Campus Eats Part 1

Still going to school and checking out the local eats...

Inside Cal Poly Pomona, you will find Kikka Sushi, a typical Japanese fast food joint selling your chicken bowls, noodles, and some premade (?) boxed sushi...


I opted for the dark meat chicken bowl, which came on a large bed of rice and raw cabbage that was slightly cooked with the heat of the chicken. I think it was around 6 bucks. Most of the chicken was okay, but there were bits of burnt end pieces that I really did not care for or appreciate. I wished it was warmer too because it tasted like it had been out for a while. The sauce was decent...not too sweet, but they put too much on it. The rice was pretty bad. They put too much water when cooking it. I've tried their noodle dishes as well, but no pictures...nothing really stands out here, but it's an alternative to Panda Express. I noticed a lot of people were simply getting bowls of rice with teriyaki sauce on it. Guess that's the popular cheap eat around here. They only take cash.

On Temple right before Valley, you will see Cantina Express in the same plaza as Carl's Jr. I stopped by to get a quick bite before work a month ago...


Orange Bang...hadn't had this for a good while.


I got the carne asada and al pastor taco ($1.75 and $1.45 respectively) lightly garnished with some cilantro and onions. It also came with some thick homemade tortilla chips on the side. They've also got the standard roja, verde and pico de gallo at the salsa bar, along with some hot carrots. The carne (they say they only use Angus Meat) was decent, but nothing special. The al pastor was bizzare. It almost tasted like they sprinkled some kind of chili flavoring (and when I say chili, I mean the beans kind) on it on the dry pork, and I didn't like it at all. What gets the thumbs up is the hot carrots. I'd even go as far to say that these were the best hot carrots I have had for a good while.

For those of you who have a sharp eye, why yes, those are some saltine crackers you see above. I ordered a cocteles, but didn't take a picture because I was frustrated that the pictures would turn out horrible on my camera phone, and I was right. Anyhow, the small size gave a good amount of shrimp, but I really didn't care for the base at all...too sweet/ketchupy for me...I would have liked it with more lime juice.

Cantina seems to cater to the local college crowd, having a happy hour from 3-6 PM, where they offer 1.50 draft beers, along with some other specials, including beer pong. Yes, you read that correctly. Beer pong.

Service was friendly, and Cal Poly students as well as seniors (65+) get 10% off.

Cantina Express
3530 W Temple Ave Ste A
Pomona, CA 91768