Heritage: Latino
Culinary Delights
The variety of scents and flavors found in California's authentic Latino cooking—gourmet "California style" and "Latin fusion"—as well as simply prepared "home-style," tickle the taste buds like nothing you've ever eaten before. Mexican cuisine, for example, celebrates the glory of the pepper. Chiles are famous for their sting, but delicate and refined salsas made from roasted poblanos, chipotles, and pasillos, among many others, will surprise and delight you. From the four-star to the out-of-the-way mom and pop restaurants, California boasts far more than its share of great chefs. As in the search for anything genuine, the trick is in knowing where to find the real thing rather than the cheap imitation.
Starting up north in Sacramento, Habanero Cava Latina serves Guatamalan coconut chicken, sweet plátanos con frijoles negros, and Peruvian pumpkin donuts served warm with vanilla ice cream and brown sugar syrup. Next door, Tapa The World provides tapas, wine and live flamenco music. At Ernesto's, spicy Mexican dishes are served including the hot pork chile verde sautéed with green tomatillos, chiles, onions, and fresh cilantro, a house specialty…
In San Francisco, Las Tinajas on Mission Street, is a Nicaraguan restaurant featuring charbroiled meats, zesty seafood, and great soups. San Miguel on 20th Street serves excellent Guatamalan fare in a tropical setting…
In Los Angeles' Boyle Heights, La Serenata de Garibaldi serves incredible specials like the Quesadilla de Pescado, a piece of fish encased in corn dough, then poached in a sauce of fresh tomatillos flavored with dill. Over at La Boca del Conga Room, popular dishes include the lobster empanada, Ecuadorian-style tamal, steamed mussels, and pollo adobado…
At Candelas, a great addition to San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter, the dinner crowd is treated to chef Eduardo Baeza's creation, Langosta Baeza—fresh lobster stuffed with mushrooms, jalapeños, onions, bacon, and aged tequila. A community landmark since 1956, Chuey's Numero Uno Restaurant & Cantina is a melting-pot destination where lawyers and judges mix with laborers over good food and drink. Wall photographs document the history of the surrounding Barrio Logan neighborhood.
Highlights
- Los Angeles:
- La Serenata de Garibaldi (323.265.2887)
- La Boca Del Conga Room (323.938.1696)
- Sacramento:
- Habanero Cava Latina (916.492.0333)
- Ernesto's (916.441.5850)
- Tapa The World (916.442.4353)
- San Diego:
- Candelas (619.702.4455)
- Chuey's Numero Uno Restaurant & Cantina (619.234.6937)
- San Francisco:
- Las Tinajas (415.695.9933)
- San Miguel (415.826.0173)
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