Puerto La Boca Restaurant

This past weekend I went with my boyfriend to San Diego for the weekend.
Puerto la Boca is an Argentinean restaurant located in downtown San Diego in little Italy.
It has great collection of wines and meats, it also serves Italian food.

We asked the server for a recommendation, since both my boyfriend and I love Argentinean food. The waiter was very knowledgably and friendly, and after discussing the menu for a couple of minutes we agreed on a Empanadas to start and a Parrillada “El Conventillo” for the main course. A Parrillada is a traditional Argentinean dish; it is a combination of several meats and cuts. It usually consists of beef, pork, chicken, ribs and chorizos (Sausages), commonly served for more than one person. While waiting for the food to arrive, we were served bread accompanied with garlic butter with vegetables, chimichurri (finely chopped parsley, minced garlic, vegetable oil, white vinegar and red pepper flakes) , and black olives in oil with white vinegar. Just based on that I was enjoying the restaurant, the mood was somewhat bohemian. The decorations were inspired by Argentinean culture with a more modern décor. One of my favorite details were the painted glass that were used as windows, not too over the top, just enough color too lighten the place. The music was playing a traditional tango in the back, while people at the bar were enjoying the soccer game that was playing. The place was small, but not too crowed. After a couple of minutes we were served the empanadas that we order. I ate a Spinach and Cheese Empanada, which was a little bigger than I had expected. The spinach was nice and tender, with melted cheese in the middle and a crispy crust on the outside. Just as I had expected it was delicious. Soon after, the Parrillada arrived; it was served in a metal container that was heated from the bottom to keep the meat hot. The meat consisted of two 6oz beef skirt steaks, 6oz chicken breast, beef and pork short ribs, 6oz pork steak, deep fried kidneys, one Argentinean chorizo and one Argentinean black sausage accompanied with steamed vegetables. It was more than enough food for both of us. All the food was delicious except for the kidneys that tasted like deep fried pieces of fat, and the black sausage, which had a sweet greasy texture. As for the rest it was great; the meat was juicy, longed marinated, tender and well seasoned.

Overall both the food and the service were excellent. So far the best Argentinean restaurant I’ve tasted in a while. I defiantly recommend this restaurant if you happened to go to San Diego.

Puerto La Boca
2060 India St
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 234-4900
http://www.puertolaboca.com/

Thai Spirit Restaurant

Thai Spirit is a small restaurant located in Eagle Rock on Colorado Blvd, across from Target. Is a traditional Thai-Chinese restaurant with the best orange chicken I have ever had. This is one of my favorite casual restaurants. I am a big fan of Thai food, so I am very critical when it comes to it. I found this restaurant as a recommendation from a friend. It is a family owned restaurant. The inside of the restaurant is not fancy at all, just a couple of tables and traditional Thailand decorations and pictures. Parking is provided, but it is rather narrow and not that many parking spaces are available. Parking spaces are also shared with the business next door.

My favorite dish is the Orange Chicken; it’s not your typical dish either. The dish consists of chicken pieces cover in a batter and deep fried. They are made to order and served while still hot with a light cover of a sweet and sour sauce. The mix of the tangy sauce with the crispy batter and the moist tender chicken inside make a perfect combination. If you pair it up with some fried chicken rice and their Thai Ice Tea you have a great dinner enough for two on a low budget. Their Thai Ice Tea has a rich flavor form the tea with the smooth taste of the cream.

Prices are reasonable for the amount of food they give you. They range from $5-$13, and one plate is usually enough for two people. Other dishes that I like and recommend are:
Pad Thai Noodles
Ginger and Black Mushrooms Chicken
Sweet and sour Chicken
Broccoli Beef in Oyster Sauce

If you are looking for great Thai restaurant that feels like eating at home, Thai Spirit is you place. Nothing fancy just great food!

Thai Spirit
2617 Colorado Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90041
(323) 256-1644

Spain Restaurant

“Sometimes the small places are the greatest.”

I have to start this blog with one of my favorite restaurants: Spain Restaurant.
Spain Restaurant is a small restaurant located in Echo Park. Is not your typical restaurant, the location is a little inconvenient, there is little parking and the restaurant is very small. But once you taste the food, you forget all of that. The service has always been great, and the food is very home style with the traditional Spanish taste.

The Paella, which is such a traditional Spanish dish, comes in moderate portions and you have the option to ask for a portion big enough for various amounts of guests. The paella is a mix of beef, chicken, pork, Spanish sausage, seafood, vegetables and rice. It is served in the same pan as it is cook, so you know if it was not done correctly. The rice is still moist, but not soggy and the meat is tender and not over or under cook. Your can taste the flavor of the spices, the meat and the vegetables with a little freshness of lime juice all combine into one great dish. All the flavors in this paella are perfect. One of my favorite dishes from this restaurant is the Argentinean’s empanadas. They have chicken, beef, cheese and, jam and cheese. Empanadas are like small savory cakes. They are crispy on the outside and soft and tender in the inside. The flavors are strong, but not overpowering, and the texture is always right. Another of my favorite things from this restaurant is that they have a great variety of Latin American products which are hard to find in other stores. Every time I go I order a Guarana (a Brazilian soft drink), which I can rarely find somewhere else. I always stop by when I don’t have a lot of time and want food that taste like I went to a great restaurant in no time. Since the location is not that great, I usually make it to go. But either way, this is one of my favorite restaurants. I go as often as a can, since it is near by where I live.

Overall food and service are always great, prices are medium, and the location and parking are bad. But if you make it to go, or live near by you can get it delivered and forget about the location and parking.

Spain Restaurant is definitely one of my favorites.

Spain Restaurant
1866 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026-1762
Phone: (323) 667-9045
www.restaurantspain.net

Frida Restaurant

Last Saturday night while trying to find a new place to eat with my boyfriend, we realized we had not tried the new Frida Restaurant, at the Americana at Brand shopping and dinning development in Glendale. So we got in the car and drove to Frida.

As we had already experience in the past by coming to the Americana, the parking is very convenient and the service is good.

The restaurant had a good atmosphere and the décor really impressed me, it was a mix of traditional Mexican techniques and modern culture. In the middle of the room, right between the patio and the inside of the restaurant was a glass curtain. The glass curtain was the perfect system to combine the inside and the outside in one easy flow. It made the restaurant seem bigger and the breeze from the night was refreshing. The restaurant was well designed and decorated. Very appropriate for a Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles, it brought a piece of Mexican art with the contemporary culture of LA.

When we arrived the restaurant was almost full, so we wrote our names and waited about 5-10 min. We were promptly seated and the waiter came by quickly with chips and salsa and offered drinks. The waiter brought two types of salsa, a red on and a guacamole one. The red one had a smoke dried chile taste and the second one a lime cilantro flavor. The first salsa was okay, but the second one was too liquid. I didn’t know at the beginning it was supposed to be guacamole, because it seemed diluted with water. My boyfriend decided to try a Mezcal: Gusano rojo (Red Worm) shot of tequila, which runs about $8. According to him the tequila was not bad, but nothing amazing either. It was served with a red chile/salsa type of drink to complement the shot. A different waiter took our order, we both wanted to try the Pechuga Fogata (Bonfire Chicken Breast) which ran about $16. When it arrived, by a different waiter, it was a red butterfly half chicken breast with a sauté mushroom balsamic salad. The salad was delicious, sweet and tangy, just the right flavor. The chicken had a smoked sweet roasted pepper taste. It had been longed marinated and then quickly grilled, served with a little bit of the same taste sauce on top. The texture was good, a thin layer of chicken with just the right moisture, not dry at all. But for me the salad did not complement the chicken, and the chicken fell short to my expectations. The taste was good, but not worth of eating it again. On the other side my boyfriend really enjoyed it. So it may just have been that I did not appreciate the heavy smoked roasted pepper taste. At the end the service was good, but I wish we would have had only one server through the night. The food most likely will not make me come back, but it wasn’t horrible. I might give it a try at a different night…

Overall it was decent, but not as I had imagined it. It defiantly fell short to my expectations. The service was good, but the food was not as I had anticipated. Not one of my favorite places, defiantly not on my favorite list. At the end I was more impressed with the décor than with the food.


Frida Mexican Cuisine Glendale
www.fridarestaurant.com
The Americana at Brand 750 Americana Way
Glendale, CA 91210
(818) 551-1666

Welcome

As new times and changes come by, I feel the need to discover new tastes as well. Coming from a big city such as Los Angeles, it's hard to get used to only one flavor. It's fascinating when you can have food from a different country every day of the week. So my goal is to find new and exiting restaurants with flavors from around the world all located in the same city.