16 hours Ago By Charlie Vargas
At Ontario’s Oak and Ember, the soul in the food isn’t just smoked into the Southern-style barbeque meats. It’s also wrapped up in the flavors of Latin cuisine.The restaurant features all the staples of a classic barbecue, including pit-smoked briskets and tri-tips, all of which are slow-cooked over oak for hours.
Then there are the premium sides like the ultimate mac and cheese, crème fraiche mashed potatoes, and fried Brussels sprouts, which nod to the South’s comfort foods.Alongside these Southern staples are Latin-inspired fusions like the smoked tacos de costilla, made with beef rib and served with house flour tortillas, avocado salsa, salsa macha, diced onions and cilantro. The menu also boasts a half-pound Wagyu carne asada, a soft meat cooked over an open flame that melts with each bite, served with cebollitas a la parilla (grilled cambray onions), pickled onions and cornbread.
“Asada is my thing,” said Rafael Marroquin, co-owner of Oak and Ember. “My mom used to make that all the time with roasted chicken at the barbecues back home.”Ultimate Mac and Cheese served at Oak and Ember in Ontario.
(Photo by Charlie Vargas/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)The oak burger served at Oak and Ember in Ontario. (Photo by Charlie Vargas/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)From left to right: Ella baila sola, Moscow mule, Tennessee whiskey and three from the bartender shots served at Oak and Ember in Ontario. (Photo by Charlie Vargas/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)Smoked burnt end fundido served at Oak and Ember in Ontario.
(Photo by Charlie Vargas/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)Fire roasted house-made focaccia served at Oak and Ember in Ontario. (Photo by Charlie Vargas/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)A mango cooler served at Oak and Ember in Ontario. (Photo by Charlie Vargas/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)The oak burger served at Oak and Ember in Ontario.
(Photo by Charlie Vargas/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)Show Caption1 of 7Ultimate Mac and Cheese served at Oak and Ember in Ontario. (Photo by Charlie Vargas/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)ExpandMarroquin and Mark Uthus, co-owners of Oak and Ember, which opened on Friday, Feb. 28 and replaced the Applebee’s across the way from Ontario Mills, had spent years working for other establishments and decided it was time to fly solo.
SEE ALSO: Where to find shrimp, lobster rolls and more during Lent 2025They previously worked their way up at restaurant chains, Raising Cane’s and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., as dishwashers, cooks, servers, and bussers and then in different leadership positions, making friends and partners along the way that made opening their own restaurant smoother.Uthus said that working with their partners, Smoke and Fire, helped show them “the way of the barbecue” and how Ontario could benefit from Southern comfort food.
Marroquin added that part of his desire to open a barbeque spot came from traveling with his colleague Isaiah Fernandez to Raising Cane’s corporate offices in Louisiana and Dallas.“Out there, you could really attest to the phenomenal barbecue joints, like HutchinsBBQ and Snow’s BBQ, and we fell in love with barbecue itself,” Marroquin said. “The biggest thing for us is that we learned from Texas and all the other places we visited and made it our own based on what we grew up with in California.
”Other dishes on the menu that experiment with a Southern-Latin fusion include the smoked burnt end fundido, made with smoked brisket burnt ends, Oaxacan cheese, mozzarella, grilled corn, black beans, and chopped cilantro and served with black tortilla chips. Oak and Ember also offer Tex-Mex smoked brisket chili and pho, an homage to the Vietnamese dish served throughout the Golden State.SEE ALSO: St.
Patrick’s Day: How to party like an Irish punk at homeAll the meats are 100% Halal, meaning that they are produced from free-range animals, with non-GMOs and hand slaughtered for sustainability and quality, including the protein found in the burgers and sandwiches. The oak burger, made with a Waygu ground beef patty, topped with brisket burnt ends, hand-battered onion rings, new-style American cheese, and barbeque sauce and served between a Japanese milk bun, showcases one of America’s most beloved sandwiches with a southern twist.For its bar and drink menu, the restaurant serves a handful of nonalcoholic refreshers, a curated list of wines and Villains craft beers from the Orange County-based brewery.
Some of its specialty cocktails are named after country songs, such as Johnny Cash‘s “I Walk the Line,” Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” and John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” made with Bulleit bourbon, fresh lemon juice, brown sugar simple syrup, house-made peach syrup and fresh mint.In keeping with its Southern and Latin fusion themes, the bar also features cocktails named after Latin music hits, such as Maná’s “Mariposa Traicionera,” Luis Fonzi’s “Despasito,” and Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma‘s “Ella Baila Sola,” made with Don Julio Blanco, Cointreau, fresh lime and orange juice and a chili powder rim.The restaurant’s interior has a cabin-like hominess, with wooded paneled walls decorated with vintage photos, magazine covers, fishing rods, golf clubs, suitcases and other Americana-themed items.
The bar sits at the center and seats 14, with three large TV screens and six smaller ones surrounding the area. Other seating options include 20 booths, which can seat two to four, and 18 tables that can accommodate roughly the same.While fast-casual chains such as Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que and Famous Dave’s Bar-B-Que have long been at the heart of the local shopping centers in the area, Oak and Ember is hoping to set itself apart by creating a more intimate ambiance where friends and family can regularly hang out to drink specialty cocktails and enjoy hearty food.
Oak and Ember was supposed to host brunch during its weekend opening but was met with an overwhelming crowd of hungry patrons. Uthus and Marroquin said they didn’t anticipate the size of the crowd and had to close on Monday, March 3, to reevaluate their stock.“We’re thankful and feel truly blessed for how everyone showed up and continues to show up,” Marroquin said.
“We want to continue to do everything we can to stay here for the long haul and contribute to the community, whether through nonprofits or donations. We believe in always giving back and not forgetting to take care of yours. Ontario’s part of the family, so now we’ve got to take care of ours.
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