Elvira's Grill

Gotta eat as much Mexican food as we can before we head to Zürich! Yesterday found us trying out a new (to us) restaurant in Upland called Elvira's Grill. It's on the north side of Foothill just east of Euclid. Most of the Mexican restaurants I like lack a pleasing ambiance, but I never mind that. Elvira's is quite pleasant with waitstaff very professionally dressed with good service.

I like to try mole whenever it's on the menu, and Elvira's had it with their chicken enchiladas. This is the most chocolatey flavored mole I've had - almost as sweet as a candy bar, but not quite. The chips were hot and fresh and kept coming, and the salsa had lots of flavor. Both H and C had the enchilada and chile relleno plate. We took home enough leftovers to have dinner.

A Tomato Yard Sale

This way to an Hierloom [sic] Tomato Yard Sale!

Hancock Fabrics

With Party City in Upland gone, it seems that a Hancock Fabrics will open in its space near Michaels. I always find it interesting that stores selling similar types of items are close to each other. 

Thai Family

On my friend Kevin's recommendation, we tried out the Thai Family restaurant in Upland for lunch today. It's in the strip mall just north of the Home Depot on Mountain. It's next to Fresh & Easy and the Dollar Tree. We took our food to go and even out of the styrofoam containers, it was delicious. I had the vegetable curry. H had the spicy eggplant. The lunch special includes a little (very small) salad, two fried wontons plus your choice of entrees, including rice.       We will be back.

Old World Deli

Out shopping around noon today, we started thinking about lunch, and we walked by the Old World Delicatessen in the Kohl's/Trader Joe's/Michael's complex and thought we'd give it a try. For years we have seen it, but never been in. Besides a restaurant/take out, it really does look like a German deli with all kinds of meats and cheeses and more behind a counter case.

Of the six kinds of soup, we chose the sausage and pepper soup to accompany a Reuben style Corned Beef sandwich. While both tasted good, we may not make a special trip back here. But if you are feeling peckish while shopping in the neighborhood, it makes a fine stop.

Ramiro's Mexican Food #2

A few months ago I snapped this photo of the former EZ Out Burger on Foothill and Central Ave. in Upland. Instead of Coming Soon, Ramiro's Mexican Food #2 is Now Open. It was the logical place for lunch when we decided to have our car smoged and washed next door.

Although my veggie burrito lacked in flavor, H's chile relleno burrito was full of taste. When we go back, I will try something different. This place is new enough that there does not seem to be a yelp page or any other customer reviews. I will say that the people working there are extremely friendly, and the service was super fast. There are tables so you can eat and watch the traffic, but you can also drive through.

Shameless Saturday at Dale Brothers

Here is a small-town story. Friday night I got a call from Lynn who said she had run into a friend at the CHS play. He's in a band called Sons of Claremont (no link here - they do not have an internet presence). Sons of Claremont was set to play a gig at Dale Brothers Brewery in Upland for St. Patrick's Eve, but that they didn't really have much Irish music in their line-up, and they invited Lynn and me (aka Drowsy Maggie - again, no link) to join them and do a few short sets. Of course we said we would.

As a fan of Pomona Queen beer from Dale brothers, I looked forward to having a pint (after we finished playing), and although we did not get any cash for playing, we did get free beer and free food from Hillbilly Tacos. I chose the taco (as opposed to the dog or the quesadilla). Basically it is a cornmeal pancake wrapped around pulled pork, cole slaw and sauce, and in honor of St. Paddy's day, the pancake was green. It was pretty good, despite what it may sound like.

So we played a few 30 minute sets and had a few people dancing a jig to our faster songs, although by the end of the second set our jigs had slowed a bit.

Ashirwad - The Blessings

Last December we tried to go to this little Indian restaurant in Upland, but it was closed, so we tried again this weekend and were successful. This seems to be a reinvented version of the last Indian restaurant in this location, and we very much enjoyed the food. We ordered it to-go and took home some samosas, palak paneer and rava masala dosa.

The owner was very friendly and helpful, and while we were waiting for our food, he offered us some reading material - Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet. Somehow the wait was not long enough to get much of the book read.....

Cable Airport Air Show

As we headed out this morning on errands, we saw some biplanes over Upland, and we figured it was time for another Cable Airport Air Show. We've never been to one, but we like to look up in the sky to see planes doing tricks, planes flying in formation and parachutes. This time we grabbed my camera, stuck on the long telephoto lens and headed up Benson Ave. We didn't really want to watch the whole show, so we thought we'd park across the street somewhere to watch for 10 minutes.

We were not alone. Many people had brought lawn chairs or were just standing in the field south of the Theater Company parking lot, on the east side of Benson. I took about 100 photos, some of which are posted here.

Sunday Afternoon Gig

Today the Trio Camerata (Edris on violin, me on viola, Pat on cello), played for a tea put on by the Cooper Museum in Upland. The event was held at the Whitney Estate, corner of 16th and San Antonio, and we played underneath this lovely arbor.

Here's something about this lovely property: "The AB Whitney family moved here in 1916. At that time, the only building on the property was an old barn. The current house was designed by Myron Hunt, who also designed the Huntington Mansion and Library in San Marino, Los Angeles County, California.

Over 300 visitors toured this Mediterranean-style villa that features the architecture of Myron Hunt. They also enjoyed the gardens, fountains, patios. It even has a tree-house!"