Red Devil Pizza, 1465 Foothill Blvd. (at Wheeler), La Verne.

Red Devil is in the CVS Center near the old Vons, placing it across the street from the new Vons. Red Devil is a longtime La Verne favorite.

The interior is nicer than expected, with vintage-style Italian posters and such decorating the walls. Also, a “GoodFellas” poster autographed by Henry Hill. Although there’s a counter for takeout orders and paying, they have waitress service. A couple of gents near me were chowing down silently on large bowls of pasta.

Pasta dinners range from spaghetti ($9) to seafood linguine ($17); they also have sandwiches, beer and bottled wine up to $25. And, of course, pizza. I got one of the $8.50 lunch specials, a mini pizza with one topping (mushrooms) and a salad and soda or beer (iced tea, in my case).

The salad was iceberg but it was large, almost entree-sized, with cheese, olives and tomatoes. Not bad. The pizza was also large at 10 inches (2 inches larger than most mini pizzas), chewy and tasty. I took home three of the eight slices. It was a good deal for the price.

La Verne’s a good pizza town. Still gotta go back to Sal’s for a Sal’s Special, as some of you recommended.

Sal’s Pizza and The Bagelry, 2095 Foothill Blvd. (at D), La Verne.

I’ve passed this combo restaurant on Foothill at D Street probably hundreds of times, but for whatever reason it never occurred to me until a couple of weeks ago that I ought to actually eat there sometime.

I had been inside once. Circa 1998, for a feature story, a photographer and I spent a day driving around the Inland Valley to check out banks that had been converted into other commercial uses. I don’t have access to that story, but the La Verne building had been some sort of a bank — anyone remember which one? — and the main entrance was then The Bagelry. Sometime in the past few years, Sal’s Pizza was added.

(The sign out front advertises the building’s two less-visible businesses, Taco Factory and Juice Stop. Because of the strange spacing, I always read the sign in jest as Taco Juice/Factory Stop.)

Anyway. The restaurant seats 87, plus another 20 or so on the patio, so it’s quite large. It’s pleasant enough, tiled everywhere. A lot of restaurants would envy the generous patio. Speaking of generous, the sprawling menu has bagels, bagel sandwiches, salads, sandwiches on fresh-baked bread, pizza and pasta, and there’s an espresso bar.

I had the Route 66, a sandwich of turkey, swiss, tomato, onion and pickle, and got it on a plain bagel, toasted ($5.95-ish), and an iced tea ($2-ish). I didn’t expect great things, and didn’t receive them, but the sandwich was acceptable. There were several customers, including a young guy on a laptop at the espresso bar and an older couple in a booth, each reading a paperback as they ate silently.

Anyone tried the pizza?

Angel’s Place, 2325 D St. (at 3rd), La Verne.

This was shaping up to be a poor week for new-to-me restaurants. First there was a lunch at Larry’s Burgers, in the wonderfully named Larry’s Plaza on Holt Boulevard in Montclair. I knew this could be trouble when I passed a haunted looking woman at the pay phone who had a bare midriff and several unsightly rolls of loose belly skin. Moments later I saw the B grade in the restaurant window. My burger combo actually wasn’t bad and the clientele made for amusing people-watching…but I’m not going to hurry back.

Then there was Bowl House on Third Street in La Verne, where my curry chicken bowl was the least appetizing I’ve ever had. It almost looked like bone-in chicken, big fatty pieces of it, skin-on.

To salvage the week, on Thursday, a day off, I impulsively decided to try Angel’s Place, a Greek restaurant I’d spotted on my Bowl House misadventure. Angel’s opened in October, replacing Nick’s Place and a dry cleaner.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner, mostly Greek but with some American favorites judiciously sprinkled in. Pastrami, burgers and steak sandwiches? Hmm.

But it’s got a casual, cheerful atmosphere and table service to boot. I had a chicken souvlaki sandwich ($5.99) and a side salad ($4). A bit too liberal with the tzatziki sauce, but it was a good sandwich: chicken and diced tomatoes on pita bread.

One quibble: The staff could be more clear on whether the side choices are free or not. I was asked “french fries, no fries or salad” but had to pay extra for the salad, and pay the same price for the sandwich as if I’d had fries. I’d have had fries and a salad if I’d known I was essentially paying for both.

People on Yelp are conflicted about Angel’s Place. I liked the feel of it and the staff was friendly. Several items on the menu, especially some of the salads, piqued my curiosity. It may not be as good as Athen’s Gyro House in Upland, but I expect I’ll go back.

The Tenderloin, 2080 Foothill Blvd. (at B), La Verne.

In an L-shaped shopping center, the Tenderloin, at the northern end, is easily visible to motorists. I’ve seen it for years and wondered if it was a bar, a restaurant or what. The unfortunate connotation with San Francisco’s seedy Tenderloin District made me wonder about the place.

As it happens, it’s a steakhouse. I dropped in for lunch Saturday.

The interior is decorated in Old West style, with several large paintings of Western scenes, and Tiffany-style light fixtures. The lighting is on the dim side. The menu prices are on the moderate side.

I had a steak sandwich with fries ($10.79) plus a side salad. The sandwich came with grilled onions, lettuce and tomatoes, on sourdough bread. It was messy but pretty good. The fries and salad were OK.

Service was indifferent. My waitress wore a quilted winter coat over her uniform. Management ought to turn up the thermostat. She also left me without utensils or napkins, which I had to fetch from another table.

The Tenderloin attracts an older crowd. A father had three young boys at the booth next to mine, but everyone else was in their 50s or older. On the other side of me, a couple in their 70s may have run out of things to say to each other. They read paperbacks silently during their lunch.

Mr. Fish and Chips, 1453 Foothill Blvd. (at Wheeler), La Verne.

With plans to attend the La Verne council meeting Monday evening, I carefully pondered my options for dining in that city, which is too remote for me to get to from Ontario on a lunch break. Should I try the Caribbean place? How about the Indonesian place? The city’s online dining guide (find it here) was a big help in evaluating the possibilities.

Alas, I delayed too long at the office trying to wrap up a few things and by the time I got to La Verne, I had under half an hour for dinner. Oopsie. So I tried a new-to-me spot close to City Hall, to cut my travel time, and where I guessed I could get a quick meal: Mr. Fish and Chips, in the CVS shopping center on Foothill.

I ordered the fish sandwich, with onion rings as my side, from the friendly woman behind the counter. Without a drink — who had time? — my tab was $5.29. A sign asks customers to be patient because the food is made to order. My own order arrived on a plate in the shape of a fish, a cute touch. The verdict? The sandwich was surprisingly good and the onion rings were also a cut above. The batter on both was light and crispy, not heavy as you might fear.

I’ll have to go back sometime when I don’t have to inhale my food in 15 minutes. Although that Indonesian place will probably get my business next…