Donahoo's Golden Chicken - Pomona

Donahoo's Golden Chicken
1074 N. Garey Ave.
Pomona CA 91767
909-622-3213

I'm driving on Garey Ave and I see the sign for Donahoo's Golden Chicken. I figured; What the hell? Why not update my original review for Donahoo's Golden Chicken in Pomona, from 2005?

I just completed another updated review for the Donahoo's Golden Chicken in Ontario. While I won't continue updating reviews, I could compare both locations of Donahoo's and see which one is better!


Two breast pieces, $4.55.

The major difference between the Pomona location and the Ontario location is the Pomona location doesn't cook the chicken to order. It has a bunch of damn warmers!! I know we live in a fast paced society and we want information NOW. 3G to too slow, so 4G, pretty soon 4G will be too slow, so a 5G network will be built. But, quality food takes time to cook. I much prefer fried chicken cooked to order, than the chicken staying in warmers for hours on end. I mean KFC and Popeyes have warmers, I want something different when I go to Donahoo's! The other difference is the chicken has a better blend of spices. The batter is well seasoned with pepper and other herbs and spices. If you could combine the spice blend in Pomona with the cooked to order chicken in Ontario and you have a great fried chicken!!

The chicken was flavorful, but you could tell it's been sitting in the warmers for awhile. It was starting to get dry and lost some of it's juiciness.

Service is good. The people are nice and friendly.

If I had to pick which one is my favorite; Ontario or Pomona, I would pick Pomona because of the spice blend, even if they are sitting in warmers. But, if you get there are the right time, you may get a freshly cooked chicken!! While both locations are good, this isn't the case of 1A and 1B. Pomona is clearly 1st, while Ontario comes in 2nd.

Donahoo's Golden Chicken-Ontario

Donahoo's Golden Chicken
1117 N Grove Ave
Ontario
909-983-4319

Yes, I did review Donahoo's Golden Chicken in Ontario, on the original The New Diner. I had not been to Donahoo's since I did my review 2005. While I'm not planning to review every restaurant again on The New Diner 2, I figured I would review a few restaurants again. This week I was in the area twice and went in both times to try Donahoo's again.

This Donahoo's is has been in business for over 40 years and the owners continue to follow the way Donahoo's taught all franchisees. The main lession being; to cook the chicken to order!! Not having them sit in stupid warmers for hours on end. At the Ontario location your chicken is in the refrigerator, not a freezer, until you order it. Then the a trip into the batter, then the fryer, and in your hands are golden brown fried chicken. The 15 minute wait is worth it, to get freshly cooked chicken. Why anybody would complain about the wait, is beyond me but what do you expect from a bunch of stupid yelpers!! If you don't want to wait, you can always call in your order!!




I ordered two breast pieces, $5.92. The first time I went there the chicken was cooked perfectly!! Tender, flavorful, well seasoned and juicy. This was quite a welcomed change from the last time I went to Donahoo's, when the chicken was undercooked.

But, when I went back a coupled days later to take the pictures you see above, the chicken was salty and very dry. Now the chicken is overcooked!!

Both times the wait time was about the same and the same person was cooking the chicken. So I'm not sure the reason for the inconsistency. The interesting thing I noticed was, both times, the lady would take her tongs and pierce through the chicken breast. Not sure why, maybe to check if it is fully cooked?

Service both times was good. The first time the lady charged my $5.38 for two breast pieces. The second time I was charged the correct amount, $5.92. When the young lady gave me the total I was surprised, but then I looked at the menu price and it was $2.75 each. On my second trip I found out the lady who took my first order was a fairly new hire. I'm not complaining about being charged less. I didn't look at the menu price the first time I went in, so it's not a big deal.

I like the fact that Donahoo's in Ontario cooks their chicken to order. And while I liked my first visit this week better than my past visits or the second visit this week, the inconsistency will keep me from coming back often.

Kaido-Closed

Kaido 2834 Santa Monica Blvd Santa Monica 310-828-7582 I know what am I doing on the snotty west side of LA? I hate the pretentious jerk people on the west side, who are so full of themselves. But, a friend suggested we have dinner at Kaido and I figured why not since it's rare that I have sushi on the snotty west side! Shrimp tempura roll-$8, spicy tuna roll-$7.50, and veggie roll-$6. While the shrimp tempura roll was the best of the three rolls, it was only average compared to other sushi places I've tried. The shrimp wasn't that crunchy, I'm betting it was frozen, and the other ingredients were only ok. The spicy tuna roll just tasted a bit off. Not spoiled but just off. It had the texture of tuna, but I didn't care for it. I've never had a veggie roll, and this roll was 10% veggies surrounded by 90% rice. It was ok but nothing outstanding about it. Service was good. I realize this is the west side and rent is pricey, but I didn't think Kaido was a good value. I wasn't impressed with Kaido and I wouldn't go back!

Los Amigos Restaurant

Los Amigos Restaurant
20835 Valley Blvd
Walnut
909-595-1346

I love fish tacos and I'm always on the lookout for fish tacos. So, when I saw Los Amigos Restaurant I knew I had to stop in. Located in a small strip mall, Los Amigos used to be Taco Express, but the cook's son bought out Taco Express and renamed it Los Amigos. Of course, he kept his dad on as cook.

Fish taco, $1.39 and shrimp taco, $1.99.

The fish taco is made with talipia, a mild flavored fish. I didn't care for the soggy batter. I want a crispy fish taco. It wasn't the creme or the toppings that made this fish taco soggy, it was the way they fried the fish. They need to make sure the oil is hot!! The portion is a bit small and more soggy batter than fish. The toppings were fresh and fine, but if the fish taco is soggy, it just ruins the fish taco.

The shrimp taco was more of the same soggy batter and fresh toppings, but good sized shrimp.

Service is good. The owner is nice and helpful.

I had read the meat tortas are great at Los Amigos and my friend loved her carnitas torta. So maybe I should have stuck to the regular meat tacos instead of the fish and shrimp tacos. I would go back to try a torta but I wouldn't get another fish or shrimp taco.

Cafe Gratitude

Cafe Gratitude
639 N Larchmont Blvd
Los Angeles
323-580-6383

I have never been to a vegan restaurant. But, a good friend told me Cafe Gratitude has awesome food, so I decided to give them a try. Located just south of Melrose, Cafe Gratitude is on the first level of a business building. There isn't a sign that you can see while driving on Larchmont, so look for the people, because it was packed the night I went.

Cafe Gratitude's concept is all about being grateful for the things you have in your life. The server will ask the question of the day, when you get seated. Our question of the day was, "What are you grateful for?" All menu items start with I am.

Unlike some stupid people on Yelp who will give a bad review for a vegan restaurant because they are meat eaters, I judge this vegan restaurant by the quality of the food.

I Am Fortified, $12.75-sauteed seasonal vegetables-corn, kale, carrots, steamed quinoa topped with a sesame-ginger sauce.

The vegetables were fresh, well seasoned and cooked perfectly, even the kale which I normally don't like. The sesame ginger sauce was light and well balance, you tasted both flavors but neither one overpowered each other. I have never had quinoa before and I was really like it. The texture was soft and different than any other grain I've had. The quinoa basically took the flavor of the sesame ginger sauce.

The server was very nice and helpful. He explained the menu and concept of Cafe Gratitude and answered all our questions. My only complaint about the service was he was slow to pick up the check. I bet we waited ten minutes before he finally came to pick up the check.

Overall I enjoyed my dinner at Cafe Gratitude. I think the prices are a bit high, but I know the Melrose/Mid-Wilshire area isn't cheap, so I can understand their prices. The food quality is top notch and I would gladly go back anytime.

House of Wings Sportsbar

House of Wings Sportsbar
2317 D St
La Verne, CA 91750
909-596-4466

A couple months ago while waiting for my friend to arrive for our dinner at Dillon's Pit Bar-B-Q, there was a Farmer's Market on D Street in La Verne. There were many vendors and local farmers selling their goods. The only restaurant on D Street that was actively marketing their restaurant was House of Wings Sportsbar, which was giving samples of the wings. I enjoyed the wings and decided to give them a try.

House of Wings is one of the most uniquely decorated sports bar, I've ever been to. The decor is more of a nice lounge than sports bar, with it's dim lighting and tasteful tables and chairs. If not for the flat screen TV's showing the Olympics and the Dodgers losing, you wouldn't think you're in a sports bar.

Wednesday is 50 cent wings night and the only caveat is you have to order in the quantities on the menu, 5 pieces-regular price-$4.99, 12 up to two flavors-$9.99, or 16 up to three flavors-$11.99.



So I got the 16 piece wings, and for you Cal St. Long Beach graduates, that's $8.00 plus tax, with hot, garlic parmesan, and lemon pepper as my three flavor choices.

The first thing I noticed about the wings, were the huge amount of meat on the wings. Some of the drummettes had so much meat on them, I thought they were a regular chicken leg!! They skin wasn't that crispy, but I prefer wings with more meat than a crispy skin.

Hot-Not as hot as I thought it would be. But, a good flavor, not too vinegary or tangy, which I like. If you're looking for spicy hot wings, try the extra hot because this hot is closer to mild.

Garlic Parmasan-I really liked this flavor, though they put a ton of parmasan cheese on top but that's easily taken care of by shaking off the excess cheese. A good garlic flavor enhanced by the parmasan cheese.

Lemon Pepper-I love lemon pepper as a seasoning, but too many times the lemon just overpowers the flavor. Whoever made this seasoning created the perfect balance between the lemon and pepper flavor. If I had to say what flavor came out most, it would be the pepper but I think the ratio is 51% pepper to 49% lemon.

Service was great!! We were greeted when we walked into the restaurant. The server who greeted us was nice, friendly, and welcoming. She happened to be our server and her friendly ways continued at our table. She came to our table often to ask if we needed anything. She was helpful explain the 50 cent wings special. She did ask if we needed change when she picked up the bill, a pet peeve of mine, but I can overlook that since she provided great friendly service!

I would go back to House of Wings any time and I would like to try other items on their menu.