Tonight I ate dinner at Gloria’s Cafe in the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles. Gloria’s specializes in Mexican and Salvadoran food and was recommended by a friend of mine. When I walked in, I saw someone had a bowl of soup with entire crab legs hanging out of it. I knew this was my kind of place. I was told that this was the Sopa de 7 Mares. Aside from that, they have quite an impressive menu with your typical Mexican fare of tacos quesadillas and such, enhanced with Salvadoran Pupusas. Speaking of which, have you ever noticed that a Latin American restaurant can never be just simply Peruvian or Salvadoran, etc…? There always has to be Mexican involved in some way. It’s similar with Asian restaurants. You can never seem to find a Cambodian or Vietnamese restaurant unless it also has Thai, Chinese or Japanese food.
With that said, after some time deliberating, I decided to go with the Avocado* and Chicken Burrito. I asked my waitress what was in it to ensure that it wouldn’t be tainted by vegetables. She told me that it was avocado, chicken, cheese and beans, with salsa on top. She also suggested that I try the House Special Burrito, which I promptly rejected after noticing it had lettuce, tomato and sour cream. I didn’t need any poor, defenseless vegetables ruining my dining experience. I eagerly awaited my meal while snacking on the delicious chips and salsa. It only took about five minutes for my burrito to arrive. On top of the burrito, I found tomatoes and onions, which goes by the much friendlier name of Pico de Gallo, meaning “rooster’s beak” in Spanish. Can I somehow sue Pico de Gallo for being vegetables while falsely purporting to be part of a rooster? This did not bode well, as I was forced to remove the vegetables before eating. Luckily for Gloria’s, the ill feelings didn’t last. The burrito was stuffed with well-seasoned, shredded chicken and everything else she mentioned. On the plate surrounding the burrito was a thin layer of red sauce, which was pretty good, but relied a little too much on the tomato flavoring rather than the spices that I prefer in a red sauce. All in all, I was quite happy with my meal, and at $7.50 it was hard to complain about the Pico de Gallo. I’ll definitely be heading back to Gloria’s again to try some of their other meaty meals.
*Avocado, being fatty and delicious, is a welcome addition to meat despite being a vegetable.
[mappress]
