Proper throughout the road from an enormous Costco in Burbank, El Criollo is a good place to eat after procuring, says restaurant critic Merrill Shindler. (Photograph by Merrill Shindler)
The menu in El Criollo Cuban Bar & Grill It has sections devoted to beef, pork and seafood. However time and time once more, once I go there for a post-Costco procuring meal, I head to the hen part.
It is a nice tribute to the delights of Cuban hen, as in my trunk is a rotisserie hen from Costco for $four.99, which I purchase whether or not I would like it or not; It’s a custom effectively revered by virtually everybody who outlets there. However nonetheless, I like El Criollo's hen, particularly the pollo asado (half a roasted hen topped with lemon-garlic sauce and sliced onions).
After all, I’ve no quarrel with the Creole hen, which is identical half hen, solely on this case the sauce is lemon and mustard. Or hen fricassee, in wine sauce. And the hen in garlic sauce in white wine and garlic sauce. There’s a grilled boneless hen breast. And the hen saltado is sautéed with French fries and onion. What about that!
I like previous beef, however what I dream about is hen. The Cuban understanding of hen is one thing to behold.
Roasted hen is a dish that isn’t solely made with garlic: it’s the incarnation of garlic incarnate. Eat this dish and solely others who’ve loved it is going to be prepared to kiss you… for days.
If you happen to're actually hungry, and I imply hungry to the purpose the place you're able to tackle Joey Chestnut consuming scorching canines, you would possibly contemplate previous the hen with an appetizer; They’re as iconic as hen.
Particularly the ham croquettes (ham fritters), the yellow corn pork tamale, and the crispy pork chunks (masitas), served with garlic-lime sauce. When unsure, sprinkle with garlic and lemon. It's not solely good, it's magical. It’s to Cuban delicacies what ketchup is to the USA. In case of doubt…
Truly, along with being a delicacies with an admirable command of hen, a wide range of appetizers would make a great meal. Floor beef empanadas are by no means lower than crispy. Potatoes full of meat (potato balls full of floor beef) transcend virtually any tater tot preparation (even chili-topped tater tots, which make nice sports activities bar meals).
If you happen to can't resolve, contemplate the various plate: 4 stuffed potatoes, 4 croquettes and two empanadas. It's a meal not only for one, however for 2.
The environment at El Criollo does a great job of feeling like a Cuban cantina, or at the very least, as shut as we will get to a mini-mall, with a view of a Costco throughout the road. On the partitions are venerable posters of legendary Cuban cigar manufacturers akin to Partagás and H. Upmann. There’s a nice photograph of a bongo drummer's fingers wrapped in bandages (eight bandages on 4 fingers) to assist cool the sound. There are different artworks: a person in a single, a lady within the different. He wears an old-fashioned hat. He wears…a barely there costume.
I’m carrying denims, whereas contemplating that I’ve lengthy been a giant fan of Cuban salads, that are the precise reverse of American salads. After we like our salads to be maximized (in the USA, extra is nice and much more is healthier), there’s a fascinating understatement about Cuban salads.
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Avocado salad is nothing greater than completely ripe slices of buttery Hass avocado, topped with uncooked sliced onions, seasoned with salt and pepper, moistened with oil and vinegar. Really easy. And so fabulous. Lettuce and tomato salad (inexperienced salad) is identical factor, solely as an alternative of avocado you get tomato.
Even the Caesar salad (César Criollo) is a comparatively easy combine: avocado, inexperienced banana, romaine lettuce in a Caesar dressing with grated parmesan. And that's all he wrote.
My normal estimate, completely unscientific and statistically doubtful, is that hen, in its varied incarnations, is what most diners eat in our varied Cuban eating places. Definitely, that's what I get more often than not. And for good cause: each chew is the very best factor you've ever eaten in your complete life.
The hen is marinated in what appears to be the very essence of garlic and lemon juice. The fowl is so cute that it falls aside with a single look. It's so juicy it’s a must to put on a bib to maintain it off your garments. Even the bones are tender: you possibly can chew into them and suck out the tender, candy marrow.
Nevertheless it's my job to order extra than simply lemon garlic hen sometimes. (And anyway, since everybody else at my desk will in all probability have ordered hen, I do know I can at all times seize a thigh with impunity.)
If I'm going to order one thing else, it'll in all probability be the Cuban-style roast pork: lechón asado. There’s a lot to suggest about roast pork. It’s tender and crispy on the identical time, which is not any small feat.
There are few cultures that make pork higher than the Cuban one. Together with the roasted lechon, there are fried pork chunks (fried pork macitas) which are so crispy they're about to show into chicharrones, all crunch and taste. There are additionally grilled pork chops (choletas a la Plancha). Coated with onions. Simply because.
Nearly all dishes include white rice and black beans; combined, they’re “Moors and Christians.” The Cuban sandwich (ham, pork and Swiss) is a worthy object of need. Nevertheless it's nonetheless not the hen. The flan is fabulous, however the hen is much more, shall we embrace, fabulous. For me, fowl is the phrase.
Merrill Shindler is a contract meals critic primarily based in Los Angeles. Ship an e-mail to mreats@aol.com.
El Criollo Cuban Bar & Grill
- Classification: 2.5
- ADDRESS: Burbank Terrace, 916 W. Burbank Blvd., Burbank
- Info: 818-260-0211, www.instagram.com/elcriollola
- Kitchen: Cuban
- When: Lunch and dinner, from Tuesday to Sunday.
- Particulars: Full bar; helpful reserves
- Ambiance: Immediately throughout from an enormous Costco, this informal Cuban spot in a busy little procuring middle is an efficient place to cease for a pisco bitter after procuring, together with some empanadas and a tasty garlic hen dish.
- Costs: About $30 per individual
- On the menu: 6 Appetizers ($6-$19.50), three Salads ($6.50-$15.50), three Vegetarian Dishes ($12.95-$16.95), 2 Sandwiches ($13.95-$14.95), 6 Meat Starters ($16.95-$24.95), three Pork Starters ($16.95- $18.95), three Seafood Starters ($17.95), 6 Hen Starters ($16.95-$18.95)
- Bank cards: MC, V.
- What the celebs imply: four (World class! Price a visit from wherever!), three (Very wonderful, even distinctive. Price a visit from wherever in Southern California), 2 (A superb place to go to eat. It's price a visit from wherever within the neighborhood.) 1 (If you happen to're hungry and it's shut, however don't get caught in visitors.) zero (Truthfully, it's not price writing about.)