Miguel's Restaurant

Miguel's
1920 Frontage Road
Corona, CA 92882

If you continually frequent your favorite haunts only to satisfy your tried and true "hankerings" at each place, you miss out on huge new discoveries. I have long enjoyed Miguel's, but the luxury of being a food critic is that restaurant owners will always serve you those dishes which set them apart from others as well as dishes you don't yet realize are about to become your new favorites. After some charitable and energetic menu guidance by the friendly and accommodating Ramiro Rivas, director of operations for Miguel's, I confess I have new favorites.

New vocabulary word: Mulita. Get it as one of your appetizers and you'll wonder where this thing has been all your life. The Mulita is a Mexican sandwich served piping hot and quartered. It has crispy cheddar cheese on the outside of a tortilla and melted cheese and carne asada on the inside. It is bang-on-the-table good.

The spicy shrimp cocktail is another refreshing opener where very tasty prawns are served in a sauce that has a nice thin consistency. The sauce is more like a juice and has a great blend of spice, tomato, and a hint of fruit. This is a great place for shrimp. Miguel's goes only for the good stuff when they buy, and the seafood is no exception. The entrees that feature Icelandic cod are also not to be missed.

There's presentational prowess in the Chile Rellano as well as a knock-out flavor sensation. There's a perfect trio of cheeses used (ranchero, jack and cheddar), and the large chile is generously stuffed.

I have a real weakness for Carnitas and always figured they had to be fatty to be good. Miguel's delivers a great surprise here. The carnitas are lean, generous slices of pork; amazingly tender and flavorful--without the fat.

If there's one thing I normally skip in Mexican food, it's Flautas. That all changes here. What are often dry, thin, flavorless pipe cleaners elsewhere is a whole new event at Miguel's. If you put your thumb and index finger together and make that "a-okay" hand gesture (use that only in our country by the way), that is about how big the inside filling is in the flautas. They are also about a foot-long flute. Generous. Choose shredded chicken or beef. These flautas will melt in your mouth. They are served rolled up in the legendary flour tortillas, crisped, and
rendered completely irresistible. Miguel's knows how to listen to its loyal patron base, too. After serving the flautas long enough by special request---wet style with sauce on the top, like an enchilada—the item eventually made it to the menu.

Among Miguel's Specialties, you will want to try the Mole De Maria sooner rather than later. Life is short. Eat this dish. There are twenty-four ingredients in this puebla mole (pronounced MOH lay) sauce. This is a thick, slowly simmered sauce that only Maria, the owner, makes. This is a dish that is very hard to find in Mexican dining. There is nothing fast about it. It requires patience, time and a great family recipe. Tender chicken is covered in this thick, deeply flavored sauce whose full-bodied taste is hard to describe. Let's just say I'd rub it in my hair, if
I had any.

What you want to know about this place, if you don't already, is how personalized they make your experience. I have always noticed how the management circulates the floor and pays nice attention to first-timers. On top of that, the food more than backs them up. Miguel's places tremendous importance on high quality ingredients and on family recipes made from scratch. Try imagining they make their fresh beans twice daily and their rice three times a day. Even the dessert flan is made daily from scratch. If you order something and they say they're out, they're out!

How fresh is fresh? The cheeses come delivered with the wax still on. That's fresh. Miguel's invests in the quality factor right up front. The meats are choice grade or better. Lean cuts of pork, premium seafood’s and aged beef will have you noticing the quality in everything you order. This kitchen doesn't have microwaves, and just about the only thing you'd find frozen if you saw the freezer would be, um, the ice cream. There really are no compromises here, right down to the exclusive use of hass avocados. In a true example of getting what you pay for, Miguel's is all that.

Miguel's boasts a full service cantina including an extensive selection of premium tequilas. Taking great pride in their margaritas and other offerings, you will find one big difference in the 100% Blue Agave tequila.

Original owners (since 1973), Mike and Maria and the entire Vasquez family have something very distinctive here. If you're new to town, come and discover. If you've been going to Miguel's for years, branch out a little. Come say no to combination platters and live the good life.

Ryan Keane writes exclusively for MyCityCorona.com

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