both of its doors face onto Garey Avenue and I think most Pomonans consider it on Garey, so here we are. As a result I'll also be including Subs Cafe, which likewise has an entry on Garey, and Flame Broiler, which while it doesn't actually have an entry on Garey (the entry faces the parking lot on the other side of the building, not facing ANY street) the building itself sits facing Garey. And I'll be going to O'Donovan's as well because while the address is on Third St., the larger side of the restaurant faces onto Garey. Enough of that.

So I decided to have lunch at Starbucks on one of the hottest days on record. When I arrived around 11:45, the outside temp was around 104 and by the time I left around 12:30 it was hovering around 107. Starbucks doesn't have a kitchen, so the lunch items (as with the breakfast items) are prepackaged. You can choose from a selection of wraps, sandwiches, and fruit cups from a refrigerated case.

I chose the Southwest Style Steak Wrap, which is "slices of fajita steak tossed in a chimichurri sauce with fire roasted corn, peppers, lettuce, jicama, and a black bean hummus spread in sweet potato tortilla, paired with a creamy chipotle sauce and blue corn chips." Quoted from the label.

I admit I've been to Starbucks a time or two (like often), but I usually don't order anything but a Venti Latte with 4 shots, whole milk, and 2 Splenda. This is my "go to" drink when visiting in the morning or at a drive-thru (like the one in the neighborhood). However, because of the searing heat, and because this was for the blog, I ordered what the lovely Mrs. C calls a "houkalukamooka" drink. The one I chose was a smores frappachino. Basically a fancy milk shake with some espresso in it.

The wrap was actually quite good. The flavors complemented each other and it was quite filling, especially on a hot day when you don't want something heavy. The houkalukamooka really hit the spot (although I'm going to have to be sure to do some exercise to counteract the effects I'm sure it will have on my blood sugar). While I was skeptical, it really hit the spot. While I don't think of packaged food as real restaurant food, if you're in a hurry and just need something quick, this might be a good option.

This location has good outdoor seating as well as a decent amount of indoor seating with readily accessible power outlets and free wifi for those who wish to "set up office" here with computers and tablets very much in evidence. Since, when I eat alone, I like to read an eBook (today was a Lord Peter Whimsey mystery novel), the wifi access was a welcome addition. As seen in the photo above, the decoration is fun and the space is very bright and airy. On this particular Monday at lunch time there was a good mix of students and others working on laptops, and a lot of take out business. With the heat, all the inside seats were taken, with no one venturing to the outside tables, but on other occasions I've observed the exact opposite.

UP NEXT: Subs Cafe

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

Mexico Lindo -- 1060 S Garey Ave, Pomona, CA 91766

Apology

First, I wish to apologize for missing last week. Monday, when I usually would have lunch at the next sport, I was involved in the setup and presentation of the Historical Society of Pomona Valley's Memorial Day Program at Garfield Park. As if that weren't enough, this past Saturday we had a retirement party for the Lovely Mrs. C which required a lot of work and a full schedule for the week. So again, my apologies, and I'm back on track, although the delay here (and a trip to the east coast I'll be making in July) will probably carry this effort into 2017

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Plagiarism

Another thing that has happened in the past week also requires a response here. As part of the Measure Y campaign for billboards in the city, the Hews Media Group, publishers of the Los Cerritos News, have been sending Pomona voters a "Pomona Community News" newspaper which is mostly advertising. In the third of these, my last blog post on Taqueria Santa Cruz was printed without permission and without attribution. A clear case of plagiarism and theft of intellectual property. While I'm not sure how good my argument would be that it's "intellectual," it is a product of my personal experiences and this blatant theft should be noted. Special thanks to friend and neighbor Megan Gearhart who, though a post on NextDoor, informed me of the inclusion of my blog post in their advertorial. Hews Media Group should be ashamed of themselves. These blog posts also appear on the Pomona Proud news web site with my full permission and with full attribution that it is me who created them.

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My Meal Cost: $20.55 +tip. Health Rating A. Yelp 4 stars

What a wonderful experience it was to visit Mexico Lindo. After weeks of fast food, pizza, not great Pupusas, and only moderately good Mexican food, a restaurant that made me feel good on entering and served up a delicious meal at a reasonable price (not cheap, but reasonable for what I got).

I arrived at about 12:15 and the very small parking lot was full so I parked a few houses down on  the side street. The restaurant had a good lunch crowd and stayed busy the whole time I was there. As I entered two tables of Pomona's Finest were just leaving. All a good sign. A waiter or busboy came to me immediately after I was seated to get my drink order. I got ice tea and it was delivered quickly, along with salsa and chips, and as soon as it arrived my waitress showed up to take my order. The salsa was interesting in that along with acid from tomatoes, spice from jalapenos, it also had a cooling element provided by cucumber. Went really well with the chips.

The atmosphere was pleasant with Spanish language music in the background and a television showing Futbol (soccer) with the sound turned down. The music wasn't so loud that it would discourage conversation, but was a pleasant background.

Noting that this was not only a Mexican restaurant but a seafood restaurant, I decided I would go outside my comfort zone and look at the seafood options. They have ceviches, cocktails, and several different seafood platters, as well as the usual Mexican burritos, tacos, etc. I was contemplating the shrimp, scallops and squid platter when the waitress came to take my order. But the waitress seemed friendly so I asked her to recommend something. She started to steer me toward the lunch specials, but I emphasized that I wanted something SHE thought was really good. She suggested to Tres Fajitas, which was steak, chicken, and shrimp with the requisite onions and green peppers and included soup of salad, rice, and beans along with guacamole and sour cream.

I opted for the albondigas soup which was a meatball soup with chunks of vegetables and a well seasoned meatball. The small cup was just the right amount, with the chips and salsa, to whet my appetite for what was to come.

The fajitas came sizzling in a pan and the odor immediately set the mouth to watering. The rice was about as good a Mexican rice as I've had and the beans were also excellent. I actually at half of each before I even thought to add a little of the salsa and a slight squeeze of lime to add some additional flavor.

The fajitas also came with my choice of tortilla. I chose corn so I could make tacos from the fajitas. Each taco I built had a few shrimp, a couple of slices of steak, and some chucks of chicken (along with the peppers and onion), which I then topped with the sour cream and guacamole. The first bit was wonderful with the crisp flavor of the grilled shrimp being accented by the soft texture of the pieces of chicken and the woodsy flavor of the steak. The sour cream and guacamole added that bit of extra and created the "runs down your arm" juiciness that means good eating.

After chips, soup, rice, and beans, there was a bit too much fajita for me so I ended up not finishing my plate. I asked the waitress if the next time I came in, if I bring the lovely Mrs. C, if I could split the fajitas and still get the sides. She was very friendly and assured me that they could accommodate that request, so I anticipate that we will probably stop by for dinner sometime soon, and probably also try the margaritas.

Mexico Lindo is the same people who have Tropical Mexico out on East End St., where we've enjoyed meals in the past. I think I actually liked Mexico Lindo better as it was a little cozier and the food was a little better.

UP NEXT: La Fuente Family Restaurant

Taqueria Santa Cruz -- 1285 S Garey Ave # E, Pomona, CA 91766

My Meal Cost: $9.10. Health Rating A. Yelp 4.5 stars

This week's restaurant is a taqueria located in the corner of the shopping center at the southwest corner of Garey and Grand. It is literally "in the corner" of the center. It is very unassuming and hidden, but I was able to find it fairly quickly.

When I got there I wasn't sure if this was a take-out place or a sit down restaurant. There was no real order counter, so I approached the cash register area and asked the young man there how it worked. He indicated that it could be either order out or if I wanted to take a seat it would be sit-down. So I took a seat at one of the tables and was quickly provided with a menu. All menu items also appear on a board behind the cash register. The dining room had a television showing a telenovela, with the volume up so it could be heard (if not understood by me--I pretty much could follow the action though).

After studying the menu, and there were a number of good sounding dishes including burritos, sopas, tostadas, and others such as huevos al gusto, birria de chivo, and fajitas, as well as seafood options. I chose one of my standbys (sorry, not feeling particularly adventuresome today) and ordered the chili relleno platillo. It came with a chili relleno drenched in a red tomato sauce, refried beans, and rice, as well as corn tortillas. I also orderd a diet Coke, although there were aguas frescas available as well as a number of bottled soft drinks including Mexican Coke.

My meal was delivered to my table in a fairly short period of time. This was an interesting version of a chili relleno. First the cheese in the filling was a little bit tough, not melty and smooth, but it had a "bite" to it, not awful, but not what I expected. The sauce actually tasted like someone poured a jar of marinara sauce on top and added some lightly grilled onions and bell peppers. It had that sweet tomato style taste more than the flavor that I would associate with a tomatillo sauce on a chili relleno. The rice was cooked perfectly and tasted good, although nothing special. The beans on the other hand had a "fishy" taste to them. I'm not sure if they were warmed up in a pan that had been used to cook fish or ???? but it was definitely a different flavor profile for refried beans.

I wanted a little salsa for my rice, and looked around and the waitress noticed and asked what I needed. She then brought me two squeeze bottles one with a red sauce and the other with a green sauce. This worked out fine.

While I was there, there were only two others who came in. One single person ordered take-out and one other single diner at in.

At the end of my meal, no one came to the table with the check so I approached the cash register. I started to pay with my debit card (who carries cash these days) but the waitress informed me that if I used a card it would cost an additional dollar. I checked my wallet and, wonder of wonders, I actually had a $20 in there. I paid and added the dollar that I would have used to pay a card fee, along with some other change, and dropped it in the tip jar. To be honest, if they had taken the card the tip would have been larger.

Although I cleared my plate, mom would have been proud, it was not a place that I was impressed with and I doubt I'll be back unless someone tells me that I just have to try their ??????. They have 4.5 stars on Yelp so I really must have missed something. I always accept that I might not have chosen the right food at an unknown restaurant. Your mileage may vary.

Next week I'll be moving from the south Pomona portion of Garey to the downtown portion. Let's see if things change.

UP NEXT: Mexico Lindo

Ponce's Pupuseria & Tacqueria -- 1308 South Garey Ave Pomona, CA 91766

My Meal Cost: $10. Health Rating A. Yelp 2.5 stars

Last week I was supposed to go to Ponce's Pupuseria as the next stop on my trip north. However, when I stopped by on Monday, they were closed so instead I got Domino's Pizza.

I went back to Ponce's on Wednesday and that's what I'm writing about for this installment.

Ponce's is a bakery and pupuseria, which take up two storefronts in this small strip mall (with difficult parking as the single spots in the center are accessible from both "rows"). I went up to the window to order. The window was open, but there was a CLOSED sign also. When the young woman inside saw me at the window, she reached up and changed the CLOSED to OPEN, whew, was afraid I'd missed it again. While there appears to be a door to the right of the order window, it seems to be only for staff and deliveries, there is no indoor seating.

For those who don't know, a pupusa is Salvadorean, and similar to an Argentinia arepa. Unlike an arepa, a pupusa has the filling put in before cooking. Both are made from a masa made of cornmeal, although there are differences in how the masa is made in each country.

There is a single small table just outside with three chairs if eating in a parking lot is your idea of "ambience."

I ordered two pupusas, one a chicarone and queso (seasoned pork ground to a paste consistency--thanks wikipedia--with cheese, not Mexican chicarone which is fried pork rinds), and an "especial" which was loaded. In addition, since the pupusas seemed like a lite item, I ordered a carne asada burrito. I was then told that it would take 15-20 minutes to prepare my order. Gee, I thought this was traditional street food which is usually fast food. And this was at 12:30 pm, prime lunch time. During my wait, only one other person came up and he appeared to be panhandling, more than wanting to order. While I waited I wandered into the bakery. It had shelves and open racks of many of the standard Mexican sweet bread that I've seen in other local bakeries. However, the place was dark and just didn't "feel" clean or appetizing. My meal was ready in 20 minutes. 

The pupusas came with the two traditional sides, curtido, and salsa roja. The curtido is a lightly fermented slaw similar to kimchi or sauerkraut. It came in a sandwich bag (yes the kind mom used to put my PB&J in when I was in elementary school), as did the salsa roja (which was weird to have a little baggie with liquid). The salsa roja was a little vinegary and somewhat sweet. Not really a "hot" sauce. The burrito came with a hot sauce (in a "normal" sauce container).

Both pupusas seemed a little dense to me. I've had pupusas at Guasalmex and some other places, as well as arepas when I was in New York, and they seemed a bit lighter. However, these were flavorful enough. The burrito had rice, black beans, and cheese and was a decent burrito but nothing to write home about, I can get the equal at several places within a few blocks. Since I decided to take my food "to go," (sorry parking lot dining is not something I'm enamored of), I didn't get a drink but opted to have a diet cherry Coke from my stash at home.

While I can't say there was anything especially bad about Ponce's, the wait time, the lack of seating, and only adequate food will probably keep me from considering it in the future.

UP NEXT: Taqueria Santa Cruz

Domino's -- 1285 S Garey Ave Pomona, CA 91766

My Meal Cost: $8.85. Health Rating A. Yelp 3 stars

This week was supposed to be Ponce's Pupuseria and Bakery. I got there about noon and the pupuseria was locked up and only the bakery was open. I went in there and asked if the pupuseria was open and the woman who was baking fabulous smelling sweets I believe only understood the word pupuseria and indicated manana. So, despite no signage, I assume that they're closed on Mondays. Since I teach tomorrow I'll have to wait until at least Wednesday to get there. Hopefully they're open for lunch (again, no signage).

Since I was down in that area and now was hungry, I decided to skip to the next one which is Domino's Pizza. I'm really sorry that I decided to include the take-out pizza places as I really wanted to be able to sit down and have a meal. But since I do this for you, not for me, I'll suck it up.

This Domino's has a single table outside (which I didn't use) and is strictly a delivery or take-out type of operation. I've had pizza from this place before as I'm on the Pomona Christmas Parade committee and we usually have pizza at our monthly meetings and most of the time it has come from this Dominos (on exception was right after someone decided to drive a car through their front window, that month we ended up with Little Caesars). I've always found the pizzas from here to be acceptable. I'm afraid that I haven't liked a pizza from a Pomona place since Marie's Red Hill Pizza closed on Holt and White (even the one on second street, while similar) didn't match up to what they had in that little tiny place on Holt.

Trying to be fair to the pizza places that came before (and will come after), I ordered a sausage and mushroom with extra cheese. Their "personal" pizza is a 10" pie. I also ordered 8 wings, choosing HOT as the option for the wings. The only beverages they appear to offer is 2-liter bottles. Since I was going to end up taking it home, I have my preferred Cherry Coke Zero, so . . .

The pizza was actually pretty good. The crust was bready but not doughy and had a bit of a crunch to it like a good French baguette. They didn't include the pepper flakes nor Parmesan cheese that I'm used to as a "given" when ordering pizza, but I guess I should have asked. The pie was cut into 10 slices although they weren't even with some of them being twice the size of others.

The wings came with ranch dressing. It didn't appear that they were coated in the sauce, more like the sauce was dumped on top so some were drenched in sauce and some only had the sauce that pooled at the bottom of the tin foil they were served in. I would describe the sauce as a milder version of buffalo sauce with a bit of vinegar, but not overly hot nor vinegary, more on the sweet side. There were four drumettes and four wingettes, so it was nice and even.

Not a bad meal and not as expensive as Papa Johns so I guess if I was looking for a quick pizza delivery Domino's on south Garey might be a future choice--that is if they deliver to Lincoln Park. Seems to deserve its 3 Yelp stars.

UP NEXT: Ponce's Restaurant & Bakery

Hong Kong Express -- 1533 S Garey Ave Pomona, CA 91766

My Meal Cost: $8.04. Health Rating A. Yelp 2 stars

Hong Kong Express sits in the middle of a strip mall whose main tenant is East Valley Community Health Center. HKE is a standard Chinese Fast Food joint where you can choose a 1 entree, 2 entree, or 3 entree combination which also includes chow mein and fried rice. In addition, they also have 1 and 2 topping bowls where you can choose steam table items as toppings over rice or chow mein. They also a variety of beverages (many with boba) and soups as well.

The space itself is clean, with several tables where you can dine or you can take-out. The woman behind the counter was friendly, but obviously not a native English speaker. I had to repeat myself several times in order to be understood and an African-American woman who came in looking for an ATM machine wasn't understood at all. Another customer explained to the woman what was wanted so we all learned that there was no ATM machine at this location.

I ordered a 2 entree combo so got chow mien and fried rice. As my entrees I chose the steamed vegetables and the ubiquitous, at places like this, Orange Chicken. I also ordered a medium Diet Coke. As with most places like this, the food was piled high, overflowing the partitioned Styrofoam container. A very large amount of food. At this stage in my life it's really too much for me as well (I should have ordered a bowl) but I wanted to do comparable dishes with the other two Chinese fast food places I've written about here.

The chow mien was a bit on the starchy and chewy side and lacked any flavor. A bit of soy sauce helped, but not much, especially given the amount that was on the plate. The fried rice was adequate but nothing special. I really couldn't discern any of the flavors although id did seem to have some chicken, egg, and scallions, but who could tell? I added a liberal amount of sriracha sauce which helped, but not a lot.

I love my veggies. The steamed veggies had that mild sauce that so many of these places have. The variety of the veggies was good and they weren't overly mushy. The orange chicken was . . . orange chicken. Nothing special here. This American Chinese dish which has become almost a joke is on every Chinese fast food steam table, but most Chinese will tell you they've never eaten it. A favorite story is one of my wife's Chinese students told her that she had gone to Costco with her father and was a little surprised when he bought a large amount of powdered Tang. The next day Orange Chicken was on the menu at her family's restaurant. Some places have the Chinese peppers to help flavor their Orange Chicken, this one doesn't and the resulting flavor was sweet, but not particularly flavorful. And the chicken underneath the copious amounts of glaze was somewhat dried out.

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EXTRA: Sunshine Donuts -- 1545 S Garey Ave, Pomona, CA 91766

Two doors to the south of Hong Kong Express is Sunshine Donuts. While not a restaurant, it is a nice little donut shop that also serves ice cream, coffee, and beverages. For dessert I had a chocolate glazed old fashioned donut that set me back $.70. An "A" from the health department and 4 stars on yelp.

UP NEXT: Ponce's Restaurant & Bakery