By Evelyn Barge, Staff Writer

Once I was a chronically picky eater, but now my taste buds have taken a turn for the adventurous.

I call it the San Gabriel Valley Effect. There's so much delicious food - particularly ethnic cuisine - packed into our Valley that I just had to branch out from my boring meat-and-potatoes-eating ways.

The evolution has led to some of the best meals of my life, and I recently added Hop Li Seafood Restaurant in Arcadia to my list of favorites.

Hop Li is actually a chain of eateries with additional locations in Chinatown, Westwood and West Los Angeles, but the Arcadia restaurant is the only one with late-night hours. Open from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. every day, it's perfect for sating my frequent nighttime hunger.

The menu at Hop Li is expansive, so on a recent visit, my companion and I decided to sample a couple different specialties.

Our first choice was the deep-fried squab ($11.75) - something I'd tried to order at other Chinese restaurants in the past, but it had sadly always been out of stock.

It was an exciting find, but probably my least favorite part of the entire meal. The squab, which is a young domestic pigeon, was prepared simply with little added flavors or garnish. As you might expect with a pigeon, there's not a whole lot of meat to be had. But where there was meat, it was gamy and fairly tender.

I also found the whole squab difficult to carve up and eat, which is more a mark of my inexperience than anything else. Next time, I think I'll order the minced squab with bamboo shoots and lettuce to save myself the trouble.

The highlight of the meal was a plate of squid with garlic and black bean sauce ($5.99). It figures that a seafood restaurant would excel at serving up creatures of the deep, and Hop Li was right on the money. The sauce was a perfect, savory match to the firm texture of the squid.

An order of sliced chicken with straw mushrooms ($4.50) rounded out our more exotic selections, and the flavor combination on this dish was perhaps the best of all three.

 

Overall, we barely scratched the surface of what's available on the Hop Li menu. I also had my eye on a variety of hot pots (they take about 30 minutes to prepare) and the more unusual seafood items - frog, jellyfish and abalone - that were tempting the curious side of my palate.

While some of these rarer dishes will send your bill into triple figures, most items on the menu fall squarely within the $7.95 to $12.99 range. Lunchtime and late-night diners get even sweeter deals with a special menu that features plates as low as $4.50.

Hop Li Seafood is a world away from the food I was raised on - Italian on one side with a heavy dose of Southern cooking on the other - and that's just another reason why I know I'll be going back for seconds.

Hop Li Seafood Restaurant, 855 S. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia; (626) 445-3188

www.hoplirestaurant.com

By Claudia Palma, Staff Writer

WEST COVINA - We have so many choices to get a fresh sandwich nowadays - Subway, Quizno's, and even Vons - but I still like giving the little family deli shops a try.

I've seen the Old World Delicatessen hidden in the expansive Eastland Shopping Center in West Covina before and thought I would see what they had to offer.

The old-Italian style storefront nicely welcomes you into the shop, which offers both a sit-down and take-out restaurant and a deli shop where you can buy your own meats and cheeses to take home and cook with.

As much as I would have loved to stay in and enjoy the fresh and tasty-looking all-you-can-eat salad bar, I needed to get back to the office and ordered to go instead.

The menu features a variety of cold and hot sandwiches, New York-style hot dogs, soups, broasted chicken meals, pizza, and pasta dinner combos.

I chose the Brooklyn Bridge Grinder cold sandwich. It has a combination of Italian cuts - mortadella, coppocolla, dry salami - with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, bell peppers, and topped with a special blend of Italian dressing, on a six-inch Italian roll.

 

The sandwich alone is $6.85, but I made my order a combo with a drink and a side order of potato salad for a couple bucks more.

Everything in the sandwich tasted fresh and cold, the way it's supposed to be. The meats were not too salty and had a nice kick of spices of their own.

The dressing was perfectly seasoned, not too overwhelming, and covered the vegetables in the sandwich enough to make them a little soft.

The potato salad definitely had to be freshly homemade and not the mass-produced buckets you can get at the supermarket. It had just the right amount of mayonnaise and seasonings. I even detected a little mustard which I usually don't like but it blended in well. 

The size of potatoes varied from small to large round slices and had the right amount of pickles thrown in.

The shop, which has been in the deli business since 1969, offers daily dinner specials and catering. They also have another location in Upland.

Old World Delicatessen is at 2649 E. Workman Ave. in West Covina, (626) 967-6307; and 281 S. Mountain Ave. in Upland, (909) 608-0418. The deli's Web site is www.owdeli.com.

By Emma Gallegos, Staff Writer

It's not even fair - some restaurants have me right out of the gate. When I walked into Senor Baja, I could immediately smell the grease. It was the smell of so many flaky fish fillets being freshly but lightly batter-fried to a golden brown.

The sign out front still says El Taco Nazo, which is a familiar chain throughout Southern California.

I haven't eaten at any of the other locations, but in Baldwin Park it is blissfully apparent that no one ever asked a focus group for their opinion. There is a shelf of model cars, gigantic close-ups of shrimp cocktails framed on the walls and a picture of Mexican Revolutionary Emiliano Zapata. The specials are hand-written on those pre-printed cardboard signs you see at garage sales or used car lots.

From the smell of grease to the eclectic decor, the message here is clear: it's all about the food. Who needs to worry about the subconscious signals you're sending with decor, when you can lure people - especially in this economy - with the thrill of 99-cent tacos every Monday and Wednesday? (And if the economy has really got you down, on any day of the week there's a well-stocked refrigerator of cold beer - domestic and Mexican - behind the counter for $3.75 each.)

The only hint of a focus group on the horizon is the name change in the works. The sign on the outside still says El Taco Nazo, but the eatery's Web site said the name will be changed to Senor Baja, so that people will more readily associate their restaurant with Baja California. The Web site also notes that they will be remodeling their stores and going through a "re-imaging" process. We'll see if Zapata - who isn't from Baja - will survive the focus group.

There are few things about the restaurant I'd like to see changed. The whole restaurants hums with energy and efficiency. Waiters sailed around the corner to music that sounded like ABBA from warmer climes. A few waiters sang along. A sign on the sneeze guard suggests kindly that you take only what you're going to eat. And by the time I got my utensils, a straw and napkins, they called my number. I've waited longer for Happy Meals.

I opted for the fish taco combo, which came with beans and rice and a drink ($6.49). I splurged with some flan for dessert ($2.31), but even with all that, I only broke $10 by two pennies because they tacked on an extra 50 cents for using my debit card.

Fish tacos are their specialty and they hit it out of the park. The fish was hot, fresh, golden and not that greasy. The cabbage was crunchy, the tomatoes ripe, the cilantro fragrant and there was just enough sour cream to keep the taco from being dry. The flan wasn't made on site, but it was creamy and had absorbed the not-too-sweet caramel sauce. The only true disappointments were the rice and beans, which were probably made en masse early on in the day and were cold and bland by the time I got there.

It's best to forgo the combo. Opt for a few 99-cent fish tacos on Mondays and Wednesdays, you might even be able to get a beer without breaking $10.

Senor Baja is at 14343 Ramona Blvd., Baldwin Park, and can be reached at (626) 338-6420.

www.senorbajarestaurant.com 

By Lafayette C. Hight, Jr., Staff Writer

MONROVIA - I've been to Starlight Express on several occasions and one of the things I like most about this establishment is that the food seems like it just came out of the wok.

Which is a difficult thing for some of the "express" -styled Chinese restaurants that offer a dozen or so dishes for lunch and dinner served either under heat lamps or over boiling water.

The teriyaki chicken is always tender and juicy. And most importantly, it's not overly-sweet like it's been doused in a ton of sugar. I have to admit, whether I'm going to order it or not, I usually try a sample of it.

I also really love their vegetable egg rolls. My only complaint is that I wish they were bigger - more toward the hot dog side of things, rather than the vienna sausage end of the scale. 

But on my last visit I decided to try something new: Black pepper chicken and broccoli beef with steamed rice and chow mein.

The spices used in the chicken dish reminded me of flavors used in cajun cooking. It wasn't too spicy, but the blend had a little bit of heat with a touch of citrus somewhere in the mix.

The broccoli beef wasn't flavored as interestingly as the chicken, but it was good.

On the day I went they didn't have the lemon chicken I once had, and I hope it isn't gone from the menu. Starlight also has egg drop soup, and hot and sour soup, which I'm looking forward to trying in the future.

I typically opt for one of their one-item, two-item, or three-item combination meals, which, at $4.29, $5.29 and $6.29 respectively, makes lunch or dinner a pretty inexpensive prospect. Drinks are somewhere around a buck, and two egg rolls can be had for around the same price. 

Another reason I like this restaurant is that it's one of the few Chinese restaurants I know of that happens to be open on Sundays. 

I love Vietnamese Sandwiches so much that my first taste of those French baguettes topped with meat and pickled Asian vegetables is a warm memory. Probably just as good as the satisfying taste is their insanely cheap prices -- most of these sandwiches run in the $2 range! You can always find a decent Vietnamese sandwich, or banhh mi, at Lee's Sandwiches, the McDonald's of Vietnamese sandwiches. With a wide selection from grilled chicken, barbeque pork to ham, these surprisingly filling meals run as low as $1.95 to $2.75. You can also buy spring rolls or fried egg rolls as appetizers for just as cheap.

Lee's locations in the Valley:

Alhambra
1289 East Valley Boulevard @ Valley Supermarket Center
Alhambra, CA 91801
Phone: (626) 282-5589

Rosemead
8779 East Valley Boulevard @ Muscatel Avenue
Rosemead, CA 91770
Phone: (626) 291-2688

Rowland Heights       
18194 Colima Road
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

There are few other places in Orange County, especially in OC's Little Saigon, that I actually prefer over Lee's (their baguettes are not as fresh as I have tasted elsewhere), so I am always on the look out for other places in the Valley serving my favorite sandwich.

I recently discovered Mr. Baguette in Rosemead, a Vietnamese sandwich shop just down the street from a Lee's Sandwiches. While the place boasts a pleasant outdoor patio area, I was immediately disappointed as soon as I stepped to the counter to order. The cheapest sandwich -- the Special with ham and salami -- was $3.35, almost a dollar more than most Vietnamese sandwiches! I certainly hoped that the extra dollar made the sandwich far superior than any other sandwich I had before. To my dismay, the bread was not as fresh as I had hoped and the portions of meat and toppings were a bit skimpy. So, for Vietnamese sandwiches in the Valley, I'm sticking to Lee's.

So during my camping trip at Yosemite, our campsite got a visit from Yogi Bear - smarter than the average bear - in the middle of the night.

The campgrounds have bear boxes where you put all your food or anything that has a scent that would draw a bear to your site. So after dinner and after the long-awaited melty gooey goodness of s'mores, we put everything away in the boxes and went around our site twice to make sure we didn't miss anything.

Well, we did. It was some time past midnight when I heard rustling near our tent and heard commotion. My wild-sleeper of a sister, was asleep on my right shoulder and as soon as I knew it was a bear, I pushed her off of me and sat up in one swift motion.

Another tent-mate of ours woke up too, and began searching for the zipper to open the tent door to blow the whistle she had wrapped around her neck the entire weekend. She got the window open instead and blew three quick whistles, but we could still hear the bear.

There were a few guys outside making noises and flashing their lights trying to scare fuzzy wuzzy away but he wouldn't until he got what he came for - marshmallows.

Yup, Yogi is a fans of s'mores too.

Apparently there was an ice chest, (believed to be empty), left outside under a table that had a bag of marshmallows in it.

Well the bear definitely smelled it from miles away and knew exactly where to go. It slid, yes slid, open the ice chest without damaging it, tore through a paper towel roll to get to the marshmallows, and would not scare off easily with whistles, lights or hollering until it headed back to it's cave with the full bag.

I didn't get to see it, but from the look of the tear on the paper towel roll, it was still a youngin'.

Of course, the next day, the kids that slept through the bear commotion, wanted to leave a little bait for the bear to come back again so they could take a picture of it.

 

I told them they already knew what it looks like. He wears a green ranger hat and tie with a white collar and says "Ey, Boo Boo!"

Yes, I was one of the many crazies who went out of town this holiday weekend. High gas prices, traffic and all.

Me and about 40+ friends and family headed up north to Yosemite for some good old-fashioned camping.

I love camping and I was so excited to go back to Yosemite, which I've only visited once, when I was about 13. I was also excited to take my 13-year-old sister for her first sleeping bag and tent camping trip.

She's stayed at a cabin in Big Bear with my brother before, but it was a full-furnished cabin and I don't think they saw any bears.

That was great and all, because it was still family, and my nephews were too young to be outdoors in a tent.

But she's old enough to handle the great outdoors now. (Maybe I should have made her watch some John Candy movies in preparation.)

And she's never roasted marshmallows out on a real fire!

What kind of kid would you be, if you've never had the chance to roast marshmallows to black melty-death on a piece of stick or twig you picked up off the floor?!

 

Yup. I'm talking about good old gooey-marshmallow-chocolatey-graham-cracker goodness. S'mores.

When I think back on the many camping trips I've taken, I think - Man, all we do is eat!

Hot dogs, hamburgers, pork and beans, sandwiches, scrambled eggs and bacon or sausage, granola bars, cheez-its, chips, s'mores of course, and if we had the money, some good carne asada and tortillas. 

But it's a great challenge to try to cook and eat in the outdoors, especially with bugs flying all around. I always feel vindicated when I'm able to finish my meal before the bugs can even touch it. Take that bug!

So while some of you are enjoying your weekend in the bug-free, AC, comfy-couch/chair/bed, home indoors, I'll be roughing it on a rock, with some bears, swatting the flies off my s'mores.

And loving every minute of it. 

 

Working in a big office like I do, and sitting right next to the lunch room, I feel like I am always getting hungry.

People warming up their food, popcorn, or organizing pot lucks in the next department over, bring so many smells that even if I just ate, I could snack a little on popcorn, or grab a hot dog from the pot luck if it's offered me.

No it's not good for any diet, but luckily I don't believe in them. I believe in moderation, so I try to just eat small meals and snacks a few times throughout the day and use water to hold me over between meals.

Today, though, really tested my strength. First, because of a department meeting, we were being treated to lunch. But at the same time, a 'roast' pot luck was being held in the department next door as a 'going awa' for someone.

So while I waited until lunch time for the free pizza, (can't pass that up!), the smell of hot dogs 'roasting' on a grill roller wafted through our section of the news room hours before our pizza would arrive.

Oh, but when it did - mm mm mm mm. It was worth it. I love pizza, but I can be picky at times. I don't like really thick greasy crust, despise black olives, so over pepperoni, and absolutely love mushrooms!

I am more partial to the little family-owned pizza houses than the 'fast-food' type, but if they meet the above standards, they'll do as well.

Rio's pizza in Montebello is one of those family-owned places that I grew up with and is my absolute favorite pizza. Freshly made pizzas, no skimping on toppings and a good price, especially on Sundays.

But today, I must say I found a close second to Rio's - Michelangelo's Pizza in Covina.

Thanks to a fellow reporter recommending this local eatery to our editor, we were treated to a fresh, warm, soft, cheesy pizza.

We had a cheese, a pepperoni, a sausage and a vegetarian pizza. Something for everyone.

I had the sausage and vegetarian pizzas, despite the vegetarian having black olives I had to pick off.

I have to start with the crust. It wasn't a thin crust that's for sure, but it was more airy than greasy. I usually don't care to eat the leftover crust end, but i couldn't help myself because it was just that tasty.

The sauce and cheese were just enough to cover each slice well and perfectly seasoned, not bland and not too much. The sausage was not too salty either, too much salt just kills every other flavor.

The vegetarian had the usual suspects - mushroom (yay!), green bell pepper, onion, black olives (yuck!) - but it also had slices of tomato that I thought were perfect, they weren't soggy and added more flavor. There was plenty of mushroom, too, that more than made up for the black olives.

I am curious to see what the rest of their menu offerings taste like.

Michelangelo's has two locations - on Citrus in Covina and Arrow Hwy. in San Dimas - and offer sandwiches, salad and pasta as well as pizzas, of course.

You can order online as well as by phone.

With the heat of summer just starting, I've noticed some fast food chains are trying to draw customers in with the offer of helping them keep cool.

Taco Bell offers the new Frutista Freeze beverages in two flavors, Strawberry and Mango Strawberry. The chain's website says 'Refresh your senses with a smooth frozen strawberry drink - topped with real strawberries'

Real strawberries? Come on! I tried the Mango Strawberry and let me tell you the only thing real is the real strawberry and mango syrups and frozen pieces of strawberries (served over ice). That's it.

If you want to get a brainfreeze and sugar high, then by all means hit up Taco Bell, but it was just not refreshing for me to drink syrup.

 

Now Jack in the Box went to the smoothie side, sort of Jamba Juice-style, with their Real Fruit Smoothies. The beverages are made with fruit juice and nonfat frozen yogurt in three flavors: Strawberry Banana, Mango and Orange Sunrise. 

Again, real fruit is used loosely. Although it is made of real fruit juice and real frozen yogurt, there is no real fruit blended into these smoothies.

But I was refreshed. I tried the Orange Sunrise and it was like an orangesicle ice cream bar blended in a cup. Icy, yummy, not too sweet and refreshing.

The regular is just $2.99 so it's less than a regular or small drink at Jamba Juice but probably easier to find.

I got this from an Associated Press article today.

After a warning of possible salmonella poisoning in uncooked tomatoes, McDonald's and other fast food and grocery stores have stopped using or selling tomatoes in its U.S. locations, as a precaution.

The source of the tomatoes responsible for illnesses in at least 16 states has not been pinpointed.

McDonald's Corp., the world's largest hamburger chain, stopped serving sliced tomatoes on its sandwiches as a precaution until the source of the salmonella is known, according to a
statement Monday from spokeswoman Danya Proud.

The restaurant will continue serving grape tomatoes in its salads because no problems have been linked to that variety, Proud said.

Taco Bell and Chipotle Mexican Grill are also taking the same precaution.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said at least 23 people have
been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.

The FDA said Saturday the outbreak was linked to certain varieties of raw tomatoes
including red plum, red Roma and red round.

Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons stores have halted sales of the three varieties.

For lunch today, I went to In-N-Out and they also have a sign posted that they are not using tomatoes in their burgers.

Although, it's not the tomato itself that makes the burger, it was a little different not having that juicy fruit to bite into.

I hope they figure it out soon.

Last week, I visited Tampopo Ramen, a Japanese restaurant in the food court-like Plaza Walk building in Rowland Heights. Last night, I happened to wander by the area again and saw a sign in front of the restaurant that announced its closure on June 2.

Today, I called up the restaurant to confirm it was actually closing forever, not just on one day.

Yes, it's true. They're closing.

The person on the phone, who sounded like the owner, said he's received many compliments about the food and condolences about their closing. The man said operating costs are high, as are the rent and parking fees. There's another Tampopo Ramen in Gardena, although he's not the owner-operator. The man says he doesn't have any plans to open at another location this year. Their last day is June 1.

If you have time before June 2, check it out. I really enjoyed it, and even started writing a review for it for the Highlanders...

By Daniel Fritz, Staff Writer

The unassuming red, white and brick building on the corner of Ramona Boulevard and Maine Avenue in Baldwin Park is the home of Stars Burgers.

While the venue may be a bit harsh on the eyes, customers' undoubtedly happy palate will most likely forgive the visual shortcomings of what is essentially a hotdog stand.

On first glance, it appears Stars Burgers only has outside seating, however, there is a small inside seating area attached to the building. There's even a few prehistoric arcade machines inside.

However, the restaurant makes sure to cater to the diverse Baldwin Park demographic by not just sticking to one food genre.

Stars Burgers has a huge menu, ranging from hotdogs to Mexican food to all sorts of sandwiches. The marquee even states that "Shish-k-Babs" are sold, however upon further inspection, they're no longer on the menu.

Not only is the menu far-reaching, but the vast operating hours make Stars Burgers a place where, if one were so inclined, one could eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. They're open from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday.

There's even a few breakfast specials, like the two pieces of bacon or sausage, two eggs, hash browns and toast combo for $3.05. Several lunch combos exist as well, none of which will set you back more than $5.

In fact, pretty much everything on the menu ranges between $2 and $5.

During my visit, I had a hamburger and a hotdog for $4.87, and took a seat at a patio table outside.

While the dining experience was pretty much what you'd expect from sitting on a corner in Baldwin Park (I had a woman try to sell me Chicklets while I was eating and a pigeon got a little too friendly), it was enjoyable nonetheless.

The hotdog, which came loaded with onions and mustard, was clearly of the footlong variety as it had outgrown the bun.

The hamburger came medium well (I wasn't given an option) and was tender and juicy. Thousand island dressing and shredded lettuce came standard on this one.

Both were satisfying, and I cleared my plastic basket from the table feeling heavy in the stomach and light in the wallet.

Stars Burgers is located at 14351 Ramona Blvd. in Baldwin Park. For information call (626) 337-7777.

daniel.fritz@sgvn.com

(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2201

By Evelyn Barge
Staff Writer

Sometimes the best meals are discovered behind the most unassuming of storefronts.

That's certainly the case with El Gallo Pinto, a Nicaraguan and Mexican restaurant tucked away in an unremarkable Azusa strip mall.

Named for the traditional Nicaraguan dish of beans and rice, El Gallo Pinto is a gem of an eatery that serves up a hearty dose of authenticity with each of its delectable dishes.

The extensive menu is protein-heavy with options like broiled steak ($10.99), fried marinated pork ($10.99) and beef tongue ($12.99).

All entrees are served with - you guessed it - gallo pinto. Or you can substitute salad and tortillas or fried plantains.

If you want to mix and match, try a few selections from the a la carte section of the menu.
The nacatamales ($4.99), much bigger than Mexican tamales, are mouth-wateringly delicious and provide more than enough food for a wholesome lunch or dinner.

Round off the meal with plantain slices ($2.50) or fried cheese ($2.00), just two of the tasty traditional sides available for a very affordable price.

I found the atmosphere inside the restaurant to be warm and inviting.

The wait staff was especially friendly, as the server greeted each customer and offered up helpful recommendations, even while busy during the lunch-hour rush.

El Gallo Pinto is a fairly small operation, so be prepared to settle in and enjoy the experience.

On the day I visited the Azusa Avenue restaurant, just one person was serving the lunchtime crowd in the dining room, while a single chef was preparing all the dishes in the kitchen. Still, the relaxed environment and easygoing pace just mean you have more time to take in the decorations and savor your meal.

After leaving the restaurant quite satisfied, I called my younger sister, Gail, to chat about my first foray into Nicaraguan cuisine. Gail traveled to Managua, the capital of the Central American country, in the spring of 2006 on a weeklong mission trip, and I asked her what she remembered about the country's traditional diet. We compared our separate experiences with the local style of cooking and found many similarities, despite the hundreds of miles and years that separated our meals.

She described the scene in Managua with its open-air markets, street vendors and fresh produce, meats and seafood as impoverished yet beautiful, and complemented by a rich culinary tapestry.

"The food is amazing," she said, "better than I ever eat here (in the U.S.)"

True to those roots, El Gallo Pinto carries on that tradition, serving up spectacular Nicaraguan cuisine from inside a rather simple strip-mall unit that's certainly worth walking into.

El Gallo Pinto is at 5559 N. Azusa Ave., Azusa. For information, call (626) 815-9907

evelyn.barge@sgvn.com
(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2472