Maria's Mexican Kitchen
163 W. Ontario Ave. Ste. #101
Corona, CA 92882
It's been some time since we visited Corona to see our good friend Anthony and his wife, Sabrina. Usually, when we head out this way, I pick a restaurant. During this visit, they threw me for a loop when they had a place that they wanted us to try. This took much of the pressure off of me, which was nice. Now, the only pressure I would have was trying to make it through some of Sabrina's stories without falling asleep. It's not an easy chore, for sure.
Maria's is housed in a spot where we formerly did a review. It was called the Twisted Gourmet back then, but they have since moved on to another spot in Corona. Maria's opened here in May of last year, and they have another more established place in the Woodcrest section of Riverside. Since opening on the corner of Ontario and Main, Maria's has gotten reviews all over the map on Yelp. People either love this place or hate it. It's not surprising for Yelp, but it made me wonder which side of the fence I would land on at Maria's.
We got to Maria's at about 7pm on a recent Saturday night. The restaurant was deserted when we walked in, but soon after we arrived a large party filled the front of the place, which brought some much needed life here. Since Maria's took over this space, they painted the walls bright colors, added colorful furniture, had some plants strewn across the area, and added plenty of decor to the walls. The menu is what you would expect from a Mexican restaurant. Combo plates, burritos, tacos, and your favorite Mexican cuisine are represented here. I was hungry after our long trip out the 91 Freeway, so let's see how this visit ended for us.
We were given the customary chips and salsa to start things off. These were some pretty stellar chips. They were fried nicely while still being light. They were almost addictive. When the salsa came to the table, I was let down by the appearance of it, but its flavor won me over. I typically like a chunkier version, but this salsa had enough heat to compensate for the lack of chopped-up veggies. There were some nice pieces of onions floating around in there, though. A delicious version of chips and salsa excited me for what was to come.
The appetizer section did not inspire creativity at Maria's. They have eight items on their appetizer menu, four of which are quesadillas. We went with their El Toro Quesadilla ($9.95). This large flour tortilla was filled with shredded beef and cheese and was served with sour cream. The menu says this comes with guacamole, but there was none to be found here. This was still a good quesadilla. It was conveniently sliced into four pieces for the four of us, so there was no way Sabrina could have hogged it all. The quesadilla was not as greasy as I had thought it would be. The beef inside was tender, with just the right amount of cheese, so it did not overshadow the meat.
Most of the meals at Maria's come with your choice of soup or salad. Anthony is partial to their Caldo De Albondigas Soup. This meatball soup came in a broth with carrots and cabbage. Anthony liked the flavor of the meatballs. I had the Dinner Salad, which was just your basic salad, which included fresh greens, tortilla strips, your choice of dressing, and a sprinkling of cheese on top. I'm still determining what made this salad for me, but I liked it. There was just enough dressing and plenty of crunch from the tortilla strips, and I liked the inclusion of the pepper on the side.
Anthony will start our entree portion of this blog with his choice, the El Trio Grande ($16.95). This three-item combination plate came with a pork tamale, chile relleno, a shredded beef taco, and rice. Anthony was up in the air about his meal. He liked the tamale a lot. It was stuffed with pork and then topped with cheese and red sauce. He felt the chile relleno was good, but he's had better. The taco was very average. Just looking at the almost white hunk of tomato on top of the taco would have turned me off, too. Anthony is usually a big eater, but even he could not finish all of this food and took some home the next day.
Sabrina is always predictable when going out for Mexican food, as she gravitates towards a Two-Cheese Enchilada Combination Plate ($9.95). As you can see, this was also the case at Maria's. Sabrina used to be enamored with the food at Miguel's, but now she has switched allegiances to Maria's. She likes the red sauce here better, and the inside of the enchilada has a good amount of cheese. She likes the beans and rice here as well.
I shouldn't give Sabrina such a hard time getting the same thing because Katie's a creature of habit when ordering Chicken Fajitas ($15.25). These are your typical restaurant fajitas, with sizzling iron plates and all. The chicken was cut into large strips and served with onions, green bell peppers, and tomatoes. They come with your choice of tortilla, beans, and rice. She, of course, got a side of Guacamole ($3.75). Katie felt the chicken here was juicy; otherwise, it was nothing spectacular. She liked both the beans and rice, though.
I asked the waitress about the carnitas, and she mentioned that the Chile Con Carne De Puerco ($15.25), also known as Chile Verde, was a better choice. Even though I did not have the carnitas here, she was correct. This was a delicious plate. The pork chunks were very tender, and the chile verde had a little kick to it, making my taste buds stand up and notice. I wish the serving size was more generous with this, though. The beans and rice were also good, with plenty of cheese topping the beans.
We all left Maria's satisfied with our meals. Don't get me wrong, this is not life-changing Mexican food here. It's good, middle-of-the-road Mexican food in an area with a love affair with Miguel's. This is better than Miguel's. Unlike at Miguel's, the food here tastes like something. The prices are on the high side, but you get a salad or soup with most dinners, so you will leave here with a full stomach. The service that we received on this night was good. They were not crazy busy, so our waitress had plenty of time to ensure we were doing okay. Sabrina and Anthony ended up picking out a good place for dinner. I'm sure it was all Anthony's doing.
Out of five time capsules (because the city of Corona holds the unofficial record for most time capsules lost, a staggering 17 within the city limits), five being best to zero being worst, Maria's Mexican Kitchen gets 3 time capsules.
Maria's Mexican Kitchen does not have a website, but you can find more information about them on their Yelp page, which you can see by clicking here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/marias-mexican-kitchen-corona
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