Is there such thing as healthy food at the fair?

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Thomas Cordova/Staff Photographer

I posed this question in a Sunday article about food at the L.A. County Fair. I learned three things in my reporting.

1. Beyond the deep-friend Oreos and mile-long hot dogs, healthy food does exist. There’s grilled chicken breast, veggie options and gasp! even fresh fruit.

2. If it’s healthy, the fair will make it less healthy. Take grilled corn for example. Most fair goers will smother it with butter and mayo. Another example is the zucchini. The fair will stuff a hot dog inside the squash and fry it.

3. Even unhealthy foods get the unhealthy treatment. Indian fry bread is already fattening right? It’s deep fried dough made out of Crisco. But the fair will make a taco out of it, by dumping chili con carne and cheese all over it.

Read on for the full article.

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Calling all Davids

… and Daves and Davys.

Famous Dave’s,
the barbecue eatery on 11470 Fourth St. in Rancho Cucamonga, is marking the chain’s 15th
anniversary this Monday (August 31 — the Redlands location is also participating Monday) by giving special treatment for anyone named
David, Dave or Davy. Dudes with this special name will get a free
entree with a maximum value of $15. Guys with those names as their
middle names will get entrees half off.

For everyone else,
there’s the “buck-a-bone” special, which is St. Louis-style ribs for $1
per bone with any entree purchase. There’s also $3 draft domestic beers
Monday through Thursday. These specials are good 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The
restaurant opened its first location in Hayward, Wisc. in 1994 and
opened in Rancho last summer. There are now 175 locations across the
country.

Information: (909) 481-2271

It’s pho-licious

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For reasons still unknown to me, I ate five bowls of pho in the last 10 days. I guess you can say I had a craving.

I visited Pho Ha (both the Pomona location on Indian Hill and Holt and the Rancho location on Foothill and Hellman), #1 Pho Noodle and Grill on Foothill and Rochester in Rancho, Pho Vi on Thomas and 3rd in Pomona and Saigon Chinese and Vietnamese on Foothill near Etiwanda in Rancho.

And
the winner for best pho in the last 10 days goes to … Pho Ha. Both
locations are good but the Rancho site wins by a hair for wonderful
people-watching opportunities and proximity to a frozen yogurt joint.

I asked the Pho Ha owner what the difference is between the two restaurants. She said customers in Rancho eat more.

Pho
Ha, at the Chuck E. Cheese center, is always brimming with people.
During the lunch hour, the people slurping up the Vietnamese noodles
are a diverse group of working class families, hospital workers, suit
types, etc. When I ate a 9 p.m. dinner last week, there were men behind
me who spoke a combination of Vietnamese and English, the two ladies
next to me gossiped in Spanish and the family in front of me spoke
Mandarin. This isn’t your grandmother’s Cucamonga, that’s for sure.

When
I eat pho, I’m usually a rare steak kinda gal. If I’m eating with
someone who’s not squeamish, I’ll get brisket and tripe. Recently, I’ve
been getting the vegetarian pho, which at Pho Ha, is a big salad in
soup. In addition to the rice noodles, there’s tofu, napa cabbage,
onion, carrot, baby corn, green onion, cilantro and shitake mushrooms.
If you include all the fixings, there’s also basil, bean sprouts,
jalapenos and if you’re lucky, green leaf lettuce.

In the West Valley, all the pho places I’ve tried are good but Pho Ha and Pho Vi are
the only two I recommend with no reservations. Remember, pronounce it
“fuh” not “foe.”

Other restaurants I’ve tried before but not in the last 10 days: Pho Century in Upland; Pho Express and Pho Hoa Pasteur in Pomona; Pho 2007 in Chino Hills.

Restaurants I’ve never tried before: Pho Saigon on Base Line and Carnelian in Rancho; California Noodle and Grill in Chino; Pho Nguyen in Fontana and Pho Vietrica in Ontario.

Am I forgetting any?

Photo courtesy of Marc Campos   

Farewell to Mama, Seor for now

According to the David Allen Blog,
two more restaurants in Rancho Cucamonga have called it quits. Greek eatery
Mama’s Grill on Haven near Civic Center Drive and Seor Agave, the
Mexican restaurant that took over Margarita Beach.

Word is,
Mama might move to a new location. Let’s hope she (he?) finds a spot
better than the very hidden one near the JCPenney outlet.

Joey’s to open in RC

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Monday will bring us a new barbecue restaurant in Rancho Cucamonga: Joey’s. This joint already has locations in Pomona, Upland and Chino. It’ll be the fifth eatery dedicated to barbecue, following Red Hill, Lucille’s, Dickey’s and Famous Dave’s. (Am I missing any?)

Five barbecue restaurants, with three new ones in the last year … that’s impressive. It’s like the new frozen yogurt.

Joey’s,
on Foothill Boulevard near Klusman, sits on what I believe to be a
stretch with the best restaurants in the city. Victoria Gardens fans
might vehemently object, but Route 66 between Vineyard and Archibald is
home to some pretty awesome restaurants, especially if you’re like me,
constantly hungry and poor. Coffee Klatch, In & Out, Pho Ha, Taco Hut, The Deli and Felipe’s are all outstanding. Maybe Joey’s can soon join that list.  

Nancy’s closing leaves hunger pangs

I was mighty sad to learn that Nancy’s closed while I was out of town.
I’ve heard about the diner’s popularity for years and enjoyed my first
breakfast there recently. It was “pick up sticks,” french toast cut
into strips and buttered on all sides. It was one of those breakfasts
that you eat at 10 a.m. and then feel the first pangs of hunger 12
hours later. Nearby, I watched an elderly couple enjoy an early lunch.
They were probably regulars. The woman spread a healthy dose of mayonnaise on her club sandwich after every bite.

Nancy’s is not the place for egg white omelets but comfort food goes down well in this town. According to commenters on David Allen’s blog,
the closing might be the result of a divorce as opposed to the economy.
If that’s the case, a Nancy’s comeback is possible. We’ll keep our
fingers crossed.

RC food choices come, go

It’s nearly impossible to keep up with the latest comings and goings of Rancho businesses. Let’s start with the good news.

The
center on the northeast corner of Foothill and Rochester is shaping up.
There’s a new Subway, Kiwi Frost (frozen yogurt, I’m guessing) and Maui Wowi coffee. The Costa Mesa-based Chronic Tacos, wedged between Subway and the frogurt place, is opening Friday.

Over on Kenyon near Albertson’s, Bad Ass Coffee will host its grand opening party on Saturday. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., customers can get a free Kona coffee at 11460 Kenyon Way #108. The Hawaiian themed shop has free Wi-Fi and that’s pretty bad ass in my book.

Also, I noticed near Richie’s Diner, a Shakey’s Pizza is coming soon in that plaza that’s sort of Victoria Gardens but not really.

Some
businesses haven’t found any luck this year, however. Camille’s, a
Fourth Street sandwich/salad spot, has closed. So has Dinner My Way,
the meal prep store on Haven and Base Line. The Daily Bulletin and Inland Living magazine gave some attention to these meal prep businesses two years ago.
At one time, there were four of these concept stores in the city. After
a quick Internet and 411 search, it appears with Dinner My Way closing,
there are now none. 

To peanut or not to peanut?

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What’s a salmonella-fearing person to do?

Well, this Friday kicks off the season for Girl Scouts cookies
and the organization is anticipating slow sales due to the economy and
the salmonella outbreak. According to a Girl Scouts release, their
suppliers are not part of the current peanut butter warning. That means
their peanut butter patties, Tagalongs, are safe to eat.

All
varieties are $4. You can purchase them in front of a supermarket or
through the form that’s probably circulating in your office.

Meanwhile,
Fresh & Easy has started a voluntary recall because of a possible
health risk in three of their products. They are: Milk Chocolate Peanut
Clusters, Sweet & Salty Granola Bars and Chewy Peanut Butter
Chocolate Chip Granola Bars.

The market removed these products
in January and are offering a full refund for the products purchased
any time prior. The voluntary recall is a precautionary measure; there
have been no illnesses reported.

Call Fresh & Easy at 1 (800) 648-8622 for questions about the recall. See here for more information about other peanut and peanut butter recalls. 

‘Sweeney Todd’ gets bloody

To mark the Lewis Family Playhouse’s
bloody production of “Sweeney Todd,” a number of Victoria Gardens
restaurants will be serving bloody mary drinks to get everyone in the
mood. Anytime bartenders celebrate an occasion by pouring hot sauce
into a cocktail is noteworthy in my book. Here’s a glimpse of what
they’re serving, as listed in VG Dine.



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