Tacos Baja-Closed

Tacos Baja
853 E Rte 66
Glendora
626-914-6160

If this address sounds familiar, it should; this used to be the location for Bam Bam BBQ, a terrible BBQ place that closed down. Lucky a very good fish tacos restaurant, Tacos Baja, has replaced it. I already reviewed the Tacos Baja in East LA, and loved their fish tacos. When I found out Tacos Baja opened a location Glendora and has a 99 cent fish taco night, on Wednesday, I couldn't wait to go.




Fish tacos, 99 cents on Wednesday, regular price; $1.59. The fish used is basa fish, sometimes called white roughy. It's a light, mild flavor fish. The batter is nice and light and crispy. The white sauce, pico de gallo, cabbage, and hot sauce was all fresh and worked well together. The corn tortilla was heated, I can't believe some places do not heat their tortillas, and held everything together.

Service is below average. The lady was just going through motions. No idea the meaning of customer service; no greeting the customers, not being polite or friendly.

I didn't notice any different between the tacos here in Glendora or East LA. The service is much better in East LA. But I would go back to Glendora, since it is closer to me. But, I hope I get much better service.

European Deli and Bakery-Closed

European Deli and Bakery 722 S. Grand Ave. Glendora 626-914-3959 After going to Spaghetti Eddie's, I noticed European Deli and Bakery and decided to give them a try, because I was craving a polish sausage. European Deli isn't really a sit down restaurant, but more of a deli/market that has a few tables. This reminded me of Mattern Sausage and Meats, but European Deli is more Polish than German, like Mattern, but they do have a large selection of Eastern European cold cuts and foods. But I did find it weird they sold some sausage made/sold by Mattern!! So I got the polish sausage plate, with hot potato salad, sauerkraut, and bread, $8.99. I loved this. The hot potato salad was unique because I'm used to cold potato salad. But this was great. Very tender, well seasoned potatoes. The sauerkraut was awesome, finely cut pieces of cabbage that wasn't too tangy, But what I really liked was the polish sausage. Like the sign outside said the sausages are made in Chicago and fresh. I bought a package of sausage that was produced about five days before, in Chicago, that's fresh!! The sausage is pork with a good blend of spices. A wonderful natural casing!! Service is OK. They are a bit slow but friendly. It was very busy when I was there, with people coming in for deli meats and sausage. This reminds me, I need to go back to Polka, for some good Polish food!! I would go back to European Deli and Bakery anytime. The next time I may try a sandwich.

Spaghetti Eddie's

Spaghetti Eddie's Italian Restaurant
946 S Grand Ave
Glendora
626-963-0267

I was craving for some spaghetti and decided to try Spaghetti Eddie's. I have driven by Spaghetti Eddie's, so many times but since Italian food is not a favorite of mine, I never stopped in. But I finally went last night.






I got the chicken parmigiana, $15.99 with salad. The salad was just load with mozzarella cheese, which I like on a pizza, but not in a salad. The salad was fresh but I couldn't get past the large amount of cheese.

The chicken parmigiana was rubbery, overcooked, tough, chewy, and just not good at all. It was a good sized portion but come on, don't overcook the damn thing.

The marinara sauce was pretty good. A mild flavor, none of this spicy or tangy marinara sauce I've had before. The spaghetti was cooked perfectly, al dente.

Service was good. Our server was nice and friendly. We got refills without asking and didn't lack for anything.

I went to Spaghetti Eddie's because my friend had a coupon. I would not have been happy paying full price for the chicken parmigiana. I would not order the chicken parmigiana again but I would be willing to go back and try the spaghetti, since I liked the marinara sauce.

Zuzu Chicken-Closed

Zuzu Chicken 1808 E Rt 66 Glendora 626-335-4555 The New Diner hasn't had much luck with the city of Glendora, most of the restaurants I've tried in Glendora, have closed!! I found Zuzu Chicken while looking for a Hungry Howie's Pizza location in Glendora. Zuzu Chicken is in the same plaza as China King Buffet, which has closed!! Chicken kebob plate, $7.49, with rice pilaf, salad, and hummus. The chicken, all dark meat, was nice and flavorful and well cooked. The spices were a mild flavor, nothing overpowering. I thought for the price, you got a good amount of chicken. But what I didn't like was the small portion of the rice. It mean a few ounces of rice for all that chicken, come on now. What little rice was there, was good and flavorful. The salad was fresh, with tomatoes and lettuce. The dressing was a combination of olive oil and blasamic vinegar, very tangy. Chicken kebob wrap, $4.99, with tomatoes, lettuce, on Greek bread. This was pretty small too. The chicken was dark meat, just like the chicken from the chiken plate. The lettuce and tomatoes were fresh. The garlic sauce was right on, just the right amount of garlic and not too spicy. Service is good. A family run restaurant, the owners are nice friendly people. I think the food is good at Zuzu but I think the prices are a bit high for the portions. What I thought was worse, they wanted $1 extra for white meat chicken. I wouldn't rush back to Zuzu.

Grand Chicken-Closed

Grand Chicken
150 S Grand Ave
Glendora
626-914-1977

I'm not sure why but I've been craving Mediterranean food all day. So I decided to go try Grand Chicken. I know, it's a chicken place so I try the beef dish. :)

I got the Beef Filet Shish Kabob, $7.99, with salad, rice, and grilled tomato. After placing the order, I see two skewers of ground beef kabob in the grill and I asked the guy I want the beef filet shish kabob. He assured me that I would get that. So I sat down and waited. Well the order came up and I got the ground beef kabob. I told the guy I asked for the beef filet. So I wait again and I finally get the beef filet kabob. The beef was very good, tender, juicy and flavorful. A decent portion with a good price. The rice was terrible. Tasted like two day old rice. Not good. I didn't touch anything else since the salad had a ton of onions.

I also got the chicken shish kabob, $7.99, and the half chicken plate, $7.99 to go. The chicken shish kabob was very dry. Terrible. Not much flavor and not worth the price.

The rotisserie chicken ithat I got was very good, tender, juicy, and flavorful. But my buddy had the chicken and it was so dry, he needed water to wash it down. Not sure why a place named Grand Chicken has such dry chicken. I would not order the chicken again, even though my was juicy because it shouldn't be that inconsitent. But the hummus is very good, not tangy at all.

Service was OK. They did mess up my order, even after I told him twice what I wanted. But it was fixed. They were nice about.

I think Grand Chicken is a great value and has good food. I would go back but I would not order their rotisserie chicken or the chicken shish kabob again.

The Donut Man

The Donut Man
915 E Route 66
Glendora
626-335-9111

A few years ago I learned the difference between A and The. For example, when somebody say The New Diner is a A blog to read, if you want reviews on a wide range of restaurant. That means there are other blogs out there that also review a wide range of restaurants. But when somebody says The New Diner is THE blog to read. That means The New Diner is the BEST!!! That person would also be speaking the truth. :) Just kidding.

So when somebody calls themselves The Donut Man, their donuts better be damn good. I got a chocolate and an apple filled donut, $2.20 for both. I base every donut shop on their chocolate glazed donut. If it's good I'll go back there. This chocolate donut was among the best I've had. The first thing you notice is the thicker, richer chocolate. VERY impressive. The next thing is the denser donut. These aren't the light fluffy Krispy Kreme kind. These are much more dense. I like this chocolate.

But what Mr. Donut is known for is their fresh fruit filled donuts. Whatever is in season, they will fill into a donut. I have heard that their strawberry filled are awesome!!! But they didn't have any strawberry since they are not in season. So I got the apple filled. The donut was again the dense, heavier kind. But the apple filling was too sweet and tasted as though it belonged in a Hostess apple pie. I wasn't impressed at all.

UPDATE: It has come to my attention that Mr. Donut only does two seasonal fruits, strawberry and peach.

Service is pretty good. I thought both donuts were fresh and that's a good sign since I got the donuts about 11am.

I wouldn't go out of my way for The Donut Man but if I was in the area, I would go back. I didn't think it lived up to it's hype.

One more thing, as I was driving to The Donut Man, I noticed that Bam Bam Bar B Que has now closed. I'm so shocked. Please notice that dripping sarcasm.

China King Buffet-Closed

China King Buffet
625 South Lone Hill Ave.
Glendora, CA 91740
626-963-3996

I like China King Buffet. They do offer a good variety of food but it's not as extensive as other Chinese buffets. But most of the items at China King are outstanding. Instead of doing a decent job on a lot of food, they do a great job on a smaller number of food. My only complaint is that the service is average at best.

The Sunday dinner buffet is $9.65, which is a steal for the great items they have. I got there around 6:30pm and there was a good crowd there. So there would be a high turnover of food.

The first picture has regular fried shrimp, salt and pepper shrimp, and Chinese BBQ pork. The BBQ pork has way too much fat on them. I tried to pick the leanest pieaces but even then, they were at least 50% fat. What lean pieces they had were pretty good. The fried shrimp went really fast. A trayful of shrimp will not last more than five minutes. The shrimp is very crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. As you can see they are good sized shrimp. The shrimp was so good they didn't need any cocktail sauce. The salt and pepper shrimp was much more salty than the fried shrimp. They didn't have the same amount of batter and crunch as the fried shrimp but were tender. I didn't care for them too much because they were salty.

The second food picture has chicken and broccoli, bean sprouts, and what they called lover chicken. The chicken and broccoli was very good. The chicken is tender and the broccoli is crisp and tender. The sauce has a light soy sauce flavor. Good stuff. The beans sprouts were crispy and had a nice garlic taste to them. The lover's chicken is really more of an orange chicken. The chicken was fried and covered with an orange flavor sauce. The lover's chicken has a very high turnover rate. I got the chicken right after it was cooked and it was steaming hot.

The third food picture has fried rice, orange chicken, satueed string beans. The fried rice had onions and carrots and zucchini, something I've never seen in fried rice. But the fried rice is mostly rice and has a good flavor. The orange chicken is more batter than chicken but still pretty good. The chicken is tender and the sauce is sweet but not too sweet. I really liked the satueed strong beans, which were satueed in soy sauce and some oil. The beans were so crispy and tender.

The fourth food picture has black pepper shrimp and beef and broccoli. The black pepper shrimp is awesome. I had a few helping of it. A great pepper flavor and the shrimp is nice and tender. The beef and broccoli is one of the best beef and broccoli I've had. Nice tender pieces of beef and crispy broccoli in a medium gravy. Very good stuff.

The fifth picture had more of the black pepper shrimp, king pork, and mushrooms. The king pork was very dry and tough. They had been on the steam table for way too long. I really liked the mushrooms. They were soft and not chewy, with a nice texture. The sauce was light and added the right touch.

The sixth picture has chow mein, broccoli and chicken, and more black pepper shrimp. The chow mein was basically all noodles. There were some onions, green onions, and carrots but they were not greasy as some chow mein can be. The combination of chow mein and black pepper shrimp was awesome.

The last picture is dessert with watermelon, cantalope, and honey dew melon. The watermelon was very sweet and juicy. I loved it. The cantalope and honey dew was also sweet but the watermelon was the best.

Service tends to be very average. I kept having to ask for more water and at times the plates would stack up at my table. Also where I was sitting, the servers are standing there like vultures waiting for people to finish. They should worry about making sure people are enjoying their meals and have what they need. More water please!!!

But I enjoy eating at China King buffet. It's my standby Chinese buffet.

Petrillo's Pizza Restaurant

Petrillo's Pizza Restaurant
750 W Route 66 # A,
Glendora
626-335-1289

This Petrillo's is different than Mama Petrillo's that I reviewed earlier. Petrillo's has been in San Gabriel since 1954 and they opened up a Glendora and Upland location. The Upland location was sold, and became Petrilli's Pizza.   But, the Glendora location is going very strong.

I decided to try the small, Petrillo's Speciality for $13.75. The speciality pizza has Italian sausage, mushrooms, pepperoni, salami, garlic, onions and green peppers. While waiting for the pizza about five people came to pick up their phone orders. Everyone of them said the pizza is great and most of them have been coming to Petrillo's for years. One lady lived in the OC and made the drive to Glendora. I am shocked at the size of the pizza these people are taking out. A small is 12 inches. The medium is 16 inches. The large is a 15" by 20" sheet of pizza goodness.

My order arrives in about twenty minutes, which is about the normal time. When I pick it up, I am surprised about how heavy it is. It weighs about as much as a large at other pizza places. I then I have a piece and there is a lot of cheese. I like that. There is no reason to order extra cheese on this pizza. There are tons of sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, salami, and green pepperes. They do not cheat you out of any topping. The sausage is very flavorful and full of spice.

There were parts of the crust there were a little burnt but otherwise the crust, a regular crust, not too thick or thin, was good.

Service is good. Though I did call to get directions and it took them at least six rings to pick up and then I was asked to hold. So I hung up. But in the restaurant the service was good. There is a bell to ring for service and the server came after I tapped on the bell. She also answered a few questions I had, one of them being "Is this Petrillo's and Mama Petrillo's in Pomona, owned by the same person." No they are not.

I would go back to Petrillo's any time. Go to Petrillo's hungry and/or with a ton of people because they give you a lot of pizza. A great value and a great pizza. Maybe the best pizza in the area. I think it's better than Mama Petrillo's. The dining room and take out at Petrillo's are in two different areas. The take out is right next to the sushi place. Take out is open throughout the day, from 11:30 am. But the dining room closes at 2:30pm for lunch and opens at 4pm for dinner.

The Hat-Glendora

The Hat
611 W Route 66
Glendora, CA
626-857-0017

The Hat opened in Alhambra in 1951. Think about that for a minute. The Hat opened before the bastard O'Malley stole the Brooklyn Dodgers and before Mickey and Minnue had a home. The Hat serves pastrami piled high on a french bread. There is no such thing as small at The Hat. Everything is supersized.

I went to the Glendora location on Route 66 and ordered the pastrami burger for $7.03. The pastrami burger is a cheeseburger topped with pastrami, with thousand island dressing, lettuce, tomatoe, and onions and pickles. The thousand island dressing has a mild flavor, it's not the stronger dressing like the dressing on In n Out burgers. The burger is a thin patty, cooked well done. The pastrami can be dry since it sits in steam trays for a long time. It can also be salty at times. The lettuce and tomatoe are fresh. The bun was nicely toasted.

The pastrami burger is huge and well worth the price. The quality of the burger depends on how long the pastrami has been sitting around. If you during the lunch or dinner rush, it should be very good. If you go at slower times, the pastrami will come out salty and dry. I like The Hat and go there every few months.

I especially like The Hat because they have brown gravy for their fries!!!! The pastrami dip is another favorite. The dip is the same price as the pastrami burger. The dip is a pastrami stacked high on a french roll with pickles.

Bam Bam Bar B Que-Closed

Bam Bam Bar B Que
853 E. Route 66
Glendora, CA 91740
626-914-4754

I found Bam Bam while driving on Route 66. I wish the BBQ here was better because I would come back. I ordered a lunch special, one beef rib, one pork rib, one hot link, corn on the cob, and coleslaw for $6.99.

All the meats are stored in steam trays. They take the meat, then dip the meat into a sweet BBQ sauce. The meats are not smoke but cooked in an oven. I think they are overcooked because the meat is just too soft and mushy. Sure it's falling off the bone but I hate that.The pork rib did have a lot of meat but the meat was flavorless. The sauce didn't add much as it was too sweet and very thick.

The beef rib, suprisingly had a lot of meat on it. But again the meat was flavorless. I did like the hot link, more on the mild side than hot, but I think it would make a great hot link sandwich.

The corn on the cob was drown with butter but wasn't sweet and pretty flavorless. Coleslaw was OK but "dry" not much mayo on there.

Nice service by the young lady there but I wouldn't go back to Bam Bam for the ribs.