Downtown Fullerton
November 18, 2015
Diamond Bar, a relatively small town, has no area of busy shops and restaurants to call “downtown.” As a result, most Diamond Bar High School students head to other nearby cities for entertainment. Downtown Fullerton, a quiet but still intriguing, explorable area, is another option for students to visit on the weekend for great food and quaint shops.
While I have previously visited this area, it was to eat at one of my favorite Japanese ramen restaurants, Koppan Ramen, which has probably one of the simplest menus in existence and serves the best ramen in Los Angeles.
Of the times I ate there, I hardly took notice of the surrounding neighborhood. This time, a friend and I headed into Kentro, a Greek restaurant, and were immediately welcomed by friendly hostesses and modern decorations.
After seating ourselves, we walked up to the counter and ordered our food, probably mispronouncing every single Greek word along the way.The food, which was relatively inexpensive, was served quickly and we were immediately surprised by two things: the large portions, and the intoxicating flavor. We ordered Kentro fries, the Kotopoulo Sto Fourno, which consisted of chicken, potatoes, and potato wedges, and Makaronia, oven baked noodles with bolognese and cheese. The fries, while slightly too oily, were perfectly crunchy and flavored with herbs. The main courses, the chicken and pasta, were just as delicious, if not better. Of the two, we liked the chicken better, as the pasta seemed a little too simple in comparison to the other two dishes, but it was stellar nonetheless.
While the food was delicious, what I found even more appealing was the atmosphere. It was relatively quiet at 2 p.m., so we were able to talk freely without fear of eavesdropping or interruptions.
I could have easily spent the remaining few hours of my time at Kentro, drinking coffee and talking.Unfortunately, that was really where the excitement ended. After lunch, we wandered out to tour the area around the restaurant to see if we could find any interesting shops or tucked away coffee shops. After about half an hour, it was clear that our expectations would be let down—although there were some stores, they were all clearly aimed at hipsters, smelling heavily of potpourri and attempting to sell $40 cardigans.
In addition to these stores, other places to eat include Cha 2 O, Rialto Cafe, and Heroes Bar and Grill.
We finally gave up around 4 p.m., and spent our remaining time at a nearby Starbucks, feeding off of tea and wifi.
Overall, while the area seems to have some promising restaurants, I definitely wouldn’t expect to make an entire afternoon out of it. However, if you’re just stopping by the area for some delicious food and then leaving to go somewhere else, Downtown Fullerton is the place for you.
