Food & Drink in Covina

Poetry would be composed entirely of haikus and sonnets dedicated to cakes and pastries if poets didn't devour their idyllic subjects before having a chance to write. Today's Groupon says what meter and rhythm cannot with $10 worth of sweet and savory baked goods and bistro fare for $5 at Sweet Savory Café and Bakery. Visit either the San Dimas or Covina location, where expert kitchen-fingers craft fresh and healthy café cuisine for every meal of the day.

A family-owned-and-operated shop, Sweet Savory Café and Bakery uses time-honored secret recipes to bake scrumptious breads, cookies, paninis, pastas, and breakfast bites on the menu. Scramble the a.m. with eggs, corn, and Swiss cheese in a Harvest Scrambler ($6.99), or top it with cream cheese, onion, tomato, jalapeño, and avocado on a breakfast bagel ($3.99). A hearty 2.5-pound loaf of freshly baked sourdough bread costs $4.95, and a 2-pound wheat loaf costs $4.75. Sweet Savory serves fresh and healthy cold, hot, and panini sandwiches in addition to salads and pasta for lunch. Try the new mozzarella Reuben with sauerkraut and thousand-island dressing ($7.99). Fettuccini parties with chicken breast in a pasta bowl with caper strobe lights and a creamy white sauce that won't let the cops inside without a warrant ($9.89).

Goldenrod tiles and a charming eating area give excellent views over glass display tables of freshly prepared treats. Order a beer or wine while you watch dessert's dainty caravan carry a smattering of luscious confections, including cream-cheese scones by the dozen ($21.45), Mexican wedding cookies ($23.88 per dozen), and vanilla cupcakes with fudge or cream-cheese frosting ($16.50 per dozen). A pantry and a breadbox are overachieving storage spaces that need floury sustenance, so stock up on Sweet Savory's sweets and savories.

Reviews

Sweet Savory's Covina location gets four stars from one Insider Pages user, and 100% of six Urbanspooners like it. Yelpers give it a near perfect 4.5 stars, and the San Dimas spot gets three:

• I really like this place for breakfast and lunch. Everything is fresh and made to order. The baked goods are delicious, along with the coffee. Friendly staff, and confortable [sic]. – Katrina M., Yelp
• I highly recommend the ULTIMATE BREAKFAST BAGEL, it is the best thing ever for a hearty breakfast – Michael M., Yelp
• This is an adorable, nice little dinning spot in Covina off of the main street. It has good scramblers, sandwiches, salads, pastas. really nice atmosphere… – Katherine M., Insider Pages

Chalkboard Pizza & Subs doesn't rely on the internet for reviews of its food. The first thing anyone sees as they walk into the storefront pizzeria are chalkboard walls filled with drawings, daily specials, and customer comments about the food. Serving both specialty and build-your-own pizzas, Chalkboard boasts a selection of 30 toppings to create unique pies served whole or by the slice. In addition to the pizza, the staff makes sub sandwiches and wraps, and they toss seven different salads with fresh veggies and meats.

For 40 years, comfort food has reigned supreme at Costa Family Restaurant, where a vast menu of American-style breakfasts, lunches, and dinners challenge even the hungriest diners to clean their plates. On the stove, skillets sizzle with hearty entrees such as bacon-stuffed omelets, juicy burger patties, and cheesy turkey melts. Avocado and blue cheese speckle cobb salads, and sides of comfort food, like soups and seasoned fries, ensure no meal feels lonely. And though preparing and serving a sprawling menu’s worth of dishes keeps them busy all day, staff members always make time to create a relaxed, friendly atmosphere that is inviting for the whole family.

When Lois Margolet first opened Capriotti’s in Wilmington, Delaware, 36 years ago, she and her brother, Alan, worked from the second story of a boarded-up building, roasting 10–12 whole turkeys every night and churning out a “real turkey lover’s” sandwich each day. Today, Capriotti’s has expanded across 12 states, each location stacking the same award-winning hot and cold sandwiches, racking up such accolades as The Best of Las Vegas 2012, Best of Culver City 2012, and Best of Delaware 2012 prizes from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Culver City News, and Delaware Today, respectively. Though the shop is still known for its slow-roasted-turkey creations—such as the Thanksgiving-inspired Bobbie, named America's best sandwich by AOL's Lemondrop.com, piled with cranberry sauce and stuffing—its menu now ventures into the realm of roast beef, italian deli meats with such sandwiches as the capastrami, cheesesteaks, and vegetarian treats, such as meatless chicken and turkey.

Ono Hawaiian BBQ brings the island to the mainland with tender meats soaked in made-from-scratch marinades. Chefs hand roll chicken katsu in panko bread crumbs to give it a fresh, crispy texture, and assemble generous portions of crispy shrimp, island whitefish, and barbecue chicken in the seafood mix.

Although it now has more than 430 locations in 28 countries, Hooters wasn’t always welcomed by the public. In fact, when it opened in October 1983 in Clearwater, Florida, the founders of the restaurant were “quickly detained for impersonating restaurateurs,” according to the company's website. But the restaurant was able to prove it was more than just a pretty face—that it was serious about serving tasty American food and frosty brews—and its popularity exploded in the decades to follow.

Amid its beach-themed vibe and flat-screen TVs, Hooters still fuels appetites with original chicken wings, burgers, sandwiches, and fresh salads. Of course, nobody carries those casual eats and icy pitchers better than the Hooters girls. To complement their friendly smiles, their uniforms harken back to the ones the original waitresses wore in 1983: orange hot shorts and white tank tops with the emblematic owl on the front—though that owl has lost its Lionel Richie perm.