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| Afghan Palace Dining at Afghan Palace Cuisine, (a.k.a. Rancho Kabob) is a wonderful opportunity to take a journey into a most interesting country that is rich in culinary traditions and history without leaving the Inland Empire. As you enter, you are greeted by a lovely painting of the young woman with the striking stare that appeared on the cover of the National Geographic magazine cover. Click here for the Full Review Brandon’s Diner When looking for a good breakfast, Brandon’s Diner certainly should be considered. These popular neighborhood eateries features a menu filled to the brim with tasty breakfast (served all day), lunch and dinner entrees that fits into every family’s budget. Click here for the Full Review The Boiler Steam Kettle Cooking Have you ever heard of steam kettle cooking? This method of cooking starts with many small individual kettles that are placed behind a large circular sushi-like counter where dishes are cooked in front of each person. A high pressure steam kettle in the kitchen pipes in the hot steam into each kettle at 280 to 307 degrees. Click here for the Full Review Buckboard BBQ & Grill Buckboard BBQ & Grill, located in the Southwest corner of Red Hill Plaza in Upland is definitely one of those small restaurants that are a little difficult to spot from Foothill Blvd., but serves up some mighty fine grub. Click here for the Full Review Café Montclair Formerly the Plum Tree Restaurant, has taken this popular eatery to bigger and higher culinary heights since the new owners recently purchased the restaurant and refurbished the outside, and part of the interior as well as adding some higher quality breakfast, lunch and dinner entrees to their every evolving menu. Click here for the Full Review Centro Basco Dining at Centro Basco is more than dining on great food, it’s like taking a culinary trip to the Basque Region which consists of 7 traditional regions within the Spanish state and 3 within the French ruled areas. With Spanish and French culinary influences, you know the food is both hearty and oh so good. Click here for the Full Review Clay India's Oven *NEW* A few days ago, I was on my way home to get my camera and take pictures of a restaurant that I was going to review when I noticed that a new Indian restaurant has open up on Hospitality Lane in San Bernardino. Like I usually do, I decided to stop in, look around and get a menu so that I would have it for future reference. What I did not expect was to be overwhelmed with the most aromatic aromas from the food on the restaurants lunch buffet. I mean the aromas were really almost like a religious experience. All the way home, the images of garlic Naan, Chicken Korma and Tandoor chicken danced around my head. I could not get Indian food off my mind so guess what, I decided to go back at night and actually taste the food. Click here for the Full Review Connal's Burgers, Salads & Subs *NEW* Connal’s Burgers, Salads & Subs has been a Pasadena Landmark since 1958 and now we have the opportunity to try many of their menu items right here in Upland. This clean drive thru and sit down restaurant’s walls is decked out with lots of 1950’s retro pictures of cars, Elvis, Coke ads while red, white and black tiles and accent the dining room. Click here for the Full Review Dolce Café & Bakery Dolce is actually 3 shops/restaurants in one large location. Located in the site that once housed the Gateway computer store, eating at Dolce is a really neat dining adventure. As you enter, you are greeted by two fully stocked bakery show cases filled with an amazing assortment of “baked from scratch” pastries, cookies, muffins and some gorgeous cakes that belong on the cover of Gourmet magazine. The bakery has 3 full time professional bakers, one from France, one from Taiwan and one from America. The assortments of goodies that come out of their ovens are incredible looking and decadent tasting, and will surely make any party or occasion you bring them too memorable. Click here for the Full Review Gandolfo’s New York Delicatessen Gandolfo’s New York Delicatessen in Rancho Cucamonga is one of 60 in the chain of deli restaurants to open in the United States and is the first and only to open up in the Inland Empire. The person who started the chain was from New York and when he moved to Utah, he found that he could not find a really good New York style deli so he opened one up in Utah and the rest is history. Click here for the Full Review Giuseppe’s Restaurant Giuseppe’s restaurant is hidden away from most of the Inland Empire in a very small center smack dab in a residential neighborhood, but the food that comes out of the kitchen is quite amazing. The restaurant features some very tasty Italian and Persian dishes, all made with fresh ingredients and with lots of love and passion. Click here for the Full Review Iron Chef Café Iron Chef Café is one of those small restaurants that are hidden in a fairly large business complex but whose food is worth worthy of your visit. The menu features a multitude of popular cuisines including Thai, Japanese and Chinese in a clean and casual setting. Click here for the Full Review J & M Café A friend of mine who is part of a corporation that owns two major upscale restaurants in the Inland Empire called me from a small restaurant in Fontana raving about how great the food was and that I just had to try it. With each breath, his voice was full of excitement and seemed overjoyed with culinary happiness. As he talked, I could sense tears of joy gently running down his face. After speaking to him, I just had to see for myself what all of the excitement was about. Click here for the Full Review Jim's World Famous Charbroiled Hamburgers There are many fast food joints in the Inland Empire but one restaurant that always seems to attract my attention is Jim’s World Famous Charbroiled Hamburgers in Upland. This family oriented fast food restaurant offers a variety of burgers, sandwiches, salads, Mexican dishes and traditional breakfast items that are priced oh so right and are heads above most fast food chain restaurants. Click here for the Full Review Masala Bowl Indian Cafe It’s not often that I find a restaurant that excites me since I have eaten and seen it all durring my 23 years as a food critic but dining at Masala Bowl Indian Café located in the Chino Hills Marketplace next to Starbucks is one restaurant that has me so excited, I have eaten there 4 times in the last 8 days and plan to dine there often between my running around the I.E. looking for restaurants to review. Click here for the Full Review Mill Creek Cattle Company Nestled in a small center just off the California St. exit on the 10 freeway in Redlands is a most satisfying BBQ restaurant called Mill Creek Cattle Company. Now many of you may be familiar with the larger more culinary diversified restaurant in Mentone by the same name however, this new and smaller restaurant offers many of the same terrific dishes along with the same large portions of food and very reasonable prices as their “Parent” restaurant does however, there are some major differences. Click here for the Full Review Moe's Chicken & Waffles *CLOSED* Chicken and waffles may not seem like a culinary marriage made in heaven but after finding and dining at Moe’s Chicken & Waffles in Fontana, believe me, this marriage will last forever! Click here for the Full Review Mission Inn Restaurant The Historic Mission Inn resort has a long and colorful 104 year history however over the past 2 years, many changes have taken place and a new chapter has been added to this crown jewel resort of the Inland Empire. For starters, the dining room at the Mission Inn Restaurant has been slowly been refurbished with plush new tables and chairs, newly painted murals on the walls and on the ceiling, new plates and silverware and now, a stunning new display kitchen where all of the magnificent food is prepared fresh, for all to see. The sight of chefs hustling around busily preparing and cooking behind the beautiful rustic colored marbled counter, with shinning copper walls, a large rotisserie along a flames from food being cooked dancing through the air is poetry in motion. Click here for the Full Review New York Pizza Company The New York Pizza Company is a small family restaurant that serves some larger than life sandwiches, salads, pasta dishes, specialty hamburgers and a host of traditional and specialty hand tossed pizzas. The interior’s seating has both booths and tables while the walls are decked out with pictures and a large panoramic view of New York City. Click here for the Full Review Omaha Jack’s Grillhouse & Brewery Omaha’s Jack’s, located in the Masi Plaza in Rancho Cucamonga is a restaurant that has many facets to it. The large, caverness interior is divided up into two massive sections. On the left side, the large open dining room serves a large variety of streaks, barbeque ribs, pasta, fish, chicken, sandwiches, and salads and houses a private banquet room, while the right side of the interior has a full service bar, large stainless steel tanks that brew six hand crafted micro beers and multi layered areas that you can eat, drink and listen to live entertainment. Click here for the Full Review Owen’s Bistro Owner/Chef James Kelly received the prestigious Southern California “Chef of the Year” award for his exciting and creative dishes along with his passion and contributions to the culinary profession. Kelly was born and raised on the South side of Chicago where his grandmother owned and operated a family-style Italian restaurant. James spent a great deal of time as a child playing in the kitchen, learning about the food and seeing the restaurant business from behind the scenes. After graduating from high school, he worked at the Velvet Turtle restaurant where he learned all facets of the business. Click here for the Full Review Picante Mexican Food Located inside a Shell gas station on the corner of Cherry Ave. and Baseline is a great little Mexican restaurant called Picante. Being part of a gas station is not new since restaurants have long been part of the gas station/food scenario but to find this high quality of food is unusual to find. There are approximately 5 small tables to sit at or you can take the food home with you which many of their loyal customers do on a regular basis. Click here for the Full Review Pomona Valley Mining Company Located near one of the oldest mine sites in the valley overlooking the Pomona Valley (and the 10 freeway), sits the Pomona Valley Mining Co. This sprawling restaurant/banquet facility is decked out with rustic woods and relics of the mining era throughout the site and is the perfect setting for those looking for some good grub and a spectacular view of the valley. Click here for the Full Review Qdoba Mexican Grill When I first walked into Qdoba Mexican Grill restaurant in Redlands, memories of having a terrible dining experience at a Chipotle’s popped into my head and stomach The décor and many of the food items looked the same however, once I taste the food and the sauces, it became apparent that Qdoba is by far the winner. Click here for the Full Review Redhill BBQ As you enter the corner of Grove and Foothill Blvd in Rancho Cucamonga, a delightful aroma engulfs your olfactory senses. As you get closer, a massive black smoker can be seen with hickory smoke bellowing out creating the wonderful smokiness that penetrates the air. Adding to the ultimate BBQ ambiance is a huge pile of hickory wood. After seeing this and enjoying the hickory smells, I just had to stop by and try some of the food. Click here for the Full Review Rockin' Baja Coastal Cantina Rockin’ Baja Coastal Cantina is not your typical Mexican restaurant….thank goodness! For starters, this beach front looking casual and fun restaurant features an excitingly different array of Mexican entrée that you would expect to get while vacationing in Puerto Vallarta. Click here for the Full Review Roscoe's Famous Deli Here it is, 2009, and as usual, my new year’s resolution includes exercising and loosing weight. As I ponder how to make these resolutions become a reality, I decided to go down to Roscoe’s Famous Deli in Chino Hills and come up with a realistic plan. As I entered this large restaurant, I was greeted by lots of happy customers watching their favorite sporting events from lots of television screens placed around the room, a huge bar in the center of the restaurant, and motorcycles, neon sign, and even cars hanging from the ceiling. Talk about an exciting ambiance! Click here for the Full Review Salad Farm Salad Farm is a unique little restaurant serving a multitude of tempting fresh and delectable salads, grilled sandwiches, stuffed baked potatoes and quesadillas. At first glance, the menu does not look all that exciting however, once you dive into their menu options, the vision soon becomes clearer, namely fresh tasty food at very reasonable prices. Click here for the Full Review San Biagio's New York Style Pizza As a food critic, I have a multitude of favorite foods that I never get tired of eating, and pizza is one such item, but only if the pizza is good. Having judged many California state and international pizza championships, I know what a good pizza is all about and as far as I am concerned, the pizza served at San Biagio’s is as good as New York style pizza can get. Click here for the Full Review Seasons Restaurant Do you want to be a food critic? Now you can by tasting a variety of delicious soups, salads, appetizer, main entrées and desserts and giving rating the food, service etc of up and coming culinary students. Season’s Restaurant located in the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of California-Inland Empire in San Bernardino campus is a truly unique school. Click here for the Full Review Sushi Shiro I love great sushi and Sushi Shiro in upland, (once the site of Café Provencal French restaurant) is an exhilarating, fairly new restaurant that is among the best of the best when it comes to fresh, tasty and exciting sushi and Japanese dishes. Click here for the Full Review Taste of Asia The Taste of Asia restaurant is a unique Asian restaurant in that the menu features exciting dishes from Thailand, Vietnam, China and even from Laos and….Virada Khowong is a certified chef having completed many culinary programs in Thailand. It was great seeing her in a chef’s coat cooking her heart away in the kitchen. Click here for the Full Review The Corner Butcher Shop *NEW* The Corner Butcher Shop in La Verne is a unique and exciting store that offers a array of beef, pork, poultry, fish, seafood and exotic meats as well as a full deli counter, a nice selection of California wines and some delicious hot entrees and sandwiches that you can enjoy in their store. Click here for the full Review The Thinnery Normally my reviews involve restaurants however there is one bakery that I have been going to and enjoying their freshly made desserts for over 20 years and I really wanted to let you know of it if you hadn’t already, The Thinnery. Click here for the Full Review Toluca's Mexican Restaurant Despite the bad economy, many restaurants continue to open up and one lucky city who is benefiting is Beaumont, which has landed Toluca’s Mexican Restaurant. From a glance, this small restaurant located in a lonely shopping center off the 10 freeway appears to be like most other Mexican restaurants however, once I tasted many of their items, I was pleasantly surprised at not only the quality and freshness of the food (all items made fresh on the premises), but also at the low and reasonable prices. Click here for the Full Review Upland Kabob Upland Kabob is a small yet stylish Persian restaurant that has created a “culinary buzz” ever since opening its doors some 9 months ago. The décor is colorful and inviting while the food is fresh, pure & simple yet delicious. Click here for the Full Review Z Pizza There are lots and lots of small pizza joints in our area however one pizza restaurant located in Chino Hills caught my attention and I am sure glad I found them! Z Pizza restaurant is different for many reasons. Their entire menu is based around fresh, healthy and innovative creations while keeping the prices very reasonable. Click here for the Full Review Zorro's Mexican Restaurant Remember the old television series called Zorro? I knew the masked fictional character could fight with his sword pretty good but I did not know that he knew how to cook some really terrific Mexican dishes. Located in a small building with a red/maroon colored exterior and red/maroon colored umbrellas is a great little restaurant called Zorro’s Mexican Restaurant. Click here for the Full Review |
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