Eric V.
Yelp
Regional Mexican cooking has arrived in Riverside County. While sister County - San Bernardino - has hosted a legion of niche Mexican restaurants, with its ever flowing streams of Foothill Blvd and Arrow Hwy, SBC has had a more interesting dining scene. But lately, Riverside Co has been catching up.
The Jalisco style birrieria in Jurupa Valley is one. Another is Sonora Grill, in Moreno Valley. The interior is this counter service spot is fully loaded. Corrugated metal and L.A. Rams memorabilia compete for dominance. There's a near religious shrine to Eric Dickerson. A statuette of the running back perches high above the bar.
I was informed of this place from the blog Eat the World L.A. and have been wanting to visit ever since. I admit I allowed myself to be dissuaded when a coworker - a woman from Sonora - told me the food wasn't very good. But on a recent trip to Palm Springs, I decided to give it a shot anyway.
I had two dishes on my mind. A Sonoran dog being one and the other being some configuration of flour tortilla and carne asada. The hotdog is legendary. And, of course, Northern Mexico is the land of beef cooked over an open fire. And, Sonora is one the only estados who prefer flour tortillas over corn. So there's the gameplan.
With the menu printed outside, I saw the first item listed was a burrito and I was disappointed to see that it described a San Francisco, Mission style burrito. Yet, I had hope after reading that the bolillo type bun used for their hotdogs are made in house.
Having then approached the register, I asked the cajero if their tortillas are also made in house. He responded in the affirmative. Perfect. I should have asked for burrito with only asada and beans, but I ordered a quesadilla instead. The previous few days had been long and taxing and I wasn't the sharpest glochid in the nopal during my visit to Sonora Grill. I figured the quesadilla would provide me a more pure delivery of asada and homemade tortilla than a burrito loaded with too many extras.
The hotdog arrived first. The buns are baked ahead of time and steamed to order. The steaming obviously softens them, but the chew is still very much there. The frankfurter itself was of a low variety. It has a rubbery texture and not much meaty flavor. It is wrapped in bacon and further accompanied by grilled onions tomato concasse, frijoles de la hoya, yellow mustard and mayo. It is fun to eat. And the idea that it's transporting you to either Sonora or Tucson is even more fun. But the bad quality of the hotdog is impossible to ignore.
Where I put down the hotdog, I will extoll the quesadilla. The tortillas are, in fact, made in house. They are sturdy and flavorful, but you wish they arrived at your table more blistered and crackly. The asada, it may be the best asada in the entire county, is minced up. It is without all the citrus, achiote, paprika, garlic etc., he heavy marinade that a lot of California asada comes with. It tastes like beef and mesquite smoke. Perfecting simplicity is one of the most difficult things to do in any area of life, the kitchen is no exception. This is a perfectly simple carne asada quesadilla.
