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

CHANGED OWNERSHIP, Now VIc's Tacos | Taqueria De Anda--1690 S Garey Ave Pomona, CA 91766

De Anda has gone out and been replaced by Vic's Tacos. See updated post HERE.

My Meal Cost: $5.57. Health Rating A. Yelp 3.5 stars

I became aware of De Anda Taqueria when I went to a Pomona Library event in 2014 to hear "Ask A Mexican" columnist from the OC Weekly, Gustavo Arellano talk about his book Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America. Because he was an OC guy, he had nothing but good things to say about what he has called "The Carls Jr of Mexican food." The small chain's only IE location is this Pomona venue, with its other locations being in Anaheim, Placentia, and three in Santa Ana.

And this one does remind one of Carl's Jr. with nice clean seating, a counter for ordering and paying, although they don't have serve-yourself beverages and I didn't see a salsa bar. Business for a Monday lunch was lively both inside and at the drive-thru.

I decided that I should compare the tacos with the others that I've written about in this space so I ordered two tacos, a Buche (beef head) and a Lengua (tongue), along with a side of beans and rice (both came side-by-side in a single Styrofoam cup). I did ask for some cheese for my side and took advantage of the self-serve radishes and onions (they also asked me if I'd like some grilled onions). In addition to tacos they have burritos, quesadillas, and a selection of agua frescas. Any item can be made from asada (steak), tripe, chicken, carnitas, or al pastor, in addition to the buche and lengua.

The tacos were traditional street tacos, meat and condiments on two small corn tortillas. No crunchy tacos here. The rice and beans were very flavorful although I would have liked a little salsa or at least a splash of Tapatio or other hot sauce, especially for the rice (but that's just me).

All-in-all a good taco experience that I wouldn't mind trying again some time.

UP NEXT: Hong Kong Express

Samos -- 1701 S Garey Ave Pomona, CA 91766

My Meal Cost: $8.90. Health Rating A. Yelp 3.5 stars

After expensive pizza and ho hum franchise chain burger I was looking forward to a locally owned/operated place with good honest food. When I started this blog several folks recommended Samos, especially for their pastrami and onion rings. I was also warned that this was the spot where a man was recently (now a couple of months ago) shot in the parking lot. The parking lot is probably the scariest part of this place, it's run down, dirty and a bit secluded.

I arrived just prior to noon and the place was completely empty. The workers appeared to be doing their opening cleanup. But then by 12:15 no one had shown up except me. Around that time two young boys (I'd guess middle school age--isn't Monday a school day? Hmmmm). Then just before I left a father and daughter came in. And then someone came through the drive-thru. They have a VERY loud speaker system--no wimpy headsets here--which blast through the small dining room. Well, at least there are no TVs on the wall to be interrupted.

I decided to go with the recommendations and ordered the pastrami special ($7.99), which usually includes a pastrami sandwich, fries and a 16 oz. drink (served from behind the counter, no self-serve). Because I was told that I HAD to have the onion rings, I asked that they be substituted for the fries and was informed that it would involve an extra charge (seems to have been about 50 cents). The meal was brought to my table and included a large pastrami sandwich on a soft roll and about 2.5 inches of meat, my drink (diet coke), the onion rings, and about 8 large battered and fried zucchini spears, along with some ketchup and a fairly large carton of a mayonnaise which I assume was for dipping. Since I like little yellow peppers on my pastrami, I asked for some and they were very nice in bringing me some.

Unfortunately, the food, while flavorful, was a bit disappointing. The zucchini, a delightful surprise, was quiet good. The onion rings were obviously hand cut and battered, not formed and frozen, but it seems as if the cooking oil may have been too hot. The rings came out dark brown, not particularly oily which would have indicated overcooking, and the flavor was just slightly off. In fairness I did eat all of them.

The pastrami was plentiful and flavorful, if a bit fatty. However, the meat had a decent bit of sinew in it. Taking a bite, a string came out which on inspection looked like a piece of rubberband which might have fallen into the meat container and ended up in my sandwich. However, a few bites latter I got another one and on further inspection realized that it was a vein or vessel (so natural meat, nothing to fear). In looking through the meat I noted that there was actually a lot of this material which was mostly cut into very small pieces that you wouldn't really notice. I don't recall ever having something like this at The Hat or Bravo Burger. Again, the sandwich was flavorful. 

The interior has a counter for ordering with a lot of hand-drawn signage about specials, along with the ubiquitous menu board. They also have a wide array of burgers, Mexican dishes, and drinks other than the usual fountain sodas. The dining area has booths which can seat 4 and is nice and clean. No TVs or other distractions.

UP NEXT: DeAnda

Burger King -- 1908 South Garey Ave Pomona, CA 91766

My Meal Cost: $6.20. Health Rating A. Yelp 2 stars

This Burger King is across the street from Garey High School. Because of that I was concerned about showing up at lunch time, but either Garey is a closed campus, or the students don't like this place. Based on its 2 yelp star rating it could be either. The place is fairly clean with a video arcade at the west end of the building.

The workers seemed OK but I thought I ordered a medium combo, appeared to have gotten a medium drink but then I only got small fries and my ticket said small fries and drink. I think they could use some more training.

It's been some time since I stopped at a BK and I wanted to try something other than a whopper, so I opted for the Xtra Long Philly Cheese Burger combo. It's described on the BK site as "features two flame-grilled beef patties, American cheese, fried onions, and a "creamy cheesy sauce" on a toasted hoagie-style bun." Not sure how that makes it "Philly" but OK, not unlike the "animal style" from In-N-Out, without the flavor. I guess grilled onions and a "hoagy style" bun are Philly things, but I kind of thought it might have some peppers as well. Oh well.

Having read the yelp reviews, I had to agree that the food that I got was not hot. The cheese was soft but not melting. Not sure how they can accomplish that when I'm one of only three people there at lunchtime.

The soft drink options were the normal so as a diabetic my only option was diet coke. They had Dr. Pepper, but not the diet version. Can I start a class action lawsuit to get places like this to give me options and use ADA as a reason? Only kidding. The fries were OK but nothing to write home about. Glad I didn't get any larger size.

UP NEXT: Samo's

Papa Johns Pizza -- 101 E Foothill Blvd Ste 35 Pomona, CA 91767

My Meal Cost: $22.01. Health Rating A. Yelp 1.5 stars

I approached this week's offering with a lot of trepidation. In preparing for this entry, I had looked it up on Yelp to get its rating and was horrified to see an overall rating (from 32 reviews--the most so far) of 1-1/2 stars. 21 of them were 1 star (how many would be 0 stars if that was offered?).

I was at least happy to see that they had a narrow counter with 3 seats so I could at least "dine in," if that's what you want to call it. They are also thus far the most expensive meal I've had thus far only slightly less than when both the Lovely Mrs. C and I both ate at Cardenas last week.

In order to be able to compare "apples with apples" I ordered a small (10") mushroom and sausage pizza with extra cheese and 8 mild chipotle chicken wings and a 20 oz. bottled diet Pepsi. I ordered blue cheese sauce for dipping my wings and also asked for chili flakes and Parmesan packets, all of which I got, along with a peppercini.

Despite the negative Yelp reviews, the server at the counter was friendly and helpful. She said that my order would be ready in about 15 minutes and about 15 minutes later she delivered my lunch to me at the counter. Also surprisingly, the pizza was decent, it wasn't doughy, there was good sausage and they included "garlic dipping sauce" which tasted more like butter than garlicky. I even think the Lovely Mrs. C would have been able to handle it. It made a nice dip for the crusts, making them more of a bread and butter type thing than just "dry pizza crust."

The wings were good. The chipotle glaze on the wings were a little sweet/smokey with only a touch of heat (probably still too much for the Lovely Mrs. C, but mild by my taste). AND they had an even number of wingettes and drumettes (4 and 4). I would rate this above Pizza Hut not not quite as good as Pirate Pizza (I'm only comparing those in this blog--VERY far from the best pizzas I've ever had).

One more chain restaurant next week and then I get a break for about 5 or so weeks before I get down to another chain pizza place. Looking forward to the coming weeks.

UP NEXT: Burger King