Pappas Artisanal Sandwiches, 2232 D St. (at Second), La Verne; brunch only on Sundays.

Taking over the former Dillons BBQ and Phoenix Garden spot, Pappas opened in early 2013 in downtown La Verne. I heard good things and checked it out recently with two avowed fans. I was not disappointed.

The interior is brick, open and loft-like, with seating that includes high wooden communal tables. Nice ambience. You order at the counter. The menu, which changes frequently, has sandwiches, burgers, salads, soups and pastas, plus eight beers on tap, more in bottles, and wines, as well as housemade iced teas, cookies and other neat items.

I had the al pastor as a “potato nest,” meaning on crisp potatoes rather than on their housebaked bread ($9.25) and a mint cucumber tea ($2.50). My friends got a tuna melt ($8.45), a burger with egg and bacon ($12) and an ice cream sandwich ($4.75).

The al pastor itself was good, but the nest didn’t work: too many potatoes, not enough vegetables. Could be I should have mixed it. Lesson learned. I wish I’d noticed the tuna melt on that day’s menu, which my friend loved; careful readers may recall tuna melts as my baseline sandwich. The burger and ice cream sandwich were said to be very good. Oh, and I enjoyed an oatmeal cookie with white chocolate and cranberries ($1.50).

I returned another day for lunch, ordering the half-sandwich/soup combo ($8.50): an albacore sandwich, fresh and delicious, and creamy jalapeno chicken soup, like cream of chicken soup with a mild kick. Really good.

Might be a touch pricey for University of La Verne students, but the faculty are among those who’ve adopted Pappas. “It’s very urban. It doesn’t make me feel like I’m in the suburbs,” one friend said approvingly. I’d put it in a rare class of local restaurants where they care about quality, seasonal ingredients.

Bowl of Heaven, 2087 Foothill Blvd. (at D), La Verne; closed Sundays.

Starting with the name, Bowl of Heaven may present a couple of problems: namely, what do they serve, and if you dare step inside, will employees be wearing robes and attempt to ply you with “literature”?

Actually, I knew from having seen coupons that Bowl of Heaven makes acai bowls (a so-called superfruit berry) and smoothies, but it wasn’t until commenter DebB recently gave it a rave here, and I realized the bowls might make a good breakfast (they open at 9 a.m. and stay open until 9 p.m.), that I decided to give it a try.

It’s next to Sal’s Pizza and the interior is Hawaiian-themed. I got a regular Dan’s Peanut Butter ($7), a blend of acai, banana, strawberries and something called “Maq 7 fruit blend,” plus peanut butter and almond milk. It’s topped with granola, banana and honey. I’d seen this on the menu online and knew that’s what I wanted.

Essentially, it’s a smoothie in a bowl, evidently made with vegan yogurt. It was really tasty, and filling. As I sat at a table reading my newspapers, other customers entered, and almost all of them got the Peanut Butter. Must be a popular choice. Everything is gluten-, soy- and dairy-free.

So, I’m a little skeptical of the possibly exaggerated benefits of acai, and seeing “nutrition, weight loss, energy” on the front of the menu is kind of a turnoff. I feel like I’m signing up for a movement or program of some sort. And $7 is more than I want to pay for a breakfast that doesn’t involve bacon.

That said, I may pay it again, because I liked what I had and, even though there’s no nutritional information on the menu, the offerings would seem to be low-fat and full of fruit and protein, all good things. Also, for the record, none of the employees wore robes.

Cafe X20, 2445 Foothill Blvd. (at Town Center Drive), La Verne

Even a makeover by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay couldn’t save Charlie’s Italian Bistro, which closed earlier this year. Cafe X20, its replacement, opened in November and looked inviting from the street, not just the Mediterranean cuisine and hip name but the active patio and open flames visible from the street at night. Curious, I met a couple of friends there for dinner last week.

X20 has hot and cold appetizers, salads, sandwiches and entrees, $9 to $24. It’s a casual dining take on Lebanese food. We shared the hummus special with diced lamb ($7) and the soujok boreg ($6), a fried shell with sausage and cheese inside, both of which we really liked. Individually we ordered a lule kabob sandwich, which is spiced ground beef ($8), marinated cod and wild salmon ($15 each), which were pan cooked with olive oil, lemon juice and garlic and served with rice and vegetables. We liked all those too, with my salmon being the winner. (A picture is below; sorry the lighting is so poor.)

Service was exceptionally friendly. The name, rather than being something off the periodic table, is shorthand for “hugs and kisses,” the owners said in an interview. They have a bar and, out on the patio, hookah smoking after 9 p.m. X20 is open until midnight six days per week and is closed Mondays.

“I would come here again,” the sandwich eater said. “I should have gotten the lamb,” the cod eater mused. I may have to return for the lamb myself. All in all, this is the best local meal I’ve had in weeks. They didn’t even need Gordon Ramsay’s help.

House of Wings, 2317 D. St. (at 3rd), La Verne

When the Ellsworth’s Stationers store closed in the heart of downtown La Verne, it was replaced by a restaurant and sports bar featuring chicken wings, a change dramatic enough to be worth writing a letter about (better go to Staples for the paper, pen and envelope, though).

I’m not a wing guy, nor have I ever acted as a wingman, but I’ve been to House of Wings, which opened in April 2012, a couple of times with friends. We were struck on our first visit by the arresting photo-mural of a woman’s eyes, as well as the club-like atmosphere and electronic dance music soundtrack. It was as if we’d wandered into a hip spot in L.A., not L.V. This makes sense, as the owners also have a wings place in Hollywood.

The wings are pretty good. Priced 5 for $5, 12 for $10 or 16 for $12, they have various marinades to choose from. I’ve had the lemon pepper recently (below) and liked it. (I hadn’t intended to eat any and ended up eating four, or was it five?)

I returned on my own for lunch. The menu has salads, sandwiches and wraps and heartier entrees such as a steak, beef stroganoff and shrimp dishes. I had a wild mushroom burger ($11, pictured), a half-pound burger with fries (or salad). In these days of premade patties, it often seems like the only decent handmade burgers are at bars and cost 10 bucks or above. The House of Wings version is worth it.

They have more than 20 flatscreens, sound off, in a clean, minimalist, dimly lighted space. There’s a full bar with 16 beers on tap and 16 in bottles. House of Wings is popular with the ULV crowd — the campus is only a block away — and it’s a good addition to downtown. You might even want to write home about it.

Roberta’s Village Inn, 2326 D St. (at Bonita), La Verne

The Village Inn is a diner, not a hotel, in downtown La Verne, open since 1969. I wrote a column about the restaurant, but that was about the ownership change and the people aspect. (I’ll put the column at the end of this writeup.)

Roberta’s is a charming place with Coca-Cola kitsch, gingham curtains, a counter with swivel seats, two dining rooms, a lot of regulars, a friendly staff and a homey atmosphere.

They do breakfast and lunch at Roberta’s, with all the staple items. I had breakfast there with a friend Monday. He had the special, chorizo and eggs ($6, pictured), which he liked. I had pancakes and sausage ($5.75) and had no complaints.

They also do dinner at Roberta’s now, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The menu only has a half-dozen items, but there’s always a special or two. Back in December I had chicken parmigiana over fettucine ($10), which was not only pretty good but enough food to take half home.

I returned two weeks ago for dinner and had lobster ravioli (ooh la la), price forgotten but probably $10 (pictured). The Italian wedding soup is excellent, the ravioli was good (perhaps oversauced) and it’s a good thing for my waistline there were only two garlic knots. Desserts included a couple of cobblers.

So, Roberta’s is a neat little place, where the food is solid if unspectacular. Dinner, though, is better than you’d expect.
Continue reading “Restaurant of the Week: Roberta’s Village Inn” »

Aoki, 2307 D St. (at 3rd), La Verne

Aoki has been a fixture in downtown La Verne since the ’90s, anchoring a busy corner near the university. Outside there’s a protected patio; the interior is homey, with photos of customers along one wall and a mom and pop atmosphere.

I’ve been there a few times over the years and dropped in for lunch on Wednesday.

I got a two-combination lunch ($7.95), choosing sushi and sashimi. This comes with a bowl of miso soup and, as can be seen above, rice and a small salad. The sushi and sashimi both included salmon, tuna and yellowtail. It was a satisfying lunch and a good deal for the price.

It may be another year or two before I make it back, but I suspect Aoki will be there waiting.

Taste of Asia, 2007 Foothill Blvd. (at D), La Verne

Taste of Asia opened last year in the former Caribbean Gardens space in the small, ’70s vintage Oak Tree Center on the north side of Foothill and near the movie theaters. (It’s easy to overlook the center, but in a plus, the small parking lot is shaded by actual oak trees.)

Inside, Taste of Asia is modern and slightly upscale, although the paper rather than cloth napkins stuffed in the glasses will throw you off. The menu is mostly Thai but with some Vietnamese and Chinese dishes.

I’ve been there three times so far and expect to keep going. Everything I’ve had so far has been good: Steamed fish with lime ($9.95), with minced garlic and carrot, and lime sliced thin as communion wafers; yellow curry chicken ($8.95), yum seafood salad ($10.95), Vietnamese hand rolls ($5.95) and, most notably, off the “chef’s recommendations” list, tropical salmon ($14.95), which comes grilled on a bed of spinach and topped with mango, tomatoes and onions.

Yes, I love Mix Bowl in Pomona, but Taste of Asia is on a different order of magnitude, slow food rather than fast food.

It’s a family operation, and Chef Virada comes into the dining room every time to go table to table to chat with customers and make sure everyone is satisfied. Framed diplomas in the hallway to the restrooms show that she trained at a culinary school in Bangkok. But she was working at Bausch and Lomb before opening Taste of Asia.

“This is my dream, to have a restaurant,” she told me. We can all pinch ourselves and be happy her dream is our reality.