Mom's Tamales

Mom's Tamales
3328 Pasadena Ave
Los Angeles
323-226-9383

Mom's Tamales has been featured in the Food Network show; Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.  Now I can't stand that loudmouth jerk host of the show.  Him yelling at the camera and playing a clown, just drives me up the wall.  Most of the time the food looks great on the show, but honestly some of the other restaurants in LA that have been featured on show have been underwhelming.  This is a list of the restaurants I've reviewed that have been featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives; some of the restaurants I went to long before there was a bleached blonde loudmouth jerk, yelling at people on The Food Network.

Restaurants I liked: Don Chow Tacos, Brats Brothers, Polka, and Fab Hot Dogs.

Restaurants that I was underwhelmed: Jaybee's BBQ, Baby Blues Bar-B-Q, Chili John's, Mac's Fish and Chip Shop, and Oinkster.

Well add Mom's Tamales into another underwhelming restaurant featured on the show.  Located in the Lincoln Heights area of LA, Mom's is really the covered patio of a house.  It is surrounded by other houses and easy to miss when driving by.  There is a good sized seating area, but I got my tamales to go.  All tamales are $1.84.

Spinach and cheese, fresh spinach, stir fried together with tomato, onions and spices topped with monterey jack cheese.  The first thing I noticed after cutting into the tamales was the terrible masa to filling ratio.  There was way too much masa compared to the filling.  While the masa was soft and moist, there was just too much of it.

The filling was very good.  Lots of flavors going on with the spinach, tomatoes, and cheese.  This was by far the most flavorful and best tasting tamale that I ordered.

Pork-  Again that terrible masa to filling ratio.  What little pork in this tamale was cooked in a red sauce that was too bland and lacked flavor.  The pork was a bit tough and chewy.  This was my least favorite tamale.

Green chicken. I normally do not fix any photos. I just place The New Diner 2's watermark and post them. I was an accurate picture of the food. But, the picture for the green chicken tamale was too bright. So I darken the picture. Again, the masa to meat ratio was terrible; way too much masa. The chicken lacked flavor and the green sauce, a tomatillo jalapeno sauce wasn't spicy at all.

Service is overall was good until I got my order.  I was greeted by a nice older man when I walked in, who promptly got a server to take my take out order.  The young lady who took my order was nice and friendly.  But another young lady who brought my order lacked people skills and should not work in customer service.  She didn't take my order, so she doesn't know who I am.  But, she handed me a bag and said very rudely, $5.52.  When she got my change, all she said was "Here you go."  No thank you for coming?  No, "Come back soon?"

The tamales here are pricey and not worth the prices because it's about 80% masa and 20% filling.  There is no reason for me to come back here again.  Another underwhelming restaurant on Triple D. 

Lanza Brothers Market

Lanza Brothers Market
1803 N Main St
Los Angeles
323-225-8977

After reading the LA Weekly Story about 6 Tasty Cold Cut Subs under $5, I went to Vince's Market and Lanza Brothers Market. Lanza Brothers Market is located in the Lincoln Heights area of Los Angeles, which used to have a large Italian population back when Lanza opened in 1926.

Vince's is about two blocks east of Maddalena Restaurant at San Antonio Winery. It's really a market that serves sandwiches at a great price. There are some tables outside, otherwise this would be a great place to grab a sandwich before seeing the $200 million a year Dodgers lose next season. Of course, assuming the rude jerk security force at The Dump, Dodger Stadium, allow people to bring food into The Dump stadium.

Italian combo, $5, ham, mortadella, salami, cheese, mayo, lettuce and tomatoes.  WOW, just wow!!  What a great sandwich.  A great Italian roll, about six inches, with a nice chewy and soft texture.  The meats were fresh, they use Boar's Head- a good quality meat.  I know Boar's Head isn't the top of the line meats.  But, it is a good quality meat.  The meats are cut into thick slices and piled high on the sandwich.  What a treat and deal.  Much better than those Subway sandwich for $5.

Service is good.  The lady who made my sandwich was nice and friendly.  She quickly made the sandwich correctly.  The cashier was also nice and friendly.

If I am around the Lincoln Heights area I am coming back to Lanza!  What a great sandwich at a great pice!! The sandwich is just as good, if not better than the sandwich at Eastside Market Italian Deli, and it's about $2 less!

Vince's Market

Vince's Market
3250 Silver Lake Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039
(323) 664-4798

After reading the LA Weekly Story about 6 Tasty Cold Cut Subs for $5 I had to give two of them a try. So I went to Lanza Brothers Market and Vince's Market.  Vince's Market is located in Atwater Village and is the definition of a neighborhood market.

Much like Lanza, Vince's opened when the ethnic makeup of the neighborhood was mostly Italians.  There are no tables at Vince's, so everything is take out.  

Super Italian combo, $3.50, salame, mortadella, bolgona, head cheese, provolone and American cheese, mayo and lettuce.  The sandwiches are smaller, I would say about a 5 inch Italian roll.  But they meats are piled high and well worth the low price.

The roll is soft and chewy.  The lettuce was fresh.  The meats were good quality meats that are cut into thick slices.  I loved the richness of the head cheese.  The mortadella is great.

For a dollar less, you can get the Italian combo which doesn't have the head cheese.  But, spend the extra dollar, the head cheese is well worth it.  One thing that isn't worth it is the 40 cents charge for tomatoes.  I love tomatoes on my sandwiches, but 40 cents for about 2-3 slices of tomatoes just isn't worth it.

Ham sandwich, $1.50, ham, American cheese, mayo, lettuce and pickles. 

The ham and cheese sandwich was the reason LA Weekly put Vince's Market on their list.  And it's a steal.   Thick slices of ham, a good chewy Italian roll, fresh lettuce and mayo. this is one of the best bargains in LA.

Service at the deli counter and cashier are both very good.

I prefer the Italian combo sandwich at Lanza but wouldn't have any problem coming back to Vince's. 

Warehouse Pizza

Warehouse Pizza
2340 D St
La Verne
909-593-2714

For a relatively small city, La Verne has many pizza options; Mama Petrillo's, Pizza Barn, Sals Pizza and Bagelry, Red Devil Pizza, and Pizza N Stuff, are pizza places I've tried in La Verne.  Most of them are located on Foothill Blvd. If you go further south, towards the University of La Verne, you will find  Warehouse Pizza.

I have known about Warehouse Pizza for a long time and always meant to give them a try but just haven't made it. Located basically across the street from House of Wings and T Phillips, Warehouse Pizza is very popular, the place was packed the day I went, even though ULV is on Christmas break.  It's a big place that was an old warehouse in it's former life.  There is also a good sized patio for people to enjoy.

Small mushroom and sausage pizza, $10.

The crust is a regular crust with a good chewy texture and firmness.  The cheese and toppings are piled on the pizza, which is always good.  I believe the mushrooms are canned, but the sausage is pretty good-nice flavor and seasoning.  But, what I didn't like about this pizza is the small amount of sauce on the pizza.  What small amount of sauce on the pizza had a mild flavor.

Service is good.  The guy who took my order was nice, though he forgot to tell me how long the wait for the pizza would be.  I got my pizza after a reasonable wait.

One thing I saw and it really bothers me is that the guy who took my order seems to be the owner, had his buddies sitting at the counter and they would walk to the fountain soda dispenser and get their own refills!!  The dispenser isn't in a public area like some other restaurants, but it's in an area where servers are getting food etc.  I'm sure that is against health department code.  I didn't see anybody who was sitting at the tables getting their own soda refills.

Despite the owner's friends sitting at the counter the owner did greet and gave quick service to everybody who walked in.  One other thing, it's cash only.  They do not take debit or credit cards.

Overall the pizza was good, but not as good as some of the others I've had in La Verne.  Warehouse won't be my first choice for pizza in La Verne but I wouldn't mind going back.

Johnson's Hot Dogs-Closed

Johnson's Hot Dogs
813-A W Foothill Blvd
Upland
909-920-6800

I still can't believe the horrific events at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.!  I can't believe anybody would want to harm so many innocent children!  How can America allow a mentally ill person access to guns?  I can't believe 26 angels didn't get a chance to celebrate Christmas.

I know most kids love hot dogs, so to honor those 26 Angels, I decided to give Johnson's Hot Dogs a try.  Johnson's has been open for a little over a year.  Located across the street from Upland High School,  in your typical suburban strip mall, they have indoor seating for about 20 people and about four tables outside.

The $1.50 hot dog or Polish sausage at Costco has really hurt the chances of hot dogs restaurants of succeeding.  When hot dogs at restaurants are over $3, just for the hot dog, most people in the suburbs aren't going to pay that, when they can basically get two hot dogs and two sodas from Costco for that price.  The suburbs do not have enough foodies, who are willing to pay more for a hot dog, to keep a hot dog restaurant in business.  Of course there are many exceptions to this theory.  Windy C's Chicago Hot Dogs, being the biggest surprise, where somehow terrible customer service keeps that place in business.

Chicago hot dog, $4.04, mustard, onions, neon green relish, tomatoes, pickle, and sport peppers.  I read that Johnson's used to use the same hot dog for all their hot dogs.  They learned that a Chicago hot dogs requires an all beef natural casing hot dog, so that's what they are using now.  I know it's no a Vienna Beef hot dog, but it was still a good hot dog, well seasoned and balanced.  But, the hot dog has been in the steamer for way too long.  Which made the casing tough and chewy.  This would have been a good hot dog if fresh.  The toppings were all fine, except for the sport peppers which weren't fresh.  The bun had the poppy seeds that are standard on a Chicago hot dog.  But, the bun came straight from the bag.  It should have been steamed.

Service is good.  The owner is a nice man who wants the best for customers.

I don't know how well Johnson's is doing but I hope they stay around for a long time.  The restaurant had only two people when I walked in and two people came in just as I left.  Again, the suburban mentality that the $1.50 hot dog at Costco is better than the $4 hot dog at a restaurant.

While there are somethings Johnson's needs to improve upon, like keeping hot dogs fresh in the steamer, I would give them another try.  The hot dogs they use are very good quality and worth the price. 

China Express

China Express
1519 N Lake Ave
Pasadena
626-797-4417

China Express is an Americanize Chinese restaurant in Pasadena, that is owned by Vietnamese people.  The sign says fast food, but don't think of steam tables and Panda Express.  All food is cooked to order and comes out hot and steaming!!

Located on the very busy Lake Ave, China Express has two tables inside and two more outside, but this is mainly a take out location.  Next door is Louisiana Fried Chicken, where I had a terrible experience of undercooked chicken.

Shrimp Chow Mein, $6.75 with cabbage, green onions and small sized shrimp.  This was very good.  The noodles were cooked perfectly.  The shrimp were seasoned and cooked perfectly, I would say there were about half a pound of small sized shrimp.  I liked this dish and would order it again.

Broccoli, mushrooms with Oyster Sauce,$7.45. This was a good dish until a certain point, which I will get to soon.  The oyster sauce added a salty flavor to the dish and the garlic in the dark soy sauce just added to the flavor.   The broccoli was flashed fried in a wok and came out crunchy.

But, after eating a few pieces of broccoli I found a piece of chicken and a chicken bone in this dish, as you can see in the picture below!! I couldn't believe it. I walked up to the window and told them to make me a new dish.

The picture above is the second order.  Still the same great flavor except without a chicken bone.  The only complaint I have is that there was too much oyster sauce.  The broccoli was almost drowned in oyster sauce.

Service needs to improve.  I was standing right in front of the lady and wasn't acknowledged until about 5 minutes later.  I realize you are busy but a simple I'll be right with you, when you see me, would be fine.  When I took the broccoli back, the ladies weren't helpful at all.  The cooks were much more helpful.

I did enjoy the food at China Express, but the bone in the broccoli and mushrooms with oyster sauce will prevent me from going back there again.

Louisiana Fried Chicken

Louisiana Fried Chicken
1515 N Lake Ave
Pasadena
626-791-6229

Next door to China Express is Louisiana Fried Chicken. I have been to a few other Louisiana Fried Chicken locations; Garey Ave. in Pomona. Holt Blvd. in Pomona, Long Beach, which are now all closed, and Pomona.

Louisiana Fried Chicken isn't a chain, their business model is to sell the name and recipe to businesses who agree to follow the recipe and buy product only from Louisiana Fried Chicken's vendors.  Interesting business model, that must be working because there are a lot of Louisiana Fried Chicken locations.

Breast piece, $1.90. I cut into the breast piece and could see dark red juices running down and I was grossed out. I didn't eat any of this chicken. I went back to the store and asked for my money back. This is disgusting and dangerous to diners. Service was below average. I wasn't greeted when I walked up the counter. I don't say hi when I walk into restaurants. They need to greet me, it's simple customer service. They were fine when I returned the chicken. I won't come back to this Louisiana Fried Chicken ever!

Rance's Chicago Pizza

Rance's Chicago Pizza
1420 Baker St
Costa Mesa
714-708-2143

Rance's Chicago Pizza is across Harbor Blvd. from Moscow Deli and Empanada's Place. I heard about Rance's and wanted to see how they compared to Tony’s Little Italy Pizza, which still has a very good deep dish or stuffed Chicago pizza, but the service there now sucks.

Rance's is located in the very busy Target shopping center towards the southwest part of the center.  Rance's has a row of tables and booths, along with bar area.  They have been open for about three months and the word has gotten out there in the Costa Mesa area, if you want Chicago pizza go to Rance's.

Medium stuffed House Special, $23.69, sausage, green peppers, onions and mushrooms. The crust on this pizza was great! Maybe the best crust of any deep dish pizza I've had in LA.  Very light, flakey, and buttery.  It was almost like eating a biscuit or apple turnover.  Though this was not cornmeal crust, like some people from Chicago prefer. 

The sauce was on the sweet side.  But lots of good quality tomatoes, I'm guessing they are canned, but don't know for sure.

The cheese is thick and piled on and they use a good quality cheese.

The veggie toppings were cut too small and just blended into the cheese an sauce.  They should cut them bigger.

Another thing that should be bigger is the amount of sausage on the pizza.  I'm guessing the pizza is 12in., well the sausage-which is a flat piece of sausage only covered about about 8in. of the pizza! When I cut a slice of pizza from the center it was filled with sausage, but towards the crust, there was only green peppers, mushrooms, and onions.  But, the sausage had a mild flavor.  They use a good quality sausage.

Despite the small amount of sausage, this was a very good pizza, better than Tony's but maybe not as good as Hollywood Pies or Masa.  The flavors all work well together.

Service was nice and friendly.  But, they need to either hire a host/hostess or find a better way to let first time customers know if they are a side down restaurant or counter service when they first walk in.  When I walked in, I went straight to the counter and ordered my pizza.  I didn't realize if you wanted to dine in, you could have sit down and ordered.  The other compliant I have is that they need to inform customers how long stuffed or deep dish pizza takes to bake.  Since I've been to a ton of Chicago pizza places I know the time and was expecting to wait 45 minutes.  But, if people haven't been to a Chicago pizza place, they may not know and then complain.

Even with the smaller amount of sausage on the pizza, I would gladly go back to Rance's for their stuffed pizza.  They also have a good selection of beer on tap!

Pietro's

Pietro's
920 N Lake Ave
Pasadena
626-791-1826


In 2006 I went to The Fishery in Pasadena and noticed Pietro's a couple doors down. I had planned on going to Pietro's much sooner, but just didn't make it back. Recently a drive to Historic Christmas Tree Lane, reminded me that I need to try Pietro's sandwiches or pizza.

Pietro's is a fairly big sized restaurant with a few tables. The kitchen and counter where you order you food, is huge. My understanding is that Pietro's used to be owned by the Romo's, an Italian market next door, but they are now owned be two different people. Parking can be a bit tight as there is a very busy laundry mat a few doors down.

Hoagie, salami, mortadella, and salami cotto, $8.54.  The best thing about this hoagie was the great Italian roll with some sesame seeds on top.  The bread was light and very soft, with a nice chewy texture.  The bread was cut into three pieces just like  Mario's Italian Deli & Market.

The meats were fine, nothing great or outstanding about them.  But there was only a thin layer of each of the meats and the quality of the meats didn't justify the fairly high price of the sandwich.

Service was below average.  I walked to the counter to order and the guy working there was too busy doing whatever, to greet me.  I must have waited five minutes before he came to the counter and asked if I needed help.  He was nice and made the sandwich quickly.  But, he isn't blind.  All he had to do was greet me and say he would help me soon.  But, no greeting no acknowledgement of my waiting is very bad service and doesn't make a good impression for the restaurant.

I wouldn't go back to Pietro's again.  The sandwich was on the pricey side and I don't think the meats were that great to justify the high prices.  Plus the service needs improvement.

Randy's Donuts

Randy's Donuts
805 West Manchester Blvd.
Inglewood
310-645-4707

I really just wanted to go to Randy's Donuts to see an example of Novelty Architecture. I didn't realize that when I went to Donut Hole, that was also an example of Novelty Architecture. Maybe the most famous example of Novelty Architecture, is stored in some warehouse right now; Tail o'the Pup.

Anyways the only problem with going to Randy's at night is that the huge donut on the roof didn't show well on my pictures. 

The glazed twist and the chocolate bar were 90 cents each. Both were the standard donut, nothing bad or outstanding about them.

Service was nice. The lady who helped me was very nice, much nicer than most donut shops.

Randy's Donuts isn't a destination donut shop, like Donut Man. It is a place I would go back to, if I'm the area.  They are open 24hrs and when I went, which is clearly at night, they had plenty of donuts ready to eat.

Mixto Comida Latina

Mixto Comida Latina
2827 Hyperion Ave
Los Angeles
323-668-1818

Mixto Comida Latina is owned by the same owners of Tomato Pie Pizza Joint. Mixto is known for their healthy Mexican food options.  I've heard so many good things about Mixto but I haven't had a chance to try them.  So I was finally in the area and stopped in.

Mixto used to be Burrito King and has a covered dining area that seats about 16 people.  You order at the window and somebody will call your name when your order is ready. 

Grilled fish taco, $2.95.  Red snapper, avocado, napa cabbage, red onion, tomatoe and green tomatillo salsa.

I liked this grilled fish taco.  The red snapper was cooked perfectly and the toppings were fresh.  I liked the light refreshing green tomatillo salsa, which is a pleasant replacement for the white sauce that normally comes on a fish taco. The only thing I didn't like about this fish taco, was the tortilla wasn't that fresh.   There were part of the tortilla that was very tough and hard. 

Vegetarian burrito, $6.50; whole wheat tortilla, rice, black beans, pasilla chile, caramelized onions, mushrooms, and squash flower.

I really liked this vegetarian burrito.  The onions weren't carmelized and some of the beans weren't completely cook.  But otherwise everything in here was great and filling.  I loved the pasilla chile, which I thought were bell peppers but had more flavor and a different texture than bell peppers.  The rice was perfectly seasoned and wheat tortilla was fresh.

Service is good.  Nice friendly people.

 I would go back to Mixto anytime.  I really want to try the carne asada which is grass fed, the next time I go.

Ranch House Cafe and Grill-Closed

Ranch House Cafe and Grill
21130 E Golden Springs
Diamond Bar
909-598-5359

Ranch House Cafe and Grill is owned by the same company that owns Carrows and Coco's. They are a steakhouse that follows the Sizzler way of ordering at the counter. All entrees and burgers include unlimited trips to the salad bar.

The salad bar is your standard salad bar; iceberg or romaine lettuce, spinach, and lots of other fresh veggies. They also have a pasta, potato and macaroni salad. The items are all fresh and they are restocked quickly.

The most interesting part of Ranch House is that the servers are NOT allowed to accept tips! It says so on your receipt. They are paid differently than a regular server, but I can't believe that makes up for the lost tips. But, who knows?

Rib eye with mashed potatoes and crispy onion strings, $18.99. I asked for my steak medium, it was more medium rare, which is fine, but a steakhouse should cook a steak perfectly every time! Anyways I'm not expecting this steak to be prime and it wasn't. But, it was pretty good and tender. It could have been seasoned a little better, but otherwise it was fine. It was worth the $18.99 especially considering the unlimited trips to the salad bar.

The onion straws were clearly sitting under heat lamps, because they had lost their crispiness. The mashed potatoes could have been good if they were hot, you can see the unmelted cheese on top.

Service, when ordering was fine. The guy was nice and friendly. The steaks were brought out quickly by a friendly server.

I wanted to try out Ranch House and I came away fairly impressed. Their sides need to improve but their steaks are worth the price. I would come back again.

The Trails Eatery

The Trails Eatery
7389 Jackson Dr
San Diego
619-667-2233

Ever watch that show Restaurant Impossible?  It's where Robert Irvine-the man who lied about his resume but he still hosts a show on Food Network- has two days to turn over a struggling restaurant.  I guess the story is that The Trails Eatery opened as Megan's and did so well they had to expand into the building next door.  Well the expansion didn't go well and Megan's started to lose business.  They called Restaurant Impossible and along came The Liar, I mean Robert Irvine.  He changed the interior, the menu, and the name to The Trails Eatery.

Whatever he did it worked because the place was busy the morning we went.   The Trails Eatery is located in a standard suburban shopping center.  Plenty of parking and and other stores nearby.  They are opened for breakfast and lunch seven days a week, but only open for dinner a few nights a week.  I'm not sure the exact days, so call if you want to go to dinner.

Meat Lovers Omelette Ham, bacon & sausage with cheese; 9.29.  I usually don't get omelettes but today the meat lovers omelette looked too good to pass up.  The first bite I took the omelette was luke warm.  I want an omelette that is hot.  You can see the unmelted string of cheese in the picture, that should tell you that the omelette wasn't hot.  None of the meats inside the omelette were't hot either!  Of course the meats were all precooked but at least warm them up on the grill or make the eggs hot.

Service was good.  Our server was very nice and attentive.

I wasn't  impressed at all with the food at The Trails Eatery.  I mean Denny's makes a better omelette!!  Happy Trails,  The Trails Eatery because I'm not coming back!

Lil B's Urban Eatery-Closed

Lil B's Urban Eatery
2611 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104
619-296-8268

Lil B's Urban Eatery is owned by the former owner of Brian's American Eatery. The word is the two business partners had a falling out and closed Brian's. I don't get into any feuds and was happy to hear that Brian's will continue in some form.  The main differences I noticed was that Lil B's had a smaller menu, more update interior, higher prices and better parking.

Half chicken caesar salad, $8.99.  This was a pretty good salad of a chicken caesar salad.  The romaine lettuce was fresh and crunchy.  The chicken was served warm and had a few too many char marks.  It was basically flavorless and was missing salt.  The dressing wasn't as thick as other caesar but tasted just fine.  I liked the fact they didn't drown the salad with dressing.
 

Side of mac and cheese, $2.49.  This was a blend of three cheeses and very well cooked macaroni.  I hate it when the macaroni is mushy.  It was good, but quite frankly, a rip off at $2.49 for such a small portion.  Two to three spoonfuls and this was done.

Service was friendly but lacking.  We were seated and it took forever for our server to even come by.  At first I thought she was the only server, but there were at least two other servers working.  Not sure what was going on, but I was hungry and wanted to get my order in!  She also wasn't refilling drinks quickly.  The ice had already melted and still no refills.

I had high hopes for Lil B's Urban Eatery and I came away disappointed.  Going to Brian's was always something I looked forward to when visiting San Diego.  Now with Lil B's Urban Eatery opened it maybe a long while before I return. 

Mario's Italian Deli & Market

Mario's Italian Deli & Market
740 E Broadway
Glendale
818-242-4114

I reviewed Mario's Italian Deli & Market, over six years ago. While I did say I would not return, I changed my mind, because I wanted to try their Italian cold cut combo sandwich. It's weird, as recently as two years ago I had never had an Italian cold cut combo sandwich anywhere!! Then I got one at Capri Deli & Kitchen, and it's my usual sandwich at any Italian deli.
 
Mario's is both an Italian market and deli.  The deli counter is huge, it goes about the length of the store.  If you're ordering a sandwich make sure you take a number.  They have a good selection of soda including many imported sodas.  There are about 6-8 tables if you want to eat there.  A Glendale fixture since 1961, which was also the first year of the Los Angeles Angels. Real baseball fans know that the LA Angels played their first season at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. Unlike the drunk, idiot, loser Chicago Cubs fans, they also know that the first night game at Wrigley Field was in 1961, not 1988 when the Chicago Cubs continued their losing ways. Hey loser Cubs fans leave Bartman alone!! It wasn't his fault, it was your loser players who lost the game and series!! I love knowing the Cubs best chance of winning the World Series ended when the Houston Astros moved to the American League. If the, then Florida, now Miami Marlins had moved to the American League, the Back to the Future 2 prediction may have come true. Isn't it pathetic that the sorry loser Chicago Cubs fan base have to rely on a stupid movie for their World Series title hopes? There is no such thing as a curse!! It's about loser players, owners, managers, and especially fans!

The best play ever by any Chicago Cubs player; Rick Monday, who at the time was playing for the Chicago Cubs. He save the American Flag from being burned by two pinko gutless losers.:

Italian cold cut combo; $8.65, mortadella, salami, cappocollo, and ham.  Mario's still cuts the bread into three pieces.  The Italian roll is a bit too hard and chewy for my taste.  The triple cut is weird and unnecessary.  But, the meats are good quality meats.  The salami was had a very nice flavor.  The cappocollo was also very good.

Service was better than last time.  It still takes a bit long to make the sandwich, but overall the people were friendly and helpful.

The bread is just too tough and chewy for me to come back for a sandwich at Mario's.  But, the quality of the meat is very good.  I would come back and get a few pounds of each and make a sandwiches with better bread!

JN's Original BBQ Pit House

JN's Original BBQ Pit House
1180 N White Ave
Pomona, CA 91768
909-623-7206

David Allen emailed me about trying a new BBQ restaurant in the Pomona area!  While we were figuring out a time to go, a friend invited me to lunch and we decided to give NJ's BBQ a try.  Originally JN's Original BBQ Pit House opened under the name Fairplex BBQ, but it seems as though the Fairplex- the people in charge of the fairgrounds, got upset that another business was using their name.  Whatever, I'm not here to moderate a business dispute, I just want to try some BBQ.

My understanding is the pitmaster of NJ's also owned Clark's BBQ, in Chino which is now closed.
I forgot to ask when I ate there. Anyways JN's Original BBQ Pit House is located in a renovated house and has about six tables and a few seats at the counter. Their parking lot is next door at an old gas station.

Pork rib dinner, $10.86 with mac and cheese and hush puppies.

These ribs had a lot of meat, but this was very greasy.  There was a decent bark, a nice smoke ring, but they could have stayed in the smoker for a few more minutes.  There was too much fat and gristle that made these ribs unappetizing.

Now, I'm not big on presentation, but the ribs came top side down, on foil, on a plate.  I think the foil was a waste, just put the ribs top side up, on the plate.

The mac and cheese was pretty average.  But the hugh puppies were great!  Very nice and crispy on the outside and moist and flavorful on the inside.

Service was good.  The young man who took our order was nice and friendly.

I wouldn't go back to NJ's BBQ for the pork ribs.  But, I would go back for the hush puppies and I'd like to try their beef ribs and brisket.