Popping Into Papo's Cuban Kitchen - CLOSED

Papo's Cuban Kitchen

2422 East Katella Ave. 

Anaheim, CA 92806

Longtime readers of this restaurant blog must know by now that I'm very fond of Cuban food. A quick check of the side of this blog confirms this. Under the types of cuisine tabs, this is the 14th Cuban place we have reviewed in the last 11 years, making Cuban food the third most popular national cuisine we've been to, trailing only Italian and Mexican, which are far and away more readily available. 

Why do I love Cuban food? Two main reasons come to mind. One is that I love pork, and for some reason, Cuban people know how to cook it the right way. The second reason is my affinity for Cuban sandwiches. The ham, roasted pork, mustard, pickles, and cheese, all on toasted bread, is probably one of the most balanced sandwiches you can find. If I see one on a menu, I'm almost always inclined to get one.  

With my love of Cuban food, I'm always looking for a new Cuban spot to try. Papo's has been around since last July, and I'm ashamed to admit that I did not find out about them until recently. Partly because of the lockdown but also because Duck season was put on hold in mid-March, we really haven't been in this neck of the woods for some time now. Hopefully, the food here will help give us a reason to return this way again soon. 

Papo's is situated near the Honda Center, just across the freeway, in the same shopping plaza as Hooters. From what I've gathered, it is run by the Sosa family, originally from Matanzas, Cuba. They serve food that has been served through the generations. This restaurant is a labor of love that they want to share with the people of Orange County. 

This is a quick-service restaurant where ordering is done at the counter. The menu lists all of the greatest hits of Cuban cuisine. They have six appetizers, salads, sandwiches, and 13 entrees for their guests. Entrees will set you back right around $14, while no sandwich goes for more than $12, including the lechon sandwich that Brad Johnson, OC Register restaurant critic, called the best thing he ate during a week last year. I was excited to see if Papo's could enter our Cuban restaurant rotation. 

Katie was doing business up in Duarte, so it was the perfect opportunity for her to hop off the 57 freeway and pick up the food I called in. The first thing that I opened and tried was the Lechon Asado ($13). I meant to take just a few bites and then have it for dinner, but that did not work out too well. The tender and delicious pork was addicting. I could not stop eating it. The savoriness of the pork mixed with the garlic and citrus notes of the marinade made this dish a winner. I opted to get the congris, a mixture of black beans, rice, and sweet plantains. Both sides were excellent and rounded out the meal wonderfully. I only had about a quarter of this left for dinner, as this meal tested my willpower to its breaking point. 

Katie went with the Bistec de Palomilla ($14) for lunch. This beef dish utilizes skirt steak and has mojo sauce and grilled onions. She really liked the flavor of the steak, but it was less tender than she would have liked. She claimed she'd get something else the next time she was at Papo's. She also had the congris but got the tostones, a twice-fried plantain, instead of the sweeter version. Tostones are okay. I've never really been a big fan, as I prefer the sweeter version. 

This Sandwich Cubano ($10.50) was supposed to be my lunch this afternoon, but since I could not control myself with the pork, I only ate a few bites and kept the rest for dinner. This was another winner from Papo's. The same delicious slow-roasted pork used with the lechon dish was joined between two slices of grilled bread with some ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard. I love the contrasts of this sandwich, between the meats, the tang from the mustard, the creaminess of the cheese, and the crunch from the bread. It's one of the better Cuban sandwiches available in OC. The fries were a little on the lukewarm side after their 20-minute car ride down the freeway. They would be just average fries if I had gotten them hot anyway.  

Since Katie has been on her keto diet and wouldn't have the congris or the tostones, she opted to complete her meal with this Ensalata Mixta ($7). This basic mixed salad included greens, tomato, cucumber, red onion, and sliced avocado. It was dressed with a Cuban vinaigrette, which only differed from a regular vinaigrette with the addition of some garlic. Katie liked the freshness of the veggies, and the vinaigrette kept her interested. 

Papo's is a definite must for fans of Cuban food in OC. They just fail to eclipse my favorite Cuban sandwich at DeSimone Deli in Huntington Beach, but just barely. However, they make one of the better pork lechon plates I have had around these parts. I can see us eating here quite often when we are allowed to attend Ducks games, whenever possible. Prices were on the fair side, with nothing on the menu setting you back more than $15. Cheaper than what you'd pay down the street at Felix in Orange, where you'd pay $5 more per plate for not as good of food, at least based on my visits. I'm so happy that we have another Cuban food option available in OC, and it's also fantastic that it's so close to a freeway, so we can stop by and pick it up whenever we are in the area. 

Out of five dominos (because this tiled game is one of the national pastimes of this island nation), five being best to zero being worst, Papo's Cuban Kitchen gets 3 dominos. 

For some reason, Papo's Cuban Kitchen got rid of its website, so to keep abreast of everything Papo's, head to their Instagram page here: https://www.instagram.com/paposcubankitchen/ 

Island Hoping in La Palma

Isla Cuban Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar

30 Centerpointe Drive #12

La Palma, CA 90623

I might have a problem. It's a problem I'm more than happy to have, but a problem nonetheless. I am addicted to Cuban food. The main problem is that there are not too many Cuban places to eat in OC. My unofficial count is at about 7 restaurants that I'd consider strictly Cuban. Yes, there are some spots that kind of verge on Cuban cuisine, but they also have other food that they specialize in.

Of the seven Cuban restaurants in OC, I have been to five of them so far, and my favorites have been Bella Cuba, Moros, and Habana, in that order. Porto's, of course, is a classic, and you couldn't get me to go back to Felix in Orange again because the two times I have visited, their food has been bone dry. If you are looking for the best I have had in Southern Californa it's definitely El Cochinito in Silver Lake. I was definitely intrigued as to where newcomer Isla Cuban Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar was going to end up on my list of OC Cuban spots.

I had read a review about Isla in the now-defunct, but not forgotten OC Weekly, and a glowing review in the OC Register, where the only complaint Brad Johnson could muster was about the noise level inside the restaurant, (he was not wrong about that). Isla is a family-owned restaurant, with items from not only Cuba, but also the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. The matriarch of the family, Senora Deysi, is the inspiration for the food that they serve at Isla.

I had made 5pm reservations on a recent Saturday to meet up with my parents here. Reservations are definitely the way to go, as the restaurant and enclosed front patio filled up rather quickly during our visit. There are maybe twenty or so tables inside, another ten on the patio, and a ten-seat bar off to the right-hand side of the restaurant. The dining room is lit with hanging chandeliers and the obligatory pictures of Cuba adorning the walls. A pleasing kind of art deco vibe fills the space.

The menu reads like a greatest hits of Cuban cuisine. It starts with seven traditional appetizers, there's a quartet of soups and salads, beef, chicken, pork, and seafood entrees, a Mofongo, and sandwiches, which are unfortunately only available from 11 to 5pm. Since we were seated at exactly 5:03 it prevented my mom from having the only thing that she had her heart set on this evening, a Cuban sandwich. Even a request from our server to the kitchen yielded an emphatic no that they would not be making a sandwich three minutes past their 5pm cutoff time. Apparently, they lock up their sandwich ingredients in a time activated safe, which will only be opened at 11am on the next day. At this point, my mom checked out, and would not be eating anything at Isla on this evening. Not a great start to our meal. Let's see if the night could be salvaged with what the other three of us ordered.

It's a Cuban restaurant, so no chips and salsa insight, but instead you get Plantain and Yucca Chips with Garlic Sauce to start out with. I enjoyed the plantains, more than the yucca chips. The real star here was the garlic sauce, which actually made even the blander yucca chips taste good. 

Out of the seven tapas options, we settled on the Empanadas ($10) which are offered with either beef or chicken. We went with chicken. Even though I'm more partial to beef, I really enjoyed the empanada that I consumed way too quickly. It was filled with plenty of chicken and the two sauces served with this were pretty stellar. The green was my favorite by just a bit.

My dad is pretty unpredictable with what he usually gets in restaurants. I never know what he's leaning towards until he orders. On this evening he could not resist the Salmon A La Parrilla ($22). I have a love-hate relationship with salmon. It's either really good or it's not to my liking at all. This was definitely the former. It was cooked perfectly, the garlic sauce was delicious, and I was a little whistful that I did not get the salmon. My dad's only complaint was the black beans and rice, which he did not really care for, although he did not give me a reason why.

Katie is a lot more predictable when it comes to guessing what she's going to order. I knew she would be having a chicken entree, and I was proved correct when she went with the Pollo Asado Isla ($19). This chicken was slow roasted and utilized the same excellent garlic mojo sauce that topped the salmon. She loved the tender chicken, but it was the garlic sauce that made her swoon with delight. She called this classic comfort food. The black beans rounded this out nicely.

I came here expecting to get the Bistec Encebollado, but our server really talked up this Lechon Asado ($19) and being a big fan of pork, that's the way I went. This was the best version I have had in OC. The menu description claims that this pork is marinated for two days, and after my first bite, I knew it was true. The pork is roasted wonderfully and topped with more of that garlic mojo sauce that I could not get enough of. I actually liked the black beans and rice. I mixed them together to form a kind of congri. The black beans were full of flavor and really livened up the white rice. The plantains were sweet but subtly, just the way I like them. A very good meal.

Dessert would be our last hurrah at Isla, and I decided on the Tres Leches Cake ($7). This very traditional Cuban dessert failed to impress. I did not mind the moistness of this, as that's what you expect when getting this dessert. I did mind the blandness that each bite brought to my taste buds. A way too mild taste and the frosting did not help out here either. Looking online, we should have maybe gone with the flan instead.

Even with the sandwich snafu at the start of our visit, I left Isla pretty impressed with the food that I experienced on this evening. All three of our entrees and empanadas were great and made me definitely want to come back again soon to try their sandwiches, (before 5 of course), and also try one of their beef dishes. Our server Raymundo handled a difficult situation at the start of our visit as well as could have been expected. No complaints about his service on this evening. Where does Isla rank as far as Cuban food in OC? I'd put them right near the top, if not the best. I'd have to go back to Bella Cuba again to see if it's just as good as it was back when we visited over eight years ago. Yes, it's difficult for us to make it back to a restaurant once we visit, with my ever-growing lists of restaurants I want to experience. I am very grateful for another OC Cuban option that will help satisfy my Cuban food addiction.

Out of five cows, (because the city of La Palma was once named Dairyland, and they have a cow on their city seal to commemorate this), five being best to zero being worst, Isla Cuban Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar gets 3.5 cows.

For more information about Isla Cuban Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar, check out their website here: https://www.islacubankitchen.com/

This Little Pig Feels Right at Home at El Cochinito - CLOSED

El Cochinito

3508 Sunset Blvd. 

Los Angeles, CA 90026

Keen readers of this blog know of my love for Cuban food. Unfortunately, being based in Orange County, there are only a few options for Cuban cuisine there. There's the solid Bella Cuba in Santa Ana, the good, which includes Habana, Porto's, and Moros, and then there's the highly overrated Felix in Orange. You won't find much more than the occasional Cuban sandwich on a menu in OC.

So, since I was on vacation, we made a little weekend getaway trip to LA. We had a family event the next day, and I have had a Cuban place on my list for a long time. So we brought one of my favorites among Katie's cousins, Steve, and his somewhat average wife, Yvette, who just happens to be Cuban. She claims to be quite the Cuban food expert and is always ready to voice her opinion, whether right or wrong, as she is wrong almost 90 percent of the time. We headed to El Cochinito on Sunset Boulevard with their remarkable daughter, Gabbi.

El Cochinito got my attention when it was mentioned in this well-written article as one of the top 7 places for Cuban food in LA and also when it won the award for best Cuban sandwich in the world. Since Cuban sandwiches are the most balanced of all sandwiches, I quickly added this restaurant to my list, and the perfect time to visit finally came about six months later.

Situated in a small strip of stores anchored by a Baskin Robbins and a Subway, El Cochinito blends into the scenery almost perfectly, so it's easy to spot if you know it's there. Gladys Gutierrez opened this little restaurant in 1988, but unfortunately, she passed away almost five years ago. It's now run by her grandchildren and has not missed a beat.

We arrived here on a Saturday at 7pm and waited about five minutes. The restaurant is long and narrow and not conducive to big parties, but they managed to squeeze our party of five near the back of the restaurant. There are ten to fifteen tables here, all ideal for two to four guests. El Cochinito was doing a booming take-out business this evening, as there was a steady stream of people picking up their orders throughout our stay.

El Cochinito means the little pig in Spanish, so pork is well represented on the menu. Plenty of traditional sandwiches and entrees, desserts, Cuban coffee, Cuban soft drinks, and tropical milkshakes are listed on their menu. Prices for entrees range between $13 to $18, and a sandwich will set you back at most $11. Excellent for the wallet, but how would everything taste? Let's check it out.

We attacked this Bread Plate when it was placed on the table before we ordered. It was nicely toasted and made even better with plenty of softened butter. The bread had a pleasing crunch as well. They were not shy about bringing us more and did not even charge us the 85 cents the menu listed.

After our short drive from Glendale, we were hungry, so we ordered some Tostones ($5). These smashed and fried plantains were fine but made even better with the mojo de ajo (garlic sauce). They were fried nicely, with an absence of grease. Well done, but I was more eager for the following item that came out for us. 

The world's best Cuban sandwich? This Cubano ($11) is the best I have had in California and rivals the few I've had in Florida. I'm a big supporter of the Cuban sandwich, calling it one of the most balanced sandwiches. It's a sandwich that has everything. This traditional version included some well-flavored and savory ham and pork, Swiss cheese for a bit of creaminess, mustard added for tang, garlic sauce for a flavor booster, and pickles to round everything out. The bread is nice and crunchy due to toasting, which compresses the insides of the sandwich together to form a flavor bomb when you bite into it. The only thing I did not like about this was that I had to share it with Katie. I should have gotten another one for just myself. No wonder El Cochinito won that huge trophy you see when you walk through the door. They definitely earned it with this sandwich.

Steve and Gabi split this Bistec Empanizado ($17) this evening. Gabbi split this with her dad because she was heartsick over an impending breakup with her boyfriend, Blaine. Oh, to be 16 again. This breaded steak reminded me of a country-fried steak with a little more heft. Even though the breading was a little more puffed up than a regular breaded steak, the beef under it was still present. I had one bite and liked it, but I might have become bored if I had the whole thing. This came with Black Beans and Rice. The beans were rich and flavorful, which may have had a hint of garlic. No complaints from either Steve or Gabi about this, so I assume they were happy campers.

Even though El Cochinito is known for its pork dishes, it's even in their name that Yvette wanted to try their Palomilla ($16). This is a thin steak, sirloin, covered with sauteed onions on top. Hard to please, Yvette said this was not as good as her mom's, but she did admit it was one of the better ones she's had in a restaurant. Of course, she was selfish and did not share with anyone, so I'll take her word for it. The Madures were delicious here, and I'm not usually a big fan of plantains, but these struck just the right balance of sweetness for my palate.

The Lechon Asado ($18) is listed as a house specialty, and after I tasted this, I can see why. This is the best pork dish I've had in a while, and I often order pork often. I've heard they roast their pork for ten hours, which shows in the finished product. The shredded pork is nice and tender, very flavorful, and has just the right amount of little pieces of fat running through it. Not a bad bite on the plate. This came with some Congri, a mixture of black beans and rice, which is the way to go here. Also sharing the plate was some Yuca, which I have never liked, but this version was excellent. It was not dry and starchy like others I have had. A very impressive plate.

Flan ($6) is not something I've ever been too fond of. I only usually order it if there's nothing else on a dessert menu I like. This is one that I would get again and again. This was the best flan I've ever had. It had the perfect texture, a very good caramel sauce, and just the right amount of sweetness. We all agreed that this was a special flan and we never agreed on anything.

Special is definitely the way I'd describe this visit to El Cochinito. This was the best Cuban meal I have had in California, and they definitely rival the Cuban restaurants I've been to in Florida. They even recently opened a spot in West Palm Beach, so they are confidentto go toe to toe with the heavyweights of Cuban cuisine. No complaints with the food or service this evening. They took great care of us, even though we had Yvette at our table. The only drawback I can see about this place is that their parking lot is tiny, and I'm sure it's frustrating at peak times. It will be challenging to come back up this way again and not stop by for one of the world's best Cuban sandwiches.

Out of five reservoirs (because this restaurant is located in the Silver Lake section of Los Angeles,,, named after a local politician who helped build the reservoir that surrounds this area), five being best to zero being worst, El Cochinito gets 4 solid reservoirs. 

 For more information about El Cochinito, head to their website here: http://www.cochinitola.com/

A Little Taste of Cuba in Irvine

Habana

708 Spectrum Center Dr. 

Irvine, CA 92618

If you have been to the Irvine Spectrum Center recently you have probably noticed all of the construction going on in the former Macy's area of this large South OC shopping and entertainment complex. The Macy's has been demolished, there are quite a few parking spots being taken away by the construction, and the Irvine Company has just announced 14 of the eventual 30 new businesses that will be opening over the next year.

These include an 85 Degrees Bakery and Cafe, a Hello Kitty Cafe, an Afters Ice Cream, a BLK Coffee, and a Falasophy, which is a modern Lebanese street kitchen. It's not all food places of course, as there's also going to be a Sephora and the always trendy H&M. This roster of new stores and restaurants is sure to make the Spectrum busier, but there's also going to be a new 1,500 space parking structure built to help alleviate the troublesome parking situation here.

For now, Habana is kind of on an island off by itself. If you are coming from the mall side, Habana is situated right behind the Urban Outfitters, Barnes & Noble, and Tilly's. If you are coming from the parking lot, look for Dave and Buster's and it will be to your left. Complicating things a bit, Habana has no sign on its building. I'm not sure if this is a temporary thing or not, but it does make it a little harder to find this isolated (for now) restaurant.

Habana is not new of course. The location at the LAB in Costa Mesa has been open for over twenty years now and has been the scene for some wild late nights when I was in my 20's and early 30's. I've also had some pretty good Cuban dinners at Habana, including this one that I reviewed seven years ago. Has it really been that long? Geez, it was definitely time to visit Habana's new spot at The Spectrum.

Entering Habana is done on the mall side of the restaurant. If you enter from the parking lot you will be entering their small coffee shop and bakery. The inside of Habana transports you to a bygone era that most of us have just seen in the movies or on TV. There's a patio which we hear is nice and serene, but we were seated in their glorious dining room, with its arched, high ceilings, which lends to the grand ballroom feel you get when dining here. Adding to the ambiance is the table setting, with its small lamps providing not enough lighting to the darker than I would like restaurant, the glass chalices used for water glasses, and the china that looks like it's right from the 50's, and only used for special occasions. All of this ambiance was great, but it's all for naught if the food is not good, so let's see how that turned out for us.

Mexican restaurants traditionally start you off with chips and salsa, while at Habana they start your meal with a trio of cassava, taro, and sweet potato chips and then pair it with a trio of sauces; chimichurri, a red pepper and garlic salsa, and the best of the bunch, a black bean dip which I could not get enough of. Addictive, and they were not shy about refilling this.

It had been almost two days since my last Caesar salad, and I was intrigued by the Habana Caesar Salad ($7), so I had to give it a try. Not only was this a very generous portion size for a Caesar, it could have easily fed two people, but I liked the slight twist they made to make this their own. It came with some very good garlic croutons, some parmesan crisps which added some nice texture, and a very well done papaya seed Caesar dressing. The key to the success of this salad was plenty of parmesan and the just right amount of dressing used on this. The papaya tinge was just enough but did not overpower. A delicious salad which I would get again without hesitation.

Ozker must have been a little jealous that I was enjoying my salad so much because he hastily ordered this Mariscos Fritos ($14). This fried fish platter contained some calamari, shrimp, and conch fritters. That's at least what the menu said, but I only saw one or two shrimp and no conch. Maybe Ozker snagged them before I got a chance to try them, but he's not that fast. The buttermilk fried calamari was nicely done, without the heaviness that usually accompanies fried fish. I really enjoyed the jalapeno crema that came as a dipping sauce with this.

Sorry for the poor picture quality of Martin's entree, it was really dark in the dining room on this evening. He had the El Churrasco ($28). This plate included an 8-ounce skirt steak, corn on the cob with a chile lime butter and cotija cheese, white rice, plantains, and black beans. Martin thought the steak was a little under-seasoned, but it was helped out with a good chimichurri sauce included and was just tender enough. As for the sides, he was not really a big fan of the corn but liked the rice and the black beans well enough. He'd get something else the next time he was at Habana.

Ozker probably got the most famous of all Cuban dishes, the Ropa Vieja ($20). He made quick work of this shredded beef which was studded with sweet peppers, onions, garlic, and tomatoes, and then served over rice. A very comforting dish, the beef was flavorful and tender, and the sides of black beans and plantains did not last too long either. A very good rendition of Cuba's national dish.

I always steer towards pork at Cuban restaurants, and that was the case when I stepped up and had this El Puerco Primo ($23). This homey meal had a great balance to it. A very large pork shank was plopped in the middle of some creamy and delicious garlic mashed potatoes, greens, and sweet plantains to finish it off. I loved the savory pork, it did not have a bad bite in the bunch. The greens worked well with the potatoes, and the plate was rounded out nicely with the sweet plantains, which I'm not usually too fond of, but they went well here. A winning dish for sure.

No dessert for Martin, as he'd rather drink his dessert apparently. When you are at Habana you will no doubt hear the bartenders chopping coconuts to make this Al Centro Pa Dentro ($10). Looking around the dining room on this evening, this might be the signature drink at Habana. It's a mixture of coconut water, mint and Bacardi served in a freshly chopped coconut. I liked the refreshing taste of this, with the little kick you get from the rum after each sip. Be advised that these tip over rather easily, as both Martin and Ozker, spilled theirs at different parts of the evening. Amatures.

There were many desserts which sounded good to finish off my evening, but when I saw these Banana Fritters ($8) on the menu, I knew my quest for dessert was over. These bananas were wrapped in pastry dough and then fried and drizzled with a rich caramel rum sauce, and served with ice cream. I liked these, but they were a little difficult to eat. The pastry dough was not as light as I was hoping for. It was difficult to cut through, and once I did get through it, all the fried dough came off in one fell swoop. The caramel sauce was magical though.

This visit to Habana reaffirmed their position as top of the Cuban restaurant throne in OC. Not only is this one of the most beautiful restaurants in Orange County, but they have the food to back it up. I do wish they had their Cuban sandwich on the dinner menu, but that just gives me a reason to go back for lunch very soon. There's also a brunch that we have heard some good things about. Service on this evening was very professional, and our server kept things moving along nicely with some good pacing. I'm looking forward to the other new restaurants opening up at The Spectrum, but having Habana there is a great way to start things off.

Out of five bags of sugar, (because most people probably don't know this, but there's a Habana in Queensland, Australia named after a now-shuttered sugar mill), five being best to zero being worst, Habana gets 3.5 bags of sugar.


For more information about Habana, head to their website here: https://www.restauranthabana.com/#home-section

A Piece of Havana on Harbor Boulevard - CLOSED

Moros Cuban Restaurant

1299 South Harbor Blvd. 

La Habra, CA 90631

Yes, it's been a long time since we made it to OC's most northwestern city—the Seattle of the OC if you will. When most people think of La Habra, they almost always question me that this city is not actually in Orange County. Yes, this city contracts with the Los Angeles County Fire Department for fire protection, but trust me, La Habra is in OC.

We had not come this way in over four years when we made our maiden voyage here to visit one of the best burger spots anywhere, G Burger. On this trip, we visited my parents, who live in Yorba Linda, and we all craved Cuban food. A quick search of Yelp brought us to Moros Cuban Restaurant.

Moros is celebrating their 5th anniversary of being in business this year. That's a significant milestone in the challenging restaurant business. Located in a nondescript strip mall, the big draws appear to be a Pizza Hut and Cask and Hammer, an interesting-looking dive bar; this fifth anniversary is even more impressive here, where if you blink driving up Harbor, you might miss this place.

Their website describes their restaurant as a modern take on Cuban cuisine influenced by Spanish and Latin cooking. The kitchen and this restaurant are helmed by Sean Saafan, an Egyptian who moved to New York at 19, attended the French Culinary Institute, and graduated top of his class. This is a pretty impressive resume, and it made us very excited to try the food at Moros.

We arrived at Moros just before 6pm on a recent Saturday. It was not a big place, and I was worried that we would have a long wait, but we just had to wait for one of the 12 tables to be cleared, and we were seated. There's no hostess stand here, and when you walk in, you see the steam tables used for their Sunday buffet. You think you ordered at the counter, but it's waiter service here. Lots of bright colors adorn the space, and the smells from the kitchen really got our mouths watering. We hurriedly made our selections and waited for our food to come out.

Before our food hit the table, we were presented with these Rolls and Black Bean Dip. The rolls had a subtle sweetness, adding flavor to this excellent bean dip. The bean dip appears runny in the picture but has some texture. I ate my fair share of this.

Whenever I think empanadas, I always think of Argentina, but other countries also feature these portable meat-filled pies. Moros offers Beef or Chicken Empanadas ($5 for an order of three), so we had to try both. The better of the two was the beef version, but both suffered from a bland and almost dry outer shell. The chimichurri served with these helped a little bit, but more was needed. These were not filled with enough meat to overcome the outer shell. We'd skip these next time.

You must not skip these Papas Rellena ($5), though. These little balls of deliciousness were filled with ground beef and onions, then encased in mashed potatoes and fried—kind of like a bite-sized version of Sheppard's pie. They were served with a thin white sauce, which coated them well and added some extra flavor. It was a delicious appetizer.

Entrees are up next, and I was a little surprised with my sister's selection, the Churrasco ($19). I can't remember the last time I saw her order steak in a restaurant, so this was something rare, no pun intended. This skirt steak was done to her requested medium and was still pretty juicy and delicious. It came with grilled onions and chimichurri sauce. Skirt steak can sometimes be hit or miss, but this was a winner this evening. It also came with a mound of rice and some delicious plantains. My sister did not eat much of this but took the rest home and enjoyed it the next day.

I wanted to try one of their rice dishes here, but the menu states that they take 30 to 40 minutes, and I did not want everyone to wait for my food, so I went with this Lechon Asado ($14). This marinated pork came topped with onions and a mojo sauce. Some pieces were a little dry, but this was remedied by asking for extra mojo sauce. This was a good-sized portion and very good the next day. The rice here was good, but the plantains were better. Fried nicely and not overly sweet. Just the way I like them.

Both Katie and my mom got sandwiches, so we'll start with Katie's first, the Chicken Sandwich de Moros ($11). This sandwich also includes beef or pork, but Katie's always partial to chicken. The chicken was joined on the toasted bread with plenty of greens, tomato, and their secret sauce. Katie felt the chicken here was a little on the dry side, but she enjoyed the flakiness of the bread. She thought this was a decent chicken sandwich but did not think it was very Cuban. She'd get something else on her next visit here.

My mom is a sucker for Cubano Sandwiches ($11), so I was not shocked to see her order this. The Cuban sandwich is one of the most balanced and delicious sandwiches ever created. You have saltiness from the ham and pork, the tang from the mustard and pickles, the creaminess of the Swiss cheese, and a touch of sweetness from the bread they use. All these components make a pretty awesome sandwich, and this one at Moros was right up there. They use a lot of meat in this, a lot more than we are used to seeing in a Cuban sandwich. It could have been pressed together with a little more, but the abundance of meat probably prevented that. This was served with some long, steak-sized fries, which had a nice crispness to the outside. My mom is more partial to smaller fries but found these to be acceptable. A lot of food here, and half of it got packed away for my dad's lunch the next day.

Speaking of my dad, his entree was the last one to hit the table. It's always a crapshoot about what he will order, but he settled on this Camarones Al Ajillo Con Rum ($16). This shrimp dish with peppers and rum made my dad very happy. The waitress talked him into a lower spice level than he would have liked, but the flavors were still pretty stellar. The shrimp were cooked well, but the sauce made this dish for me. When it was mixed with the rice, it resembled a jambalaya. Very tasty and deceivingly filling.

Moros is different from any Cuban restaurant we have been to before. They definitely nailed what they are going for here, and that's a modern take on Cuban food. The flavors were bold, and some of the meats had some issues, but everything was excellent for the most part. The next time we are here, I'll invest the time and try one of their rice dishes, which looked and smelled terrific when brought out to nearby tables. The prices were more than fair for the amount of food you get here. Service was superb, with Diana taking care of our every need, even on this busy Saturday evening. Glad we made it up here to La Habra again, and it will definitely not be four years before we're back.

Out of five horses (because the La Habra Stakes is run at Santa Anita Park almost every year), five being best to zero being worst, Moros Cuban Restaurant gets 3 horses.

For information about Moros Cuban Restaurant, head to their website here: http://www.moroscubanrestaurant.com/#about