Fontana was built around a steel mill, and for decades that defined it. The mill closed in the 1980s and the city has since become one of the fastest-growing in the Inland Empire, with a largely Mexican-American population.
The food follows: taquerias, birrieria, mariscos trucks and panaderias along Sierra and Foothill. It is inexpensive, unpretentious and the best reason to stop.
Route 66 runs through the north side of the city, and a few of the older roadside businesses along Foothill Boulevard survive from that era. The San Bernardino Mountains are directly north, and the drive up to the lakes is the standard weekend trip from here.