Cook's Tortas - Monterey Park

On my way to meet my cousin's new baby, I decided to grab some sandwiches from Cook's Tortas - Monterey Park to bring to the new parents. I had first visited the restaurant last summer with oldest nephew and lil' sis before we went to see Casablanca at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. I don't know what possessed us to order the sandwich we did because it was so spicy that the three of us couldn't finish it, nor did we enjoy it very much. So Cook's Tortas stayed on the periphery as a place I should revisit at least one more time before I could blog it, but not as a restaurant that I had to eat at again right away.

So a year went by and I decided to try their food booth at AltaMed's 6th Annual East LA Meets Napa event. I liked my sandwich bite and agua fresca (Mexican fresh beverages) so much that I figured it was worth revisiting.

AltaMed's 6th Annual East LA Meets Napa (Union Station) - Los Angeles (Downtown)

After the fun I had during the 4th and the 5th Annual AltaMed East LA Meets Napa event, I was excited to be invited back again by Nerissa of NRS Public Relations. No +1 this time though so I was on my own. Not that that mattered too much since I ran into a dozen LA food bloggers. I told ya, it's a popular event!

And not just with food bloggers as you can tell by the crowd.

AltaMed's 5th Annual East LA Meets Napa (Union Station) - Los Angeles (Downtown)

I had such a great time at AltaMed's 4th Annual East LA Meets Napa celebration at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles that I was overjoyed to receive my own invite the following year from Alexia at Double A Public Relations & Marketing. I got a +1 too and invited my friend Don since his birthday was coming up, but he couldn't make it. So I asked my childhood friend since she works downtown. She had a sore throat, a result of a too tight neck hold during Brazilian jiu jitsu class, and couldn't comfortably eat, but she didn't want to miss the opportunity after I raved about it so much.

East LA Meets Napa is seriously one of the best food and wine events I've attended. I love almost every food stall and it introduces me to so many great new Mexican dishes and restaurants in SoCal. All proceeds from the event also benefit AltaMed's programs to provide care for underserved areas of Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

After seeing Gourmet Pigs' pictures of the gorgeous Attilla the Flan's floral creations, I was determined to hunt some down for myself this year.

AltaMed's 4th Annual East LA Meets Napa (Union Station) - Los Angeles

At the last minute, Gourmet Pigs invited me to be her +1 at AltaMed's 4th Annual East LA Meets Napa celebration at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. Luckily, I was completely free because East LA Meets Napa turned out to be one of the best food and wine events I've been to so far.

The event brings together a variety of mainly Mexican, and other Latino restaurants, in Southern California with Latino-owned wineries. All proceeds benefit AltaMed's programs to provide care for underserved communities in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

Near the entrance of Union Station's courtyard, I immediately zeroed in on La Parrilla Restaurant because the servers wore these lovely outfits.

Cuban Lemon Garlic Roast Chicken

This is a variation of my baked chicken with salt, pepper, and lemon recipe. I haven't been able to achieve the crispy skin of restaurant baked chicken but the meat is reliably moist and tender, and the skin is still crispy, just not as crispy. I baked this with some baby Dutch potatoes to absorb all the lovely chicken and lemon juices. A variety of root vegetables would work as well. If you want the chicken to be properly lemony, it's best to marinate it overnight. Cuban Lemon Garlic Roast Chicken For 1 roast chicken, you'll need: 1 tsp of salt per lb of chicken juice of 1/2 lemon per lb of chicken 1 onion, sliced 6 cloves or as much garlic as you'd like, smashed 1/2 tsp oregano Wash the chicken and shake off any excess water. Rub 1 tsp of salt per lb of chicken all over the skin and inside the cavity. Let the chicken rest at room temperature to absorb the salt. Juice lemons, estimating about 1/2 lemon per lb of chicken. I like tart, so for an average 3-lb bird, I usually go up and use 2 full lemons. Pour lemon all over the outside and inside of the chicken. Add sliced onions, smashed garlic cloves, and 1/2 tsp oregano. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge to marinate for at least an hours or overnight. The next day, drain off any excess marinade and place the chicken on a roasting rack. Add the drained onions and garlic underneath. Or if you're cooking everything in a pan, add the onions and garlic with the potatoes or root vegetables. With a fork, deeply prick holes all over two lemons so that juices can drain out while cooking. Stuff lemons inside the cavity of the chicken. If you like tartness, you can also cut the pricked lemons in half so more of the juices drain out during cooking.

Cook chicken breast side down at 425 degrees for half an hour. Turn over so breast side is up, adjust temperature down to 325 degrees and cook for another hour until skin is crisp and golden.

After the chicken is done, allow it to rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes. Otherwise, the juices will all run out.

I served this with frijoles negros (Cuban black beans), bananas frita (fried bananas), and pastel de tres leches (cake of 3 milks). Enjoy! My other baked and roast chicken recipes you might like: Baked Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic, Lemon, and Rosemary Baked Chicken with Citrus Marinade Baked Chicken with Salt, Pepper, and Lemon Fessenjan (Persian Walnut Pomegranate Cornish Game Hen) Ga Ro Ti (Vietnamese Roasted Chicken) Ga Ro Ti Xa (Vietnamese Roasted Lemongrass Chicken) Peruvian Roast Chicken

Bananas Frita (Cuban Fried Bananas)

Mmm. I do love my fried bananas. Lightly crispy on the outside, soft and sweet on the inside. These are not to be confused with maduros, which are fried plantains and taste quite different.

I remember years ago when I was on the Atkins diet and asked Versailles Cuban Food Restaurant in Culver City to hold the rice. The waiter asked me if I wanted extra fried bananas instead. I know all that sugar in the fruit wasn't Atkins-approved but no way was I gonna turn that offer down!

I could never find a proper recipe for this, so I tried pan-frying regular bananas, then deep-frying them. It's not the healthiest food in the world, but deep-fried bananas are awesome! And they tasted like what I got at Versailles. :) So until someone tells me a better method, this is my approximation of Cuban fried bananas.

Bananas Frita (Cuban Fried Bananas)

You'll need:
Plan on a banana or two per person if you're greedy like me.

Slice bananas. Deep fry until golden and lightly crispy. That's it!

I served these as part of a Cuban-themed dinner with frijoles negros (Cuban black beans), pastel de tres leches (cake of 3 milks), and lemon garlic roast chicken.

Enjoy!

Frijoles Negros (Cuban Black Beans)

No Cuban meal is complete without a side of black beans. My recipe is horribly inauthentic as it involves the use of hot dogs. Yes, I still had some of the free Hoffy's hot dogs left over. Don't worry, you can't see or taste the hot dogs, but it adds a nice meatiness to the dish.

Versailles Cuban Food Restaurant - Culver City

An old college friend of mine has been in town for work this week so we met up several times. Once for dessert, I took her to Phoenix Food Boutique in San Gabriel where we ordered mango mochi, lychee panna cotta, pecan cookies, and also calamari (tough, dry squid and hard, thick crust so avoid it), spare ribs and bok choy noodle soup, clams in chili sesame oil, and shark fin soup. Yeah, well, it was supposed to be dessert for her and dinner for me, but we kinda had a full meal of everything.

I've said before that my really good friendships have been forged through food. We've been friends for 14 years so we always order food that can be shared and regularly eat off each other's plates.

She was staying near the airport so I suggested either Korean barbecue or Cuban. Since she gets Korean food pretty regularly, she chose Cuban. And if it's Cuban food in SoCal, I always take visitors to Versailles Cuban Food Restaurant. There's 5 locations but I go to the one in Culver City.



We were a little early so we beat the dinner rush. To my right is a wall of photos of all the celebrities that dine here, although I have yet to see a celebrity.

Porto's Bakery & Cafe - Glendale

Expectations in and of themselves aren't bad per se. But expectations when it comes to food always leaves me disappointed. After all, how could anything possibly live up to its hype?

Porto's Bakery in Glendale has been featured on tv and has half-hour long lines at lunchtime. From reading the hype, I was expecting some type of gustatory enlightenment. A melt in your mouth airiness with the cakes, smooth creaminess with the custard, a perfumed sweetness to the fruit filling.

Or at the very least a darned good cake.

As this is a bakery, I judge bakeries by their cakes. Sure they feature breads and sandwiches and other pastries, but as they also feature special occasion cakes and wedding cakes, I expect a really good cake. I should also say I'm not a fan of Latino sweets to begin with as I've always found them too sweet. Yes, there is such a thing.


I tried their best-selling Cuban cake with pineapple and custard filling. The spongy part of the cake? A bit too heavy and somewhat damp. I don't mind dampness in cakes when it's tres leche cake, in which case with three kinds of milk it should be damp. But this was not tres leche. The custard and pineapple filling was too sparse. The frosting was light enough but the thicker decorative parts of the icing left small sugar crystals to melt in my mouth. Too heavy, too sweet, too wet. But at least the candy flowers were pretty.

Their famed guava and cream cheese strudel fared slightly better in my estimation. The sponge cake wasn't so heavy. The cheese was whipped so light. The guava filling was nice and thick.

As cakes are dessert, something I enjoy after my meal. I like them light, just slightly sweet, a palate cleanser if you will. These cakes eaten at the end of even a very light meal? Too much. Few of our guests could finish their small slices either.

But eaten first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee or tea, much better. Of course, that's not necessarily a good endorsement. I ate them because they were there, taking up room in my fridge. I wouldn't drive out of my way, wait in line for half an hour, just for these cakes.

Porto's Bakery (several locations)
315 N. Brand Blvd.
Glendale, CA 91203
818-956-5996