Magic Lamp Inn

The Magic Lamp Inn, located along Old Historic Route 66, is one of
California's original steakhouses, serving diners for half a century. The
current owner, Anthony Vernola and his family have continued to make it
a success since 1975. Inside is warm and rustic with cedar shakes,
wooden beams of Chinese cherry and a large fire pit warming patron in
the chilly months, and interestingly, converted to a fountain the rest of
the year. Our first trip here was for their happy hour, before they
reupholstered those wonderfully weathered leather bucket seats around
the fire pit. We were taken with the place which offered so much Old
World ambiance. We conversed with a "regular" who thought the world
of this place telling us about all her favorites dishes, but sternly warned
us to steer away from the Escargot Bourguignonne and the Fried Pacific
Calamari, other than that we be just fine. I came a second time for
lunch, which was nearly as romantic as the evenings, dark with plenty of
candlelight. We started with the Crab Cakes which came highly
recommended by our waiter, and though the quality of the crab was
surprising, being canned, but they did a good job passing them off,
drizzling the plate with a spicy tangy sort of pickleless Thousand Island
dressing and setting a well dressed salad beside it. I was especially
pleased with the Artichoke Hearts, fried golden and served with three
sauces - a spicy remoulade (the sauce found on the crab cakes), cocktail
sauce and marinara. Though the sauces seemed an odd pairing, the
artichoke hearts held their own, puffy and so tender. The Cobb Salad was
very nice, cut into bite size pieces and tossed tableside with a bleu
cheese dressing, we liked it just as well with their honey mustard
dressing. Much of the food seems a bit old fashioned, working wonders
with cheaper ingredients, and I truly appreciate the care taken to make
all their own salad dressings and sauces.... onto the next course. We
were told that twenty-five percent of the lunch crowd orders the
Cinnamon Beef which put me in the seventy-five percentile. It was a
strongly flavored dish with strips of sirloin beef sauteed with garlic, red
onion, cinnamon, Chinese five-spice and major amounts of fresh ginger,
set on a bed of flat noodles and dark soy based sauce. The ginger was
just too much for my taste, but my husband loved it. The waiter was so
proud of their Prime Rib which also made a wonderful filling in the Magic
Lamp Steak Sandwich. I haven't eaten here at dinner, but the
Chateubriand for Two sounded like quite the attraction with a roasted
center cut filet mignon, carved tableside and accompanied with a
bordelaise sauce, for $29.95 per person. Though there are restaurants in
the Inland Empire that have honed their culinary talents to nearly
perfection, it would be hard to pair that talent with all that the Magic
Lamp has to offer. Their historical building is worth the visit alone, but
they also haven't forgotten the charms of excellent service.

Our lunch selections ranged from $7.95 for the Fried Artichokes to $10.95
for the Crab Cakes and the Cobb Salad, dinner is higher.

Open for lunch Tuesday - Friday 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. opening for
dinner at 5:00 Tuesday through Sunday.

Located at 8189 Foothill Boulevard in Rancho Cucamonga.

Telephone (909) 981-8659