After reading Redlands Daily Facts reporter Jesse B. Gill’s excellent burrito adventure at La Perla del Mar in Redlands, Dine 909 was curious to try it first-hand.
So, we ditched out on the usual church breakfast and headed out to Redlands.
La Perla del Mar can be found at 1566 Orange St., at San Bernardino Avenue.
For all you old-school Dine 909ers, La Perla is in the former location of La Hacienda, which, if I can remember back that far, was pretty good in its day.
So we strolled through the courtyard and into the restaurant. A jukebox was playing Mexican tunes while Telemundo played silently on two overhead televisores.
We were greeted and quickly seated and began to look over the menu.
I had decided on my favorite Mexican breakfast, chorizo y huevos. My partner wanted flautas.
When the waitress came by and described the breakfast special, I changed my mind.
Actually, I hesitated for half a second, wondering if I could eat at a typical American breakfast — French toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns and toast — at a Mexican restaurant.
Well, I decided I can.
And I’m glad I did. I can say that I had the best Mexican restaurant French toast I ever had at La Perla. Of course, it’s the only Mexican restaurant French toast I ever had, but that’s beside the point.
We munched on chips and some really flavorful salsa while waiting for our food to emerge from the kitchen. It didn’t take long.
My partner was a little disappointed at first by his flautas. They were actually taquitos, made with corn tortillas, not flour, but were piled high with guacamole, salsa and sour cream, and swimming in a chicken broth. They were accompanied by a separate dish with beans and rice.
The flautas taquitos tasted good, though, and the chicken broth provided an interesting twist.
My food arrived sans French toast, so I started in on the bacon and eggs.
Everything was tasty. The hash browns were especially good, in fact some of the best I’ve ever had. They were perfectly crisp and so buttery good they just floated away when you put them in your mouth.
Then the French toast arrived.
Wow! Doesn’t that look delicious? It was. Yummy French toast, part of my American breakfast in a Mexican restaurant.
The prices certainly couldn’t be beat, with both entres hovering near $5.
Dine 909 will likely return to La Perla. Perhaps next time, I’ll actually get Mexican food.
Contact La Perla Del Mar at (909) 798-4367.