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Dick on Food: Los Jarritos Dos, Cheap Mexican Tastes
Good
By Eddie Dick
A&F Food Critic
Tucked away in a shopping center a mere two and a half
miles from campus lies one of the area’s most
formidable Mexican joints, Los Jarritos Dos restaurant.
Its combination of large, inexpensive main courses and
dirt-cheap beer makes it a favorite among Pomona College
students and faculty alike, some of whom have been known
to make weekly pilgrimages to this Mexican food mecca.
The rather bland ambiance at Los Jarritos Dos, which
is commonly referred to as LJ2, reeks of a style typically
reserved for Laundromats according to one college staff
member. That is, a Laundromat with a piñata or
two dangling from the ceiling. But do not let the sterile
atmosphere or the less than descriptive menu dissuade
you. LJ2 is a real treat.
Any meal at LJ2 starts with complimentary chips and
salsa. The chips are freshly fried and delightfully
crunchy while the thin and runny salsa pales in comparison
to the fresh vegetable and herb concoctions that most
restaurant goers have now come to expect.
To start things off properly I suggest an order of nachos
with either carne asada (steak) or carnitas (shredded
marinated pork). These already delicious chips come
smothered in refried beans and green enchilada sauce
that are topped off with piles of meat and cheese. This
dish, with its fabulous blend of textures and flavors,
easily qualifies as one of the finest items on the menu,
but be warned: even a small order suffices as an entire
meal.
The beer selection also deserves attention at the beginning
of every meal. All domestic brands are only a $1.75
(per bottle), while their impressive array of Mexican
beers will set you back $2. For the hearty drinker I
suggest the Dos Equis or the amber Bohemia, while those
drinkers desiring less robust flavors should head straight
for the lighter Pacifico and Negro Modelo. But at these
prices you can afford to sample the entire selection
of Mexican beer and still have money left over to do
your laundry. Wine is also offered but it must be noted
that the selection consists of several Livingston jugs
that will only impress the cheapest of dates.
Deciding on a main course is a daunting task. Lighter
eaters can pick and choose from the wide variety of
smaller dishes that are listed on the bottom of the
menu. For those looking to avoid meat the chile relleno,
a large chili pepper stuffed with cheese, lightly breaded,
fried and covered in green enchilada sauce, is a unique
and flavorful choice.
Some patrons might be tempted to sample the chalupa,
but I would suggest that they have the sope instead.
While the chalupa’s fried corn tortilla is rather
thin and uninspiring, the sope boasts a fried shell
made from corn with a thin center and bulbous outer
edge that has just the right combination of crispy outside
and chewy inside. Both dishes are topped with a combination
of red chili sauce, onion and your choice of meat (in
my case shredded beef).
The most flavorful of the smaller dishes is the gordita,
which is served in a thick and almost pita like tortilla
and topped with meat of your choice and loads of fresh
cilantro, jalapenos, onions and tomatoes. I chose the
rather unconventional machaca (a fried mixture of fried
egg and pork usually reserved for burritos) to top my
gordita. The result was a fantastic dish where the egg
in the machaca blended perfectly with the fresh cilantro
and vegetables.
The real stars of the show at LJ2 though are the burritos.
They range in price from around two dollars for one
of the basic bean and cheese variety all the way up
to the five dollar meat-filled enchilada-style burrito,
which is the best item on the entire menu. If beef is
your filling of choice then spring for the carne asada
or steak picado (steak with tomatoes and onions), both
of which are great choices. The more adventurous ought
to try the aforementioned egg and pork mixture, machaca,
which jazzes up the standard dish. The Burritos at LJ2
are offered with a wide variety of ingredients and patrons
can choose between rice, beans and a wide selection
of meats.
The menu may or may not contain dessert items. For those
of you who prefer to start drinking early in the morning,
LJ2 offers a breakfast menu but heading for the beer
coolers before 11 am might elicit dirty looks from the
wait staff. So collect your spare change, round up some
friends and head on over to LJ2 for some of the most
satisfying cheap Mexican food around.
The Verdict: Cheap beer and food at its best, but it
won’t score you any points with the ladies.
Cost: A meal with beer and tip usually runs $6 to $10
Hours: Monday – Saturday 7 am - 8 pm, Sunday 7
am – 2 pm
Directions: Take Foothill Boulevard West to Garey Avenue,
hang a left on Garey, and Los Jarritos Dos is in the
first shopping center on the right, across Garey from
Albertson’s.
Los Jarritos Dos Restaurant
3191 N. Garey Ave., Pomona
(909) 593-7012
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