Hoping That El Sol Will Shine - CLOSED

El Sol Mexican Restaurant

1112 W. 6th Street

Corona, CA 92882

It had been a while since we had made plans with Sabrina and Anthony on their home turf of Corona. We needed to distance ourselves from Sabrina's constant chirping about everything under the sun. Man, that girl can talk. Poor Anthony. He must have some good earplugs, or he just tunes her out. Anyway, another trip to Corona means I can select another restaurant for us.

I introduced Sabrina and Anthony to some good places in their neighborhood, and this time, I came armed with three choices. Two were Mexican places, and another was a restaurant and bar I have been looking forward to trying. True to form, they went with a Mexican restaurant right down the street from their house, but they have never been to it. Sabrina and Anthony usually head to Miguel's for Mexican food, a restaurant I have never been too excited about on my visits.

El Sol has been around for nearly a year and a half. They are in the same shopping center as Superior Market and Ace Hardware. It is not a prominent place; they have ten tables, but ordering is done by a waitress. The wallpaper is red and reminiscent of the wallpaper at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor; it could be the same. The menu here is standard for a Mexican restaurant in Southern California. They feature combo plates, enchiladas, and fajitas. We settled in, placed our order, and waited for the food. Let's see if El Sol can become Sabrina and Anthony's favorite Mexican restaurant in the neighborhood.

As is tradition when eating in a Mexican restaurant, we were given a basket of Chips and Salsa to start with. The chips here are pretty standard—nothing too fantastic. The salsa was a little on the runny side, but I did like the chunks of onion in it. It was not spicy, but it had some decent flavor.

When we go out with Sabrina and Anthony, we almost always get way too much food, which was the case here at El Sol. We started with their largest appetizer, the Fiesta Del Sol ($11.35). This large plate had taquitos, crispy chips with beans, buffalo wings, cheese quesadillas, guacamole, and sour cream. It was nice that there were four of each item here to help prevent Sabrina from hogging all of the buffalo wings. All of these items were good. The taquitos were fried nicely, and you could taste the shredded beef. The quesadillas were not greasy and tasty when paired with the smooth guacamole. The most average thing on the plate was the buffalo wings. They were hot temperature-wise, but flavor-wise, they were a little bland. They also did not have a lot of meat on them. A good appetizer platter to start with.

Sabrina called these "some of the best enchiladas I have ever had." Wow, that was such an over-the-top statement. I believe her, as she is usually picky when trying new restaurants. What got her so excited? The Enchiladas Del Sol ($10.95). These green enchiladas were filled with tender chicken and covered with flavorful green sauce. Sabrina felt that the green sauce was what made these enchiladas so great. They also came with rice and beans, which she ate sparingly. I did not get to try these enchiladas because Sabrina is notoriously stingy about giving bites away from her food.

Most of the time, Katie would almost always order fajitas in a Mexican restaurant, and at El Sol, she was true to form. The Fajitas De Pollo ($10.95) was a traditional fajita style. They came out of the kitchen on a cast iron plate with all the sizzling and steam you would expect when ordering fajitas. When describing almost any plate, Katie used her standard line, "these were flavorful and very fresh". I tried a few bites of chicken, and it was pretty tender. The veggies were not overly abundant here, and the portion size for this was more than generous.

Lately, when we have gone out with Sabrina and Anthony, Anthony and I get the same thing, which helps me cut down on my writing, which I am sure you all appreciate. This time, we both got Combo #4, which includes a chile relleno, a tamale, a crispy taco, and a soft taco. Both Anthony and I liked this plate. The tamale was solid and not as dry as some tend to be. The tacos were not stuffed with meat, but both were okay. I am not much of a chile relleno guy, but this one had a good heat, and the cheese did not overpower here. This plate was good, but we both agreed it lacked the wow factor. The beans were better than the rice, which was plain tasting.

I'm not sure how it came up on the car ride, but Katie and I were shocked to find out that neither Sabrina nor Anthony had ever had Fried Ice Cream ($3.95) before. This version at El Sol was like every other version we have had. A large scoop of ice cream is rolled around in cornflakes and then deep-fried. I did like the presentation here. The cinnamon-coated tortilla strips and the chocolate drizzle were an added bonus. It was great being here when Sabrina and Anthony came into their own to have fried ice cream. Very proud of these kids.

I was less enthusiastic about El Sol than my other dining companions. I thought everything was good, but nothing really blew me away here. In contrast, it was hard to please. Sabrina was over the moon with her enchiladas, and Katie liked her fajitas enough to call them excellent. I may be a hard-to-please food blogger who has eaten in too many restaurants in the past four years. The prices were fair, as nothing on their menu approached the fifteen-dollar mark. The service was excellent during our visit. The waitress came over to check on us numerous times. I will leave you with this. If you are in the area and feel like Mexican food, try this place. Glad I could add another restaurant to Sabrina and Anthony's repertoire.

Out of five buses (because there is a bus line that serves East LA, called El Sol), five being best to zero being worst, El Sol Mexican Restaurant gets 3 buses.

For more information about El Sol Mexican Restaurant, head to their website here: https://www.elsolmexicanrestaurantcorona.com/