La Caridad:

We followed up the coffee at Chango with lunch/breakfast at La Caridad. Carlos has been going there with his Grandpa since he was a little kid. Everyone in the restaurant knew Carlos and his order.

In Los Angeles, there is considerable beef between the west side and the east side of the city. Everyone you talk to will rail against the side they don’t live on. Carlos grew up on the west side and La Caridad is deep on the east side, so that means he would make the 30-45 minute trek across town each Saturday to eat there. If you need further proof that La Caridad is the truth, Carlos’ parents house is a few minutes from a Cuban restaurant, Versailles, and they refuse to go there.

I had pollo asado with potatoes, a side of yucca with garlic sauce, white rice, and black beans off the special menu. The chicken was good but a little dry. The yucca with garlic was amazing. I could have doused my entire meal with the garlic sauce.

Carlos got a medianoche sandwich, which is basically a Cuban sandwich with sweet bread. The sweet and soft bread was a great contrast to the salty ham, cheese, and pork. You can’t go wrong with this one.

Nat ordered camarones enchilados but in the picture all the camarones are gone. The sauce was insane. Carlos and I waited until she was done and pretty much drank what you see in that bowl.

Bottom line if you are looking for Cuban food in Los Angeles this is the spot. You can’t get a better recommendation than from someone going to a restaurant their whole life.