Billing itself as the “world’s first luxury donut company,” Painted Dough in Chino offers gourmet yeasted, cake, and mochi doughnuts that have become ever so popular on social media. There’s a variety of flavors to choose from, plus coffee drinks like the popular ube cold brew, and even breakfast burritos.

The sister location of Rancho Cucamonga’s Guido Deli and Pizza, Furnos is a bit closer to Los Angeles in the Mountain Village Center off the 10 freeway. The delicious empanadas and pizzas from Guido are still available here, as are the exceptional entraña and choripan sandwiches. Furnos offers more seating inside as opposed to Guido’s, which is essentially an ordering counter with a couple tables outside.

A few dollars can go a long way at Kedai, with its assortment of Indonesian bites (a rarity in the Inland Empire) such as savory risoles and pastels stuffed with beef or chicken, gravy, and vegetables. Get these, an iced coffee, and maybe even some oxtail soup around lunch. Kedai is an exciting, newly opened addition to the City of Upland.

The Chino area is home to a bevy of Chinese and Taiwanese restaurants. This strip mall spot, located about a mile from the Mountain exit off the 60 freeway, offers a wide range of options including fried stinky tofu, fried milkfish belly, and Taiwanese sausage with sticky rice. Most combination plates run under $15.

Upland German Deli doubles both as a kitchen and a market with a variety of German pantry items to peruse while waiting for a schnitzel sandwich. The menu also has reubens, pastrami sandwiches, and other deli fare covered, though it’s always a good idea to get some knockwurst, potato salad, sauerkraut, and call it a lunch. Don’t forget the apple strudel.

Donahoo’s is the Inland Empire’s equivalent to Pioneer Chicken, the local fried chicken restaurant beloved by those in the know. The original location is still in Pomona, but it’s the Ontario outlet that carries on the original recipes and menu today. The chicken is not made until it’s been ordered, so wait times can occasionally drag, but the upshot is that the chicken is dredged, breaded, and fried in full view of everyone. Potato salad and coleslaw are the most popular of the sides, and they offer French and blue cheese dressing as dipping sauces. Don’t forget the rolls, either. Calling ahead is recommended if pressed for time.

Home Pie Bakery has been churning out freshly baked breads and pies from its unassuming space in an Ontario office complex since 2014. Folks catching a weekday flight out of the airport next door can score savory pot pies and meat pies for lunch, or even for an inflight snack, with flavors including beef Wellington, chicken, and leek.

A perennial Inland Empire food all-star, Kra Z Kai’s first rose to prominence in 2019. The Corona location has since closed, as Kra Z Kai’s has opted to open two locations inside the Rodeo food halls in Stanton and Ontario. Grilled meat is of course the star of the show here, along with marinated barbecue beef short ribs, housemade sausages, and barbecue pork ribs. Sampler platters come with one piece each of chicken, beef short rib, sausage, and a pork rib.

A plentiful, delicious breakfast or lunch at an affordable price is always a good thing. At Cowboy Surfer Grill, a country breakfast consists of two large eggs, bacon, sausage patty, seasoned potatoes or hash browns, and a ⅓ pound biscuit covered in delicious sausage gravy — and it comes in at less than $13. Easy Rider sandwiches (the restaurant’s take on a sausage McMuffin) and the Breakfast BLT are both under $9, too. This is truly one of the better breakfast and lunch options in the IE.

An XL plate at North Shore Plate Lunch consists of deliciously tender kalbi ribs or teriyaki beef, plus BBQ chicken, kalua pork, rice, and macaroni salad. That’s a deal and a half at just $18.99, and even better when paired with some takeout musubi. Aside from mini Hawaiian chain restaurants, it’s really the only option for legit Hawaiian food in the Corona area.

Located in a small strip mall adjacent to the Ontario Mills Outlets, Bone and Broth serves up some of the best Vietnamese cuisine in the Inland Empire. The Ontario Combination is the most popular option for pho and comes loaded with meatballs, brisket, tendon, and tripe for $12.95. Other popular options include the vermicelli boat special, crispy salmon, and roti chicken and rice.

Rising to prominence during the pandemic and taking full advantage of Riverside County’s progressive stance on at-home restaurants under California retail code AB-626, Cali Tardka is one of the best Indian restaurants in Riverside County. The Greg Special is a sampler plate of the menu and offers smaller portions of both creamy butter chicken and chicken tikka masala, plus basmati rice, homemade garlic naan, and a samosa. Order via their website on their Instagram page.

Taquerias are plentiful in the IE, but Taqueria Mazatlan stands out as one of the best. The carne asada atop freshly made sopes is what sets these chorreadas apart from others in the area. Order a papa loca, which is essentially the insides of a baked potato topped with cheese, carne asada, salsa, and other condiments.

Combo plates are always a winner, and Island Breeze truly offers up some delicious entrants into the combo plate realm. Get Jamaica’s national dish ackee and saltfish along with rice, beans, and plantains. Not feeling fishy? Indulge with some tender stewed oxtail and some beef or curry chicken patties to go.

The burgers here have that signature crispy meat lace that customers expect with smashburgers these days, but not to the extent that it overpowers the burger. Chubzies also offers its own variations of the In n Out off-menu “animal style” and “monkey style” fries from its stand, which operates weekly Thursday through Sunday. A brick and mortar location was recently announced. Check their Instagram for more updates.