If you don’t eat pork you might want to avoid a restaurant named El Cochinito!
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i used to frequent el cochinito quite frequently starting 15 years ago. i was introduced by a cuban friend of mine. i was hooked on the bistec empanizado and it’s all i ever ordered. it was there i learned about garnishing the beans with olive oil… so i can’t comment on the sandwich, but i can say i loved the bread. can’t say it was authentic as i have no baseline. for me, the food was so good i got used to seeing a table full of transvestites eating there every time i showed up. however, they went hipster a while back, stopped being a hole in the wall and they doubled their prices - which apparently also drove the transvestites away…
cuban friend also took me to el colmao a few times. never pressed him to take me back, so it wasn’t all that memorable for me, but YMMV. versailles? my cuban friends don’t think much of the place, i don’t remember why, but that was enough to curb any interest in trying the place.
there was a cuban place in burbank (not porto’s) that opened up about 10 years ago. i can’t tell if they’re still there though.
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Mambo’s on the border of Glendale/Burbank is generally “the other cuban place in Burbank”
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There is also El Criollo. Only tried their sandwich once and it was far below a Florida version.
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Is that on Western, west of the 5, before hitting Riverside Drive?
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sounds about right, it’s next to that equestrian area.
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Yep, it’s on Victory at Western. A converted gas station.
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Like others have said, Mambos. It was ok to us. The Cuban sandwich was ok, as in just ok. Been there a few times, we liked it overall, but I cannot tell you what we had. I guess that speaks volumes.
I do remember thinking it would be a great bang with the fish and chip place across the street.
Your take on Versailles is our take. It certainly is not like our Versailles is Miami.
Used to eat at a Cuban diner on Calle Ocho in Miami, Rio Cristal. They made a palomilla steak with a pile of hand cut papas. Damn. The steak was buried under there.
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I went to the Versailles in Miami and though it was good. Certainly not all that. Better than most places in LA but not worth the drive from where I was staying.
The best Cuban food I’ve ever had was at a random house turned into a restaurant in Havana. We were there for our week abroad program at USC b-school. The chicken with the mojo sauce, black beans and plantains. Man was it good.
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I lived in Miami for 15 years.
That was actually my point in comparing the Versailles here. The Versailles in Miami is really not as good as it’s reputation. More of a tourist trap, IMHO. I liked the holes in the wall in the area. Yet it’s infinitely better than the Versailles chain out here.
So cool you got to visit the island!!
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