Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon

Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon
955 Montecito Drive
Corona, CA 92879

It must be the protein that generates the fervor which has me confessing that I recently had my carnivorous lobe satiated. If the average American consumed over 51 pounds of beef last year (and 37% of all statistics are made up), I didn’t want to be outdone. Fortunately, I reached toward fulfillment of my own personal quota at Corona’s Lone Star Steakhouse.

You can see it from the 15 and you can see it from the 91, but take my advice and see it from the inside. Steadfast food snobs like me usually assume that chains or franchise corporations are going to be factory food let-downs. But Lone Star delivers quality food and an above-average experience. Saddle up and ride.

The brief on the beef is that it’s grain-fed and aged for 21 days. It’s the good stuff. Assessing the menu and being fully aware that life is short, I signed up for the Five-Star Filet Mignon. It was a tender steak with a very good, full flavor. Someone remind me to wrap more things in bacon.

Big, hot, Texas-sized rolls arrive at your table after you order. They are soft and delicious and bigger than your fist. You know an excellent roll by how good it is without or before the butter. These rolls are great. Try not to fill up on them (four could make a pillow). When ordering your sides, you absolutely must order the runaway favorite, the baked sweet potato. Venture here and you’ll see that it comes equipped with cinnamon sugar and butter. Sounds simple enough, but the knock-out flavor combination on its own as well as with your entrée is hard to describe.
Trust me and get it. Our enlightened server told us it would even fill our “dessert spot” during dinner. She was right. I hate missing dessert, but I’m still grateful to her. Now that several days have passed, I want another one.

I counted at least seven different cuts of steak on Lone Star’s menu. But there is much more than beef. Rib lovers will enjoy good baby back pork ribs at Lone Star. So you know, they are tender, but not falling off the bone. Seafood lovers will find lobster, crab legs, shrimp or salmon. There are soups and there is even homemade chili. For people that wish to have no meat of any kind (but who are still taking up space at your table), I can recommend the great salads and pasta.

Finally, I must applaud the service ethic at Lone Star. Having been a food server not so many years ago, I am impressed with the restaurant’s insistence that no server has more than a three-table station. The smallest stations I ever covered always had four. Utter mayhem occurs far less often with smaller stations. This concept has the diner in mind. Another welcome rarity is the chance that if you happen upon Lone Star at a popular hour with a wait time or line, you might find yourself being served complimentary appetizers. Now THAT is what I call civilized.

Owner Gregg Rotcher has struck a formula for restaurant success and it shows. Tarry to Corona Pointe off Magnolia and the 15 and see what it is that makes Lone Star, well, stellar.

Ryan Keane writes exclusively for MyCityCorona.com

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