Food

Favorite Breakfast Spots – Riverside County

January 5, 2020 by Ole Leave a Comment

During breakfast this morning with my wife and oldest son, I decided to start the year off with a new feature: Favorites.

Not scientific. Not based on polls. Just completely subjective rankings of places / things I (or we) like.

The first category is breakfast:

Cowgirl Cafe, Norco – Friendly service. Best “scrambled” omelet. Good hashbrowns. Drinks come in mason jars.
Brandon’s Diner, Riverside (Magnolia) – Love the small, hole-in-the-wall diner feel. Great pancakes with warm syrup. Good omelets and hash browns.
Corky’s Kitchen, Corona – Open 24 hours. Big menu. Big servings.

Think there’s a better breakfast spot in Riverside County? Leave a comment and make your argument.

Tio’s Tacos – Riverside, CA

January 27, 2019 by Ole Leave a Comment

I have lived in Riverside for a long time and I love Mexican food, so I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to try Tio’s Tacos in Riverside.

This place is a trip. It is filled with original works of art that are made up of “things that have been utilized, and in this country considered useless, then discarded”.

If you haven’t been here, you should give it a try and spend some time wandering through the art-filled compound.

I didn’t take pictures of everything. There is much more to see.

About the artist…

We sat in one of the outside dining areas. No matter where you sit, there is plenty to look at.

Plenty of birds, too.

Our bill was very reasonable. About $30 for three of us. Although we ordered water bottles, Tio’s also offers flavored margaritas and beer.

Chips and salsa…

Chorizo and egg burrito…

Carne asada burrito…

Carne asada tacos (they usually come with onions and cilantro)…

When you visit Tio’s Tacos, make sure you look up and down while walking through the gardens. The art is everywhere.

Tio’s Tacos is hard to miss, but here’s the address just in case:

3948 Mission Inn Ave, Riverside,CA 92501
www.tiostacos1.com

La Sierra Ranch Produce – Riverside, CA

November 16, 2018 by Ole Leave a Comment

My wife and I found a new organic produce stand today at the corner of McAllister and Blackburn in Riverside.

We didn’t have any cash with us, but my wife wanted to check it out. As a dutiful husband, I agreed. Happy wife. Happy life.

We spent some time talking to the guys who run the stand and found out that today was their second day in operation.

One is a farmer and the other operates a natural foods store.

You can find out more about the partners on Instagram:

You can also find more information here:

La Sierra Ranch Produce on Facebook

My wife already went back today. I’m actually eating a tasty red pear that my wife brought home as I publish this post.

The stand will be open 7 days per week and is located at 17475 McAllister St. in Riverside, CA.

The Crack Shack – Costa Mesa

September 4, 2018 by Ole 1 Comment

I haven’t written about a restaurant in a long time, but my sons and I tried a place on our way home from the beach over the weekend that deserves a mention…

The Crack Shack in Costa Mesa.

If you haven’t eaten here, you might be wondering what kind of food you’ll find…

We’ve intentionally crafted both the chicken and the egg for you to enjoy with reckless abandon and the assurance that you’re savoring every bite of locally raised, free-living chickens without a care or antibiotic in them—just as they should be. – crackshack.com/our-story

You might also be wondering why this place is called The Crack Shack…

CEO Michael Rosen and celebrity-chef Richard Blais have translated their bold and brazen vision through a culmination of a meticulously prepared menu and our “crack spice” – a proprietary blend of spices that gives our fare a certain je ne sais ‘squawk’ for sumptuous delight. – crackshack.com/our-story

We didn’t know any of this before our visit. My sons thought the name was funny, so we stopped. We are glad we did. The food was amazing.

The three of us demolished the Mexican Poutine – “schmaltz” fries, pollo asada, jalapeno cheese sauce:

By the way, if you’re like me and have no idea what “schmaltz” fries are:

Schmaltz (also spelled schmalz or shmalz) is rendered (clarified) chicken or goose fat used for frying – Wikipedia

Dad chose The Royale – chicken sausage, fried egg, cheese and the crispiest English muffin I’ve ever eaten:

Older son chose the spicy Firebird, which lived up to its name:

Younger son chose the Señor Croque sandwich, which will be dad’s choice next time:

So good. Check the website for more info.

You can also find The Crack Shack in San Diego, Encinitas, Pasadena and Century City.

The Crack Shack
196 E 17th St.
Costa Mesa, CA
crackshack.com

Smoking Pig BBQ – 4th Street, San Jose, CA

January 6, 2017 by Ole Leave a Comment

I wasn’t going to write about this restaurant since it is about 400 miles away from Riverside, but recent Instagram posts from this place changed my mind. Now it is on my brain.

Smoking Pig BBQ Company on 4th Street in San Jose, California served me the best brisket I have ever eaten. This is not meant to take anything away from Badlands BBQ in Norco, which serves my favorite brisket in Southern California. In all honesty, if brisket from both places was sitting on a table in front of me I’m not sure I could pick a favorite. Since these two places are separated by about 400 miles, I’m not sure how I could arrange this heavenly brisket faceoff, but a man can dream.

Look at this brisket:

Why was I up in San Jose? Last July, my sons played in the USA Water Polo Junior Olympic Tournament up in Northern California. Since my sons were staying with their teams, I was on my own at meal time. Luckily, I found this place on my first night.

I ended up going back four more times.

Day 1:

I showed up at dinner time and the place was crowded. I screwed up and ordered at the counter, thinking that the food would be served at the table. Nope. I ordered take out. They were nice and set me up at a table anyway.

I also tried the Wolf Turds – jalapenos stuffed with cheese and sausage, wrapped in bacon, and smoked.

Day 2:

This time I sat at a table and ordered the right way.

I knew this was a great place when the server asked me if I wanted my brisket fatty, lean or mixed. They get it.

Day 3:

I thought about trying a new place, but ended up here again. Instead of the stuffed jalapenos, I tried the Chicken Lollipops, which are marinated mini drumsticks wrapped in bacon and smoked. A little too sweet for me, but very tender.

I finally realized they serve Cajun fries. After pondering my failure to realize this fact during my two previous visits, I enjoyed some of the best fries I have ever eaten. The brisket kept getting better with each visit.

Day 4:

My oldest son’s last game was in the morning, so we were able to enjoy a post-tournament meal. Big surprise, I took him here. He loved the brisket and Cajun fries. We reminisce often.

We then went to watch my youngest son’s last game in the afternoon. Before we hit the road for the long drive south, we decided to share our new spot with him. This time we celebrated a great tournament with some Peanut Butter Pie… and some more amazing brisket.

Smoking Pig BBQ Company
1144 N. 4th Street
San Jose, CA 95112
smokingpigbbq.net

The Habit Burger Grill on Tyler in Riverside

November 20, 2016 by Ole Leave a Comment

The Habit Burger Grill on Tyler in the City of Riverside, California has been open for just about a year, but it has recently become one of my family’s favorite places to eat.

If it weren’t for my oldest son, I might not have tried it. A few months ago, after a long day of water polo, my son wanted a Habit burger. Unfortunately, it was closed by the time we arrived. I promised him another trip.

The view when you hustle from a late #waterpolo game to get your son a Habit burger but you are a few minutes too late… #closingtime #riversideca

A photo posted by Ole (@riversideandbeyond) on Jul 18, 2016 at 7:29pm PDT

The next time we visited, I ordered something too… I was hooked.

The Habit offers more than just burgers, as you can see from the menu:

The food is prepared to order, and I have never seen it wait under a heating lamp to be served. As soon as the food is ready, the buzzer goes off.

Since becoming a fan, we have eaten at a bunch of different Habit locations, including Riverside Plaza in the City of Riverside, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Chino and Pleasanton.

The Habit on Tyler was closed due to a power outage, so hello Riverside Plaza.

A photo posted by Ole (@riversideandbeyond) on Oct 2, 2016 at 12:05pm PDT

We have only had good experiences, but The Habit on Tyler in Riverside is my favorite. One of the reasons is because of the people who work here:

I don’t want to embarrass anyone by posting a picture, but I do want to give a shout out to the extremely friendly and helpful employees at @habitburgergrill on Tyler in Riverside. #riversideca

A photo posted by Ole (@riversideandbeyond) on Oct 26, 2016 at 11:49am PDT

Along with French fries and sweet potato fries, The Habit also has onion rings. They are awesome.

My wife usually alternates between the Chicken Club or the Santa Barbara Cobb salad.

Our kids all get burgers.

I get burgers too, but mine usually arrive in a bowl without a bun. I really like the burgers here even without a bun. The burgers are charbroiled and seasoned, and the bacon always seems to be fresh.

The first time I tried The Habit was a few years ago in Lake Forest, California. I was not a fan. It must have been an off day, because fast forward to today and The Habit is one of my new favorite places.

The Habit Burger Grill
3510 Tyler St, Ste 100
Riverside, California

Ed’s Place in Glendora – Amazing Hash Browns

July 5, 2016 by Ole Leave a Comment

Another water polo tournament, another new place for breakfast.

Ed’s Place in Glendora.

Bendy straws and Marilyn on the wall were a promising start.

Full stack of hot cakes:

Country Omelette (bacon, sausage and cheese):

The amazing Hash Browned Potatoes. These are the best hash browns I think I have ever had in a restaurant. They were so good that we ordered an extra side.

I liked that the bacon was lined up on the plate. The little things.

The next time we have an early game in Glendora, you will probably find us here.

Ed’s Place
141 N. Glendora Ave.
Glendora, CA

Rock & Brews Corona Is Now Open – Corona, CA

July 1, 2016 by Ole Leave a Comment

Rock & Brews in The Crossings at Corona is now open. We stopped by this week for lunch. Here are a few pictures:

Beer lovers should feel right at home…

Firecracker Shrimp:

Garlic Cheese Fries:

“Any Way You Want It” Pizza:

Original Cobb Salad – Chicken, Bacon, Blue Cheese, Avocado, Egg:

Fire Grilled BBQ Tri Tip Steak Platter:

“Purple Rain” Drops – Chocolate Filled French Donuts with Raspberry Sauce:

There was a good lunch crowd (busier than I remember it being when it was Bubba Jacks or On The Border) and the service was great.

The garlic cheese fries could have used a little more garlic and cheese, and a little more trip tip would have been nice, but overall the food was pretty good.

Fun lunch with the family.

Rock & Brews Corona
3550 Grand Oaks
Corona, CA
www.rockandbrews.com

Wang Cho Korean BBQ in Riverside Plaza is Now Open

May 2, 2016 by Ole 2 Comments

Although I have only eaten at Korean BBQ restaurants a few times, I have been anxiously waiting for the new Wang Cho Korean BBQ in Riverside Plaza to open.

We showed up for opening day last Friday, but management wasn’t able to open the restaurant for lunch due to a power outage.

We went back today.

There is another Wang Cho Korean BBQ in Chino Hills, but we have never eaten there. Since this was our first time, we weren’t quite sure what to expect. The manager and servers were very helpful, and steered us toward the all-you-can-eat lunch special.

If you have never eaten at a Korean BBQ restaurant or have only eaten at a quick serve restaurant in the mall, you might wonder what this silver thing is for. I’ll get back to that.

The all-you-can-eat lunch special allows you to order four meats at one time. We chose the Angus Beef Brisket, Marinated Boneless Beef, Curry Chicken and Fire Cheese Chicken.

If the meat looks raw, you are correct.

All of the meat is brought to your table uncooked.

Don’t eat the raw meat.

Cook it. At your table. That silver thing in the middle of your table is your own personal grill.

If you’re not sure how to cook something, just ask the servers for assistance. They will even switch out the grill when it gets too charred.

Here are a few of the finished products.

Since it was all-you-can-eat, we asked for more meat (actually, “I” am the one who asked since my wife was done). This time we added Sliced Beef Bulgogi, Spicy Red Pork Belly, Assorted Vegetables & Mushrooms and some more Angus Beef Brisket.

This is a nice place and you will definitely not go hungry.

Wang Cho Korean BBQ
3639 Riverside Plaza Dr.
Riverside, CA
www.wangchobbq.com

Baja Fish Tacos – Norco

March 30, 2016 by Ole Leave a Comment

Last summer during a break in a water polo tournament, my oldest son and I found this great Mexican food place in Foothill Ranch. He loved the fish tacos, I loved the carne asada nachos, and we both wanted to try it again someday.

Unfortunately, the next time we were out in that area I got the name wrong and ended up at a Baja Fresh. After a less than satisfying meal, I realized that I should have searched for Baja Fish Tacos instead.

Fortunately, I also found out that there is a Baja Fish Tacos in Norco.

Baja Fish Tacos has quickly become one of our favorite places. We have tried all of the tacos (fish, shrimp, carne asada and chicken), and they are all awesome.

Here are a few pictures of the interior and the food:

Chips are extra, but they are always warm and you get them right when you order. The salsas are great. The roasted tomato is my favorite, but I also like the roasted tomatillo.

During her first visit, my wife ordered a green salad to go along with her meal, but realized that the salad is the size of a meal all by itself.

The carne asada nachos are full of delicious carne asada. They normally come with pinto beans, but I ask for the black beans instead.

The Charbroiled Fish Tacos are my wife’s favorite. You can also order the fish blackened or “Ensenada Style” (beer batter).

I’ve tried the carne asada enchiladas a few times…

… but my favorite items are the carne asada and chicken tacos. As usual, I order them plain and add my favorite salsa. The carne asada is consistently awesome.

In addition to Norco, you can find Baja Fish Tacos in these cities: Costa Mesa, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Long Beach, Mission Viejo, Orange, Santa Ana, Brea

Baja Fish Tacos
2335 Hamner Ave
Norco, CA
bajafishtacos.com