Meg over at the M-M-M-My Pomona blog recently had a post about looking for a good Mexican breakfast in Pomona. She and her compadres ended up over at El Merendero at 301 S. Garvey (there's another one by the Fairgrounds).
We tend to forget about El Merendero - we've gone to the one on Fairplex in La Verne - but it serves up good food from an inexpensive menu. If you like traditional Mexican food, the carnitas is hard to beat.
Check out Meg's review.
El Merendero Restaurant
301 S. Garvey Ave.
Pomona, CA 91766
(909) 620-1411
El Merendero Restaurant
1901 Fairplex Dr.
La Verne, CA 91750
(909) 593-7078
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A while back we posted a link to Meg's write up of the Village Expansion, which she calls "the new mall," and her review of Casablanca, the new Mediterranean restaurant in the Claremont Packing house.
Meg's post generated a number of comments, which you can see here.
The best comment was from an anonymous respondent, who said:
I like to think of "Village West" as a work in progress. Given what is now residing there I predict there will be a turn over in 60% of the spaces within 12 months. The restaurants so far are obviously being operated by first timers (except for 3 Forks which by the way needs at least 3 entrees less than $20 on their menu to succeed in Claremont).
I have a feeling the overhead for the newbies is so high that they may not be able to tread water long enough to learn from their mistakes. First lesson these fine folks must learn is: Produce consistently good food. I have met the owner of Casa Blanca a very nice man, but he seems to believe he has a successful restaurant simply because he has a lease in Claremont. The key is and always will be the food, every plate that comes out of the kitchen. People in Claremont know good food, it is a shame it's so rare to find it in Claremont these days.
Another anonymous writer had this to say about Three Forks:
I have eaten at 3 Forks and I was shocked at the prices. There will never be any justification in my mind to pay that kind of money for food unless I am in an environment that dictates those prices. A steak is a steak is a steak. It may be a really good piece of meat but it is a steak for Pete's sake. If I am looking out at the Grand Canal in Venice or a storybook Square in Salzberg I could open my wallet as part of that whole experience. But $70 for a steak for 2 people (the Porterhouse) to look out and enjoy the view of a factory across from the restaurant is crazy. The pricing is alla carte so if a solo piece of meat is not your idea of a meal be prepared to pay another chunk of change for a salad or a vegetable. Plus if you feel the need to order a beverage of some kind to wash this all down well you can always get a second on your house.
My personal opinion is this type of restaurant has no place being in Claremont.
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