Recently in Azusa Category

By Amanda Newfield, Correspondent

Arigato Japanese Restaurant in Azusa was delightfully satisfying in the most Japanese way, even if I nearly missed the restaurant as I drove up Azusa Avenue.

The face of the venue is nothing special, with a small and almost non-existent porch. But it was the inside of the restaurant that caught my attention.

As I ventured into a narrow building and walked past the sushi bar, I noticed cherry blossoms and a Japanese woman painted on the wall to my left and old style brick that reminded me of the east coast to the right.

The ambiance was peaceful as a Japanese restaurant should be - the restaurant was not too loud and yet not so quiet that one feels compelled to whisper.

The server was pleasant and attentive but not overbearing.

Then came the food - in a prompt manner, by the way - and it was more than I expected. The $9.95 Dynamite Roll lived up to its name with scallops and crab covering the roll with a sweet soy sauce to top it off. The fish was fresh and tasty and the rice was sticky and delicious.

What Japanese lunch is complete without tempura? The vegetable tempera was good. I was a little caught off guard by the tempura-covered bell pepper, but the crispy and fresh shrimp tempura was superb.

Arigato, which means thank you in Japanese, offers more types of rolls then I could have asked for, from spicy tuna to Hawaiian volcano. The choices were almost overwhelming.

I decided to be daring and ordered the $4.95 Eel Avocado Roll, which did not disappoint. The eel and avocado were fresh and satisfying; it was a good-size roll for the price.

The family-owned restaurant is at 722 N. Azusa Ave. in Azusa. Operation hours vary. For reservations or to call ahead an order, you can reach the restaurant at (626) 334-5545. Or for menu information or business hours visit www.mrarigato.com.

By Evelyn Barge

The shortest distance between two points may be a straight line, but in the San Gabriel Valley, the quickest path to some great barbecue is a brief drive to Azusa.

Passing through the main entryway at Canyon City Barbeque is a transformative experience. After pulling open a series of two heavy wooden doors, visitors enter the cozy, down-home dining area, where it's almost as if the outside world has disappeared entirely.

The decor pulls from a mix of country kitchen and roadhouse diner. It's a quietly honest space, but one that is perpetually filled with the hum of business being conducted over lunch or families laughing among themselves.

On my recent visit, however, I comfortably dined alone during the lunch hour. Well, almost alone - I had a little company in the form of the upright, grinning pig statue that greets diners by the doorway.

Since my new pink friend was of the ceramic variety, I didn't let him stop me from ordering the pulled pork sandwich, a house specialty. It was an excellent choice at just $5.99, and the hours of slow smoking and dry rubs made each bite a relished one.

To my delight, a ketchup bottle full of the house barbecue sauce sits on each table, so it was easy to squeeze out some extra flavor to taste.

Most of the full entrees at Canyon City Barbeque run between $8 and $14. The sandwiches are a steal at under $6 each, and there are plenty of affordable side dishes to complement each platter.

I rounded out my meal with a side order of rice and gravy - a personal favorite, as I would consume virtually anything with gravy on top - and a small order of sweet potato fries. My extras cost $1.50 and $1.99, respectively.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the pulled-pork sandwich was the showstopper, while the sides played a simple second-fiddle.

With my rice, I would have liked more gravy - but, as a born and bred Southerner, when wouldn't I like more of it? The sweet potato fries, ordered at the suggestion of my charming and expedient server, were perfect - after I added a couple dashes of salt to them.

Overall, it was more than enough food to fill my desirous belly, and I ended up leaving some of it behind. But, since the first date went well, I suppose that means I have a good excuse to go back.

Canyon City Barbeque is located at 347 N. San Gabriel Ave. in Azusa.

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

When it comes to dining on a budget, few segments of the population do it better than college students. But Affordable Eating 101 doesn’t have to mean a menu of ramen noodles and stale cereal.

Just follow the traffic from local universities to Azusa’s popular La Tolteca, where diners — of the collegiate variety or not — can choose from an array of traditional Mexican meals that are both scrumptious and wallet-friendly.

At La Tolteca, it’s simple to put together a meal for under $10, and you don’t have to limit yourself to one item. A la carte items range from about $2 to $6, and the combo plates range from about $5 to $8.

The portions, ordered and served cafeteria-style, are generous, so consider it an investment into tomorrow’s leftovers lunch as well.

A lunch-time staple of the newsroom people is Dino's Burgers on Arrow Highway in Azusa. If you haven't heard, they make this incredible grilled chicken dish. The secret marinade is what makes it special. It's so top secret that they won't give you any of it to go or even put it on the side. (Of course, if you go there every day, they might make an exception.) The chicken sits on bed of greasy fries, a perfect way to soak up all the tasty juices.

Here's reporter Dan Abendschein at Dino's. I think he goes there about once or twice a week.

There's been a lot of press about Dino's chicken:

• Broowaha think's it's amazing.
  
• Night City Editor Phil Drake went to Dino's when messed up the recipe and survived the hottest chicken ever.
  
• The original Dino's Burgers is in downtown LA.
  
• LA Weekly's Jonathan Gold writes that the best part is the "dense stratum of French fries" underneath the chicken.
  

If you aren't in the mood for chicken, they also have sandwiches, burgers, salads and Mexican food.

Dino's Burgers
843 W Arrow Hwy
Azusa, CA 91702