Restaurants in El Monte

Founded by three former broadcasters and engineers, Pita Jungle now transmits fresh, healthy vibes with salads, tapas, and pitas stuffed with falafel, beans, or chicken. Small plates such as hummus or spanakopita make ideal starters or between-course palate pleasers, and healthy burgers replace beef disks with patties shaped from grilled portobello mushroom or seasoned black beans. Wood-fired pizzas borrow pitas as their base, piling on vegetarian combinations of pesto and feta or hearty creations centered on roasted chicken. Enlivened by draft brews, daily happy hours let diners kick back and savor healthy fare.

Since 1992, Potato Corner has fascinated international crowds with its wholly customizable menu of crispy french fries, though franchises only broke ground in America during February of 2010. The new U.S. shops cropped up in places with lots of foot traffic, entrancing people with the scent of fresh-fried potatoes in malls, airports, theme parks, and at marathon starting lines. Potato Corner’s straight-, loopy-, and criss-cut fries come unadorned in their lightly salted glory, or they can be tossed in gourmet flavorings such as barbecue, cheddar, chili, and sour cream and onion. The shop has also expanded its repertoire to include baked potatoes, chicken tenders, and a butler who tucks cloth napkins into collars in order to sate customers in search of a full meal.

After leaving home for Hollywood at age 14 and donning a butcher's apron, Uncle Henry opened his own deli in 1959, helmed today by his nephew and great-nephew, George and George Gaul III. Beer steins hang on the back wall above an old-fashioned marquee menu as staffers in red aprons pile sandwiches with pastrami, roast beef, sharp cheddar, sauerkraut, and other fillings in Whimpy, Super Size, and 13-ounce Baby Bomber portions. Uncle Henry's also caters special events with gargantuan party subs, and rents out sturdy kegs large enough to keep parties quenched or 8-bit plumbers from attacking pet Donkey Kongs.

Be it on one of The Farm's breezy outdoor patios or inside its down-home Americana-themed dining rooms, patrons today come to savor the nostalgic flavors of traditional American cuisine, just as they have since 1997. With black-and-white portraits of Wisconsin farmers adorning the walls of all three locations, fresh, seasonal ingredients are the heart and soul of The Farm of Beverly Hills' menus. Organic and locally sourced products comprise dishes whenever possible, as evident in the dill-pickle fried chicken made with a free-range and organic bird, the hearty meatloaf sandwich of certified-humane Angus beef, or original tableside magic tricks performed by Miss Piggy.

Soumarelo’s owners are passionate about Mediterranean food, and have an unquenchable thirst for culinary knowledge. So they travel regularly to taste new foods and ingredients and learn new recipes and techniques that they bring back to their customers. With this wealth of knowledge, their chefs create plates of rice with chicken cut fresh from the rotisserie, lamb shish kebobs, and still sizzling falafels, all enhanced with the creamy dollops of hummus and a cucumber yogurt spread. Appetizers include fluffy pits with traditional dips such as hummus, muhamara (walnut paste), and mutabel (eggplant dip), and salads that offer more global tastes, such as Greek salad, Armenian salad, and Oleev-Ya, Russian potato salad.

Dinah's renowned chicken entices taste buds with a two-part cooking process that begins with pressure-cooking to lock in moisture and finishes off with deep-frying to make the outside golden brown and crispy. Owned and operated by the Pearson family since 1967, the established eatery sates patrons' appetites with its signature chicken, which pairs well with honey-smothered rolls and lots of happy closed-eye chewing. Other soul-warming sides keep the chicken company on dinner plates, including mashed potatoes, fries, corn on the cob, and pineapple coleslaw.