Sunday, March 4, 2012

Lola's Kitchen

I recently asked some of my co-workers where I can get some decent mexican food at in Barstow. It seems that everyone in Barstow seems to have their own favorite joint that they will fight for until death. While a lot of my co-workers immediately recommended Plata's, a large amount of people pointed me to the direction of Lola's Kitchen. I had never even heard of Lola's before but my co-workers insisted that it's a tall step above the typical fast food Mexican joints that are flooding the streets of Barstow. I made the trip out to Lola's, first thing to note is that Lola's is a hole in the wall style restaurant located in a grocery store shopping center. There's no more than 20 seats in the restaurant and the outside is all but inviting. It turns out that I would in for a pleasant surprise once I opened the doors and stepped into Lola's Kitchen.
The first thing that caught my eye inside the restaurant was how beautifully decorated it is, there were beautiful paintings on the wall and a nice color scheme/decoration throughout the restaurant. From the front counter you can see the ladies in the back making your food fresh to order. My wife ordered the green enchilada plate, the sauce on the green enchiladas was simply amazing, everything about it screamed homemade and the enchiladas themselves tasted fresh and greaseless. The queso fresco on top of the enchiladas gave them a highly authentic feel and added an amazing texture to every bite. The beans and rice at this place are on point also. The refried beans had large chunks of bean in them that added a whole new texture element to the dish and easily set them apart from other restaurant's puree style beans. The rice tasted fresh, authentic, and perfectly cooked. There was a little bit of spice to the rice but it all balanced out to make an amazing spanish rice.
My first item I decided to try was the carne asada sope. A sope is kind of like a tostada but instead of a hard shell, a sope comes in a corn tortilla bowl. Everyone that sent me to Lola's told me that I have to try the carne asada, they definitely steered me in the right direction. The carne asada was extremely flavorful and extremely tender, I was able to cut through the meat with a fork. It's safe to say that this carne asada had been marinated over night and was given plenty of tlc before it hit the grill. There were shades of cumin, garlic, lime, and peppers in the carne asada and it kept my taste buds intrigued the entire time. I would easily go back to Lola's just to get a plate of carne asada, rice, and beans. This carne asada easily places in my top 5 best restaurant asada.
I also got a couple carne asada tacos to go with my sope, the tortillas weren't what I expected (pre-packaged tortillas) but it didn't matter because the carne asada stole the entire show. The rice and beans went perfectly with the carne and left me trying to find room in my stomach for more. The salsa at Lola's was also very tasty, it had a red chile feel to it but still had a lot of tanginess and heat to accompany. Lola's is definitely one of my best restaurant experiences iv'e had in Barstow to date. The food is out of this world and the prices are pretty reasonable too, for the above items and 2 drinks the total rung in at just over $20. Lola's Kitchen is located in Barstow at 1244 East Main Street inside the Von's shopping center.

Bob's Big Boy

If you've ever been to Barstow it's not too hard to notice the massive outlet center on your way into town. Those outlets include a plethora of dining establishments to pick from, from Chili's to Chipotle the choices are plentiful. On my stop in Lenwood I decided to give Bob's Big Boy a try.
Bob's Big Boy is your basic diner that serves burgers, sandwiches, and shakes. I wasn't really too sure what to order so I went with the item that said "famous" next to it. While Bob's classic burger looked like a Big Mac to me, the description said otherwise. I received the burger and at first bite this burger tasted exactly like a big mac, the only difference was the sharp aftertaste of relish that came on the burger. That relish saved Bob's from getting thrown into the category of "restaurant that ripped off Mcdonalds". The relish in the burger was actually pretty tasty despite the dull flavored burger patties and the fresh out of the can dressing on the burger. The fries were actually pretty tasty and the onion rings were cooked well and weren't drenched in grease. If you're looking for conservative diner food at a decent price, Bob's is probably a safe bet. While there are other restaurants in the area that are well above Bob's level, I still wouldn't detour you from going to Bob's even if those other restaurants had long waiting times. My burger meal and side of onion rings came in at just under $8 including a drink. Bob's Big Boy is located at 2860 Lenwood rd in the Lenwood area of Barstow.

Oklahoma Joe's - Round 2

In a recent work-related trip to Kansas I recently made a return trip to Oklahoma Joe's. On my last visit i regretted not trying the "Big Z Sandwich" after walking out of the restaurant and seeing another person getting ready to devour theirs. This time around I told myself that my only mission on this trip was to try a Big Z and live to tell the tale.
When ordering my Big Z I was asked wether or not I wanted it Jumbo or Regular, there was no doubt in my mind that I would be ordering the Jumbo version. The sandwich came with a pound of freshly smoked brisket, melted provolone, 2 large onion rings, BBQ sauce, and to top it all off it was sandwiched in between 2 slices of fresh baked butter bread. This sandwich is easily the best sandwich i've ever had in my life! I was able to watch them pull the slab of brisket out of the smoker and slice the pieces off that were on my sandwich, each piece melted in my mouth and tasted like dry rub, smoke, and great tasting meat. The bbq sauce was tomato based and had a perfect tang to it. The melted provolone and super crunchy onion rings took the sandwich into another realm. I honestly don't think that I will ever have a sandwich that tasty in my lifetime ever again.
Here's a look at the short end slab of ribs I also ordered with my sandwich. These ribs literally fell off the bone with the slightest tug. The dry rub was so good that sauce honestly wasn't needed. On a couple bites I put sauce on the ribs and it took them to another level of flavor. If you're ever in the Kansas City area, do yourself a favor and check out Oklahoma Joe's.

Vince's Spaghetti

I understand that this is a blog that is specifically supposed to cover the High Desert area, however some places are so good that they deserve to be mentioned and properly reviewed. The place i'm speaking of is actually a short drive for High Desert residents, located in Rancho Cucamonga is the spaghetti lovers paradise known as Vince's Spaghetti. Vince's is tucked in between The Magic Lamp and the Sycamore Inn on Foothill. Both of the previously mentioned restaurants are fantastic steak houses that would leave you no where close to even considering eating at the small italian joint in between the 2. Vince's is an establishment that has cut down the center divide and has made a name for themselves on the Foothill restaurant row.
Vince's pretty much offers only spaghetti, they have a couple other types of pasta and a sandwiches on the menu, but for the most part the menu revolves around their famous spaghetti. My wife and I ordered their simply put "spaghetti dinner". Each dinner was around $15 each and came with a boatload of food, the first out was the salad. The salad was nothing out of the ordinary other than the waiter suggesting that we order a bowl of shredded provolone cheese for the sake of "making it rain" all over our salads. Turns out the waiter was completely right, the freshly grated provolone kicked the salad up numerous notches and added a ton of character to an otherwise simple bowl of lettuce.
Along with salad we also received Minestrone soup, the soup came out piping hot and was the perfect remedy to an otherwise cold night in Rancho. The soup was a little on the watery side but it wasn't anything that some crushed saltine crackers couldn't fix. The soup was simple but had great flavor and plenty of fresh veggies.
It wouldn't be a Vince's review if I didn't talk about the freshly grated Provolone that Vince's sells by the bowl as an accompaniment to your meal. This cheese was fresh, creamy, mildly salted, and literally melted in my mouth. Every dish that was brought to me ended up being drenched with this cheese! Just when I thought the cheese couldn't get any better, I took a nice melted spoonful of it with my soup, with that bite I immediately realized why my wife and I had to wait 45 minutes to get a table for two.
Next up was the spaghetti that supposedly put this place on the map, I upped the ante and ordered a side of their homemade meatballs to go along with my spaghetti. The first thing I did was bomb my spaghetti with shredded provolone. At first bite I couldn't help but taste a certain simplicity in the tomato sauce, it tasted super simple but nothing like i had ever had out of a can or bottle. The sauce was so simple and so perfectly done that it completely hit me from left field, it felt like Vince's took everything that's missing from canned/bottled sauces and put it in their sauce. The pasta was cooked perfectly and easily wrapped around the fork for easy eating. The meatballs were another item that tasted simple but perfect. The meatball had a garlic aftertaste and was extremely moist on the inside.
With the dinner you also get a choice of garlic bread or cheese bread, my wife and I chose the cheese bread. The cheese bread was amazing, the crunchy and thick parmesan top perfectly accented the steamy, fluffy, and flakey fresh baked bread. The fact that the bottom half of the bread was fluffy made the bread that much more important to the meal as it served as a perfect vehicle for soaking up leftover sauce.

The best way to describe Vince's is "simple but perfect", there isn't anything over the top or exaggerated in their presentation or taste. There's simply well cooked spaghetti, tasty sides, and a romantic atmosphere that will have you planning out a return visit before the bill even hits your table. Vince's is a perfect date spot, the atmosphere is romantic and the booths are very private from others. The entire meal with 2 beers was just over $35, My wife and I also left with an entire basket of leftovers that kept us full the following day. If you're ever in the Rancho Cucamonga area and looking for a romantic evening of good eats and good times, give Vince's a try. Vince's Spaghetti is located at 8241 Foothill Boulevard in Rancho Cucamonga.