Past Stories
HEMET
Anchor Restaurant
They serve all-American food and Italian and some Japanese as well. Moderately sized restaurant, they come complete with a huge lounge and banquet room for 300. 2524 E. Florida Ave., Hemet, (951) 925-0591. $$
...
FONTANA
Cowboy Burgers & BBQ
Thick, juicy burgers and heaping plates of barbeque beef ribs, prepared from scratch. 11673 Etiwanda Ave., Fontana, (951) 681-2020. $
Jolly Farms Bar-b-que
They specialize in roasted chicken dinn...
CORONA
Backwoods BBQ
An authentic mesquite smoked Texas-style BBQ restaurant. Catering, entertainment and games can be found in this family facility. 4300 Green River Rd., Ste. 102, Corona, (951) 371-7227. $
Cask ‘n...
COLTON
A-Dong Restaurant Colton
This casual dining restaurant is open for lunch and dinner Tues. thru Sun. 1091 S. Mt. Vernon Ave. Colton 92324. (951) 825-0241
Hawaiian Blues
There’s nothing that goes better with oy...
CLAREMONT
Aruffo’s
Great Italian fare, especially the Aglio Arrostito appetizer—bruschetta, bread, fresh garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, olives and a variety of pestos to dip it all in. Yum. 126 Yale Ave., Claremont, (909) ...
CHINO HILLS
El Taco Nazo
Got five bucks? Want a fish taco plate with rice, beans and a drink? Then go here. 14676 Pipeline, Chino Hills, (909) 606-2100. $
Ojiya
This tiny sushi restaurant is packed with customers every night a...
CHINO
Centro Basco Restaurant
The dishes range from a mix of Spanish and French cuisine. Don’t forget to start your meal with a bowl of their famous onion soup. 13432 Central Ave., Chino, 909-628-9014. $$
Flo’s Air...
BARSTOW
DiNapoli’s Firehouse Pizza
Italian restaurant featuring appetizers, salads, specialty subs, pasta dinner specialties, and lasagna.
1358 E. Main St. Barstow, 92311. (760) 256-1094
Idle Spurs Steakhouse
Casual di...
AMBOY
Roy’s Cafe & Motel
Self-proclaimed crustiest, dustiest gas station on all of Route 66. Amboy is one of the oldest towns in California, dating back to 1858. Word is the owner of the Juan Pollo chain recently boug...
An Oasis in the Desert
Flames singed my brows. There wasn’t a teppan grill or any onion volcanoes in sight—just lovely ladies and glib men with pints in hands, overlooking a manmade lake in Corona. Yes, beautiful lush Corona. There was no...
YOUR LLAMA!
Quick quiz: Tell us everything you know about Peru.
You’re thinking South America, right? The Andes. Maybe you’re seeing National Geographic images of Machu Picchu, or Lima, or that lake with the funny name, the nam...
DEBAUCHERY FOR BREAKFAST!
Living in Long Beach at the ass end of the ‘90s seems almost an illusion now. My beautiful old one-room apartment—in a building the landlord claimed John Kennedy rendezvoused with hookers at—had a sliver of an...
PAPER BAGGING IT
Why does everyone in Redlands feel the need to tell me they live there because they could never live in the cultural wastelands of Riverside or San Bernardino? (It’s the same way people say “I live in San Bernardino...
AMERICAN IDOLATRY
Today, anybody can be an Idol. Look at some of the TV people who scored just by proving attitude counts as much as vocal prowess—like William Hung, who transformed Ricky Martin’s hip-swirling rendition of “She...
FILLIN’ UP AT THE PUMP
Who knew that the corner gas station could be the kitschiest hangout within earshot of downtown Riverside? No, not the gasser where GW’s fat cat buds drop the petrol price just long enough for you to vote Republican com...
NO CHEAP SHOTS
What makes an expensive restaurant worth the price? Is it just the food, or do the inedible frills like décor, staff and ambiance need to be superior in order to make it worth doling out the cheddar? Some places offer&he...
FULL OF BULL
It gets harder and harder to find a decent place to enjoy a good steak anymore. So many restaurants are too brightly lit, illuminating walls swarming with mismatched clutter. And what’s with all the new wait staffs being ...
BIG FISH, LITTLE FISHERMAN
Maybe you don’t equate the Inland Empire with seafood, even if we do have questionable tilapia fresh from the Salton Sea. But we landlocked folk still love the fish and chips, or maybe even one step better—shrimp an...
WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE
I’m always wary of restaurants that claim to offer the best of too many worlds: the donut store that sells egg rolls; the Italian restaurant that has a Mexican menu. Usually, everything in such places is mediocre, bland, ...
KITSCH-O-RIFIC!
First, the bad news.
With the holy month of Ramadan just around the corner, the proprietors of Aladdin Jr. have decided to stop serving alcohol.
Indefinitely.
I realize that this is an entirely appropriate decision, and I...
MOMMY! BABY WANTS TO EAT MEXICAN!
Far from the maddening crowd, and pretty damn far from the nearest Del Taco, Casa Maya lies in the heart of Mentone. Mentone sort of sets the mood for the restaurant—quirky, funky and a little offbeat, a town David Lynch&...
MOMMY! BABY WANTS TO EAT MEXICAN!
Far from the maddening crowd, and pretty damn far from the nearest Del Taco, Casa Maya lies in the heart of Mentone. Mentone sort of sets the mood for the restaurant—quirky, funky and a little offbeat, a town David Lynch&...
CORONARY TERRORISM
Irish cuisine is an oxymoron. Irish whiskey, yes. Wild, redheaded Irish girls, sure. Irish sectarian strife, of course. The various squabbling tribes of the entire British Isles aren’t famous for their contributions to th...
HISTORICAL APPETITE
There are two things that come to mind when thinking about Fontana: bad drivers and Mexican restaurants. Both abound in this city, and if you’re not careful, can leave you with bodily harm and wasted money. But while you ...
FOODIE GODHEAD!
Simple Simon’s in downtown Riverside is no hidden gem, and definitely not a “surprise” restaurant. Pop in during your average weekday lunch rush, and not only won’t you feel like you’ve made an ama...
Pub Craic!
British and Irish pub faire is oft reviled for its meat-n-potatoes blandness and unoriginality, but this is an auld world notion that, perpetuated by American gullibility, borders on slander. While it’s true that certain ...
Drunk On Cocktails!
Adjacent to the People’s Art Gallery and across from the Mission Tobacco Lounge and Lake Alice sits La Cascada, a minor gem of a Mexican seafood restaurant in the heart of downtown Riverside, where it’s possible to ...
The Mexican Sublime
Tio’s Tacos is funky, kitschy, cool. Tio’s Tacos is Dali meets Diego Rivera with a side trip to take mushrooms with Anton Gaudi. Tio’s Tacos is ceramic watermelons and mariachi figurines, a chapel composed of ...
