Flatburger?

Everyone has their favorite burger joint. Everyone has their favorite burger. Whether it’s that crazy guacamole-and-onion-rings monstrosity cooked up at that Happy Donut N Burger you frequently haunt. Or maybe it’s that artery-clogging burger topped with two fried eggs that soaks up all your hangover aches and pains. (And for the purposes of this review, we’ll ignore the dolts that go for chain fast-food restaurant burgers. That’s just wrong—but In-N-Out burgers do rule. The only exception)

So, setting aside any potential burger bunglings, my lunch companion and I decided to explore the nooks and crannies of Corona’s mom-and-pop shacks, dives and drive-thrus to see if we could find something glorious that we could ask the all-important questions: Got some fries to go with that?

And then we spotted Corona Burgers.

A pretty nondescript place, Corona Burgers is the kind of blue-collar, simple eats type of burger joint that you can expect several things from. First, the clientele here includes your friendly neighborhood repairmen, utility workers, municipal employees (and not the city manager!), plumbers and the like. I mean real salt of the earth types.

Asian-owned and operated (with no shortage of brown faces working the kitchen—what, you were expecting otherwise?), Corona Burgers covers all your burger needs with grease, meat, ample amounts of atomic-fueled peppers (like the kind you get at Original Tommy’s), more meat, more grease and homemade goodness.

Since my lunch companion was gonna try out the Double Cheeseburger, I decided to sample something different. Pastrami, baby, pastrami! More than divine, this is the meat of the gods. Corona Burgers doesn’t mess around. It’s layer after layer of meaty, marbled, red-hued stomach satisfaction.

This was a sandwich to reckon with. True, East Coast pastrami lovers will wither and sicken at the thought of thinly-sliced meat (Sorry, Katz’s!). But, these types of cuts are perfectly acceptable here on the West Coast and Corona Burgers makes sure you won’t go hungry by piling on the deli delicious delight.

The fries were just OK. The same golden-brown, thick slices that you can expect from a Farmer Boys or similar place. My lunch companion concurred.

But, hey, we came here for the burgers, right?

Quizzing (cuz “grilling” would be too obvious wordplay) my assistant editor (sorry, Tyler), he revealed to me his take on his meal. The Double Cheeseburger, he says, was a bit greasy, but it should be considered a steal at $5.99 (including fries and a drink). The burger was fairly compact (read: flattened), but that didn’t take away from a big, big taste.

So, Corona Burgers, puff up your chest a little. And . . . puff up your burgers.

Corona Burgers, 307 E. 6^th St., Corona, (951) 272-8778. Open 7AM-8PM (closes 7PM Sun, 9PM Fri). MC, V.