My Old Cuban Haunt

Almost everybody in L.A. has been to or at least heard of Versailles.


But, if you haven't, allow me to introduce you to a reliable local Cuban chain -- I have yet to eat a bad meal here.

I've been to three of the five locations. And, although I frequent the one on La Cienega, on this particular night, I went to the Culver City outpost with L.A. and OC Foodventures and Wandering Chopsticks.

Funny how I've never blogged about Versailles until now.

Famoso Pollo Versailles -- Versailles Famous Garlic Chicken ($10.95).


Roasted half chicken marinated in garlic sauce garnished with sliced onions.

This is Wandering Chopsticks' favorite. It's my second-favorite thing on the menu. Always juicy and sure to please even your pickiest friend.

Macitas de Puercos Fritas -- Fried Pork Chunks ($10.95).

Tender lean chunks of pork marinated in garlic mojo sauce topped with onions.

Amazingly, this was L.A. and OC Foodventures' first time at Versailles. His dish was tasty enough, but I think the frying of the pork dried it out a tad.

Lechon Asado -- Cuban Style Roast Pork ($10.95).


Classic Cuban roast pork marinated in garlic mojo criollo sauce and accompanying beans.

This is my favorite dish at Versailles. It's hard for me to order anything else.

I don't eat all the onions, but I adore the flavor they leave all over the plentiful pork. If you like garlic, you'll fall in love with my favorite dish, too. Every single moist and tender bite is steeped with glorious garlic. The flavor is so strong that I always make a barrier of rice to block the juices from running into the beautiful golden plantains. Then there are the beans. Slightly smoky and perfect with my garlic-juice-laden rice.

Simple. Flavorful. Filling. What more could you ask for?

Lechon Asado in Little Tokyo

********THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED.********

It doesn't seem very smart to eat at a Cuban restaurant in Little Tokyo, but Mr. Monkey and I do so anyway.

Cuba Central is a small family-run restaurant smack-dab in the middle of a Japanese microcosm. We are repeat patrons, even though the place can be sort of hit or miss, but it's the hits and the reasonable prices that keep us coming back.

If you don't expect greatness, you won't be disappointed. You may even be pleasantly surprised. The drinks here are always interesting and yummy. Mr. Monkey enjoyed his Materva, while I happily downed a peach mojito.

I found my lechon asado ($12) rather delectable. It's not remotely as good as Glam's, of course, but few things are!

Mr. Monkey's ropa vieja ($12) was lovely, too. I found it a bit on the salty side, but he didn't think so.

Our dining companion tried the arroz frito ($10), which she said was very tasty except for the dry chicken in it. Boo.

Our extra side of plantains brought a little sweetness to the table.

Service at Cuba Central is somewhat hit or miss, too. We were lucky last night to have a hit. Our server was warm and attentive and made our meal all the more enjoyable.

Cuban By the Highway

********THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED.********

While driving down the 10 freeway in the middle of the San Gabriel Valley, you may spy a nondescript building next to Target with "Mayumba" in red letters. It doesn't have the most exciting sign or inviting location, but Mayumba (3514 Rosemead Blvd., Rosemead) is a decent Cuban restaurant with reasonably priced lunch specials.


I'm told the place fills up for dinner, but it was a ghost town at noon. For that reason alone, I'll be back -- it's great to be able to get out and get back to the office in good time.

I was intrigued by a drink called Ironbeer on the menu. You know what I do when I'm intrigued.

It tasted kind of like Dr. Pepper. I was amused by my glass, too.

Backdaddy got the bistec de pollo empanizado with white rice, black beans, and plantains.

Purell opted for the palomilla a la parilla with rice, black beans, and yucca.

I ordered a happy mixture of Backdaddy's and Purell's meals -- palomilla empanizada with moros (black beans mixed with white rice) and plantains.

I liked my meal. My thin breaded steak was crispy, tender, and juicy, and the onions that topped it were well sauteed. The moros weren't the greatest; they were a bit on the dry side. I think I may opt for my beans and rice separated next time. The plantains didn't disappoint. I only wish I'd had more.

All lunch specials cost $7.95. I'm surprised this place doesn't have more business midday. Selfishly, I hope it stays this way, so I can continue having quick lunches here. It's not El Colmao, but I'll be back to Mayumba for convenience's sake.

No News Is Good News

I've been incredibly content lately. Work is going swimmingly -- no stress, no looming deadlines, no pressure, no drama. Home life is stable and problem-free.

You'd think I'd be happy with this. Well, I am. Very. But being happy (and by "happy," I mean "run-of-the-mill happy," as opposed to "over-the-moon ecstatic") doesn't really make for good blogging.

Happy is...dare I say it?
Yes, I dare.
Happy is boring! B-O-R-I-N-G.

Let's see just how boring my last few happy days were.

Yesterday, I went to The Coffee Bean and saw this.

Today, I saw this.

This is how boring this week has been, people. I noted a seasonal coffee switch. And I took pictures of it.

Are you asleep yet? Are you?

Today, I went to El Colmao for lunch with Cheeks, Bootcamper, and Talksa. This would've been fun to blog about...except for the fact that I already did so just two weeks ago. Well, here are some pics anyway. That's me and Bootcamper being stealth with our menus. But, really, what more is there to say?

El Colmao = yummy, fast, inexpensive lunch.

It's nothing you and I didn't already know because I said as much before.

To spice things up, we really should've gone into the gaudy dress shop in the same strip mall. After all, Bootcamper is getting married next August.

Man, I can't even type that with a straight face.

Is it sad to be sad about being happy?

Yes.
And sick, really.

I have big news to share soon, which some of you already know, but it will not be officially prudent to divulge until next week. Right now? Not so much.

This was a stupid post. Like verbal diarrhea. Sorry, folks.

Cuban With Co-Workers and Day With Dad

First and foremost, thank you for all your kind words. They really mean a lot to me, and I sincerely appreciate the h+p, even though I always scoff at the ridiculousness of such things on message boards. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I've decided not to neglect what I'd originally wanted to talk about yesterday, so I'm going to start with a recap of the nice day I had (aside from the e-mail that was the subject of yesterday's post). Then I'll follow this with today's events. So, yes, this may be a bit long.

As I'd mentioned briefly yesterday, I had another enjoyable day at work, which is rare for me. I guess talking about my motion to dismiss wouldn't be that interesting, and trying to make you laugh with a description of e-mail shenanigans would be difficult. Thus, I'll just talk about lunch.

Cheeks, Bootcamper, Miz, T-West, Sassy, and I went to El Colmao (2328 W. Pico Blvd.) for great homestyle Cuban food for a great price. El Colmao rules. The portions are ample and the food made with love. The decor is...well...it's a hole in the wall, but who cares? You'll forget all about that after your first bite.

Bootcamper and I ordered what I almost always order at El Colmao -- bistec empanizado, which is steak pounded nice and thin and deliciously breaded and lightly fried. Mmm. It comes with beans and rice, as do all lunch specials. Miz and Cheeks gave their meals -- flash-fried baby back ribs and ropa vieja (i.e., shredded steak), respectively -- thumbs up. Sassy and T-West had the chuleta de puerca ahumada (smoked pork chop) and the chicken fajitas. Of course, we got fried plantains for the table. So freakin' good. Everything!

Today I had lunch with my dad and brother. It was a good lunch, both taste-wise and conversation-wise. I let my brother ask all the questions about my dad's tests. It was easier that way because my brother is a lot better at controlling his emotions than I am. I sat there, trying to absorb all of the information.

My dad's prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level was 7.26. A few years ago it was at 3ish, and a few years before that it was lower. While the 7.26 is troubling by itself, the increase over the years is perhaps more so. My dad said that he was a little perturbed that his doctor didn't note the steady increase, which is a red flag for possible prostate cancer. Even worse, when prostate cancer develops, the PSA level usually goes above 4. What the hell was my dad's doctor doing not saying anything at the last checkup?!

When the PSA level is between 4 and 10, there is a 25% chance of prostate cancer. If the PSA is over 10, the chance is a whopping 50%.

7.26. Oh, man.

However, my dad also said there are a number of other reasons for an increased PSA level. It could be benign prostatic hyperplasia, which is a non-cancerous enlargement. It could be prostatitis, which is an inflammation of the gland. It could be a lot of things other than cancer.

My dad's transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy is scheduled for November 9, so we'll be waiting for quite awhile before we find out what this 7.26 means. The waiting! Torture.

I felt much better today seeing my dad, though. He's definitely aged over the years, but he seems pretty healthy and is in good spirits. His good spirits put me in good spirits. Maybe he's putting on a brave front for us, but, if he is, it worked.

We had a nice lunch at Cafe Du Village on (where else?) Larchmont. I love everything at Cafe Du Village, at least for breakfast and lunch; I've never been there for dinner.

Usually, I get a sandwich or an omelet, but I chose the duck salad today. Amazing. And...it had mushrooms. Ah, Kate, you may be right yet. The duck was tender and plentiful and the mushrooms surprisingly tasty, almost smoky and even a bit crispy on the edges. 'Twas a damn good salad. My dad got a vegetarian quesadilla (also surprisingly good at a French cafe). My brother had an old fave of mine, the provencal sandwich.

We chatted about lots of non-cancer things. My brother gave us his thoughts on the Writers Guild strike. I talked about my career goals. I also noted that James Remar was sitting less than five feet away from us. When I told my brother this, an inquisitive woman next to us leaned over and asked, "Who is that?" I explained, "He played Richard, a guy Samantha dated on Sex and the City, and now he's on Jericho." The woman was way excited. Her companion just rolled his eyes.

After lunch, we walked back to my brother's house, and my dad drove me back to my condo. He asked if I was doing anything. I said no, so we went for post-lunch coffee at The Coffee Bean. Then he suggested that we go look at lofts for fun. What a great idea!

We checked out the Market Lofts on top of the Ralphs Fresh Fare. They were kind of neat, but we weren't really that impressed. The quality of some of the materials wasn't really that great, and the floorplans left a bit to be desired. If you're interested, I took a pic of the price listing that my dad took home with him. Hee.

It was really nice to spend time with my dad. Most of my life, we haven't seen eye-to-eye on a lot of things, but recently we've gotten closer. I don't know why, but my wedding really brought us together. My dad even cried when he danced with me, and he, like my brother, rarely shows any emotion.

This afternoon made me happy. I think it made my dad happy, too.