Mama Inez is so new that the giant mural on the wall is only just outlined. The people there, however, are only too happy to explain things to you. Cuban cuisine is part European and part African and has a lot of deep-fried food and a lot of fruit. In fact it has a lot of deep fried fruit, especially bananas.

While not serving what you would normally called appetizers, they do have a lot of side dishes with exotic names like Yuca Frita, Yuca Al Mojo De Ajo, Tachinos and Frituras De Bacalao. Prices run from one to three dollars and you can make a meal out of them if you like.

Sandwiches include the Pan Con Pierna De Puerco Con Mojo, which is roasted pork on French bread with garlic dressing for $3.50. Even better is the Sandwich Cubano. That should not need translation, but I will tell you that it has ham, pork and pineapple for $3.50. For chorizo fans, there is the Chori Pan sandwich for $3.75.

Cuban dinners are served with Cuban style black beans and white rice. At Mama Inez they come in large cereal bowl quantities with the dinner entree in a separate bowl to serve over the rice. Those include Tasajo, which is jerked beef with potatoes in tomato sauce with a sip of white wine in it for $6.99. Masitas De Puerco Fritas is fried pork chunks, also for $6.99.

Soda pop is the same as can be found on Castro's island: Iron Beer, which is like a sweet Dr. Pepper, and Materva-Yerba Mate soda, which is a sort of ginger ale.

The food at this little side street cafe in downtown Pomona is surprisingly delightful. The neighborhood is evolving into an artist colony a la Pasadena and when everyone around is up to speed, Mama Inez will be a wonderful centerpiece.

And then there is San Remo. It's a Ristorante Italiano. (Now I know I've switched languages, but I think you can translate that one on your own.) If the title sounds pretentious, you'll want to know that they also call themselves a Pizzeria. San Remo, on Sixth just west of Mountain, is another one of those restaurants that's located where something else used to be.

Here the appetizers are called antipasti. They are all delicious and they will cost you between $5.95 and $7.95.

The salads (Insalate) go for $3.95 to $5.95. Soup (Le Minestre) includes the Pasta e Fagioli for $4.50, which is pasta and beans, and I have said the name a thousand times, but I didn't know it was spelled that way.

The pastas include thin spaghetti with lobster in brandy sauce for $14.95 and linguine with fresh clams in your choice of red or white sauce for $9.95.

Chicken (Polli) comes prepared several ways for $10.95 to $12.95. Le Carne is veal, steak or lamb chop prepared in wonderful ways from $13.95 to $16.95. This includes thin sliced veal sautéed with lemon.

Pesci is fish, and here I have to recommend the champagne scampi with mushroom sauce for $15.95. Pizzas are the gourmet type, but the sweet barbecue sauce made the chicken pizza a very pleasant surprise. Chef Tony DiPole is quite proud of the remodeling job at San Remo, although to tell you the truth it doesn't look that much different from before. Maybe a little lighter.

By the way, I promised last month that I would review the Noble House, which was an old haunt of mine from the day they first opened 10 years ago. Unfortunately, new management does not always mean better management. Sorry.

Mama Inez, 310 South Thomas St., Pomona, (909) 865-3135
San Remo, 1133 W. Sixth Street, Ontario, (909) 391-6474