Porto’s Cuban bread is the stuff that Cuban food dreams are made of with a crispy crust, and a warm, doughy inside. The bread alone makes a trip to Porto’s worthwhile, but once you get up to the front and peruse the bakery case you will be hard pressed to limit yourself to a loaf or two of bread.


The family continue to do a big business in elaborately decorated cakes to celebrate every major life occasion from birthdays and baptisms, to quinceañeras, graduations, weddings, and retirement parties. The bakery specializes in several Cuban cakes, some soaked in French brandy syrup and filled with vanilla custard, pineapple custard, strawberry jam, or fresh strawberries.
Porto’s recently opened a second location in Burbank, California. If you are in town doing the tourist thing, the Burbank location is closer to Universal studios and several motion picture studios in the Burbank area.

A Miami Classic
So for many years, Joe’s Stone Crab and I were complete strangers. I never wolfed down a thick corned beef sandwich at Wolfie Cohen’s. I never sank my teeth into a juice spurting Arbetter’s hot dog. I was baffled by the presence of Uncle Tom’s barbecue at the gateway to my favorite Cuban Food Land on Calle Ocho.
As I made my way up and down Bird Road in search of the next Latin American treat, I frequently passed the little white building with the straight-from-the-50s “Frankie’s Pizza” sign atop a large poll.
Year after year, I passed Frankie’s by on my way to more Latin culinary pursuits. Then one day I was running a few non-food related errands along Bird Road when the lure of Frankie’s finally sucked me in. What I found was a little hole in the wall place -- no credit cards, no delivery, and no place to sit -- that is as old as I am. And it looked like it had changed little if any from the days when it was pretty much surrounded by a few farms, dirt roads, and undeveloped Glades land.

The founder of the restaurant Frank B. Pasquarella must have been a math major because at Frankie’s, the pie are squared, in true Sicilian style. Once you get past the shock of seeing a square pizza, you realize that the rectangular format has a lot going for it. It’s a lot easier to hold without resorting to the New Jersey “fold the slice in half” method -- so you don’t have any hot fillings plummeting down onto your lap.
Frankie’s does sell individual slices, which makes it a great stop for a quick lunch. You won’t find any combinations on the menu -- nothing like the “meat lovers” or “Eddie’s Extra Special.” Here you are left to your own appetites and imagination.

You start with the basic tomato sauce and cheese pie and then add your toppings: juicy Italian sausage with just a hint of fennel, thin slices of pepperoni curled at the edges and lightly browned in the oven, and a nice salami with a bright sausage flavor. Add some veggies -- onions, green peppers, garlic, mushrooms, olives -- and you have one great pie!
Don’t pass on the fresh garlic; it gives the pizza a great bite and a wonderful aroma.

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Many a pizza has been ruined by a bad anchovy!
A tender smoked anchovy is a joy on the tongue - the best ones seem to melt in your mouth. We especially enjoy Nardín Smoked Anchovies, crafted with skill by a family owned business in Spain. These hearty fish are harvested from the Cantabria Sea in the Bay of Biscay using sustainable fishing methods.
The process starts on the fishing boats where the freshly netted fish are packed in a mild refrigerated brine - using half the salt of a typical brining solution. Once ashore, Nardín carefully washes away the brine and hand fillets the anchovies. They then hand dry and smoke the anchovies with beech wood, a delicate and mildly sweet hardwood. They pack the anchovies in pure olive oil and the result is an anchovy that is not overly salty with a sublime, mild fish flavor.
The texture of this fish is far and away above that if a typical anchovy, which normally sits in a salty brine for months. The plump texture of these will remind you of delicately smoked salmon
We love to eat these anchovies on toasted and lightly buttered Cuban bread with piquillo peppers, chopped sweet onion, and a dash of oil and vinegar. Either that, or right out of the can!
Find out more about these delicious anchovies by clicking here.



When we want to really impress, we splurge on these tender squid that are caught in the estuaries of Galicia in Spain. Packed by artisans in a small seaside factory, these squid taste as fresh as the ocean.
Find out more by clicking here.
In the heart of what has become “Little Buenos Aires,” this stand out bakery sells Spanish omelets, pizza, and a selection of pastas just steps from the beach. However, the real treats here are in the bakery case. The facturas resemble Danish pastries and are perfect for breakfast or a merienda. There are many iterations of these sweet pastries, all with a unique and sometimes playful name. Who can resist a cañoncito (little cannon), botoncito (little button) or the ominous sounding “vigilante de manteca y grasa” (the guardian of lard and fat!) True lovers of Argentinean sweets seek out the alfajores, cookie wafers joined at the hip with sweet dulce de leche filling and covered in chocolate or vanilla flavored coatings.
Campo Argentino
It’s all about the beef at this Argentine bistro. Huge strips of skirt steak and mild tender chorizo from the grill will appall the vegan in your group, but leave the meat lovers squealing with delight. Campo Argentino is a low-cost alternative to some of the glitzier steakhouses in town.
Las Vegas Restaurant
So good, some spending the week at an area beach hotel eat here daily. With an ever-changing lineup of lunch specials, it is a strategy that is not as dull as it seems. We remember one memorable evening when we ordered the signature appetizer plate and ate so many papa rellenos, empanadas, tamales, croquetas, yuca, and plátanos we skipped the entrée and moved right to dessert. Go easy on the appetizers and save room for a delicious churrasco y camarones, the Las Vegas version of surf and turf. Las Vegas serves big-plated, down-to-earth Cuban that most places south of 30th Street can’t seem to deliver without a lot of pomp and inflated prices.
Manolo
This new South American eatery serves churros, sandwiches, cakes, burgers, gelato, and pizzas to a crowd of Latins intent on watching soccer on several strategically placed TVs. The planchita is a combination of meats, peppers, and potatoes. Hot dogs wrapped in bacon and a burger with everything including a fried egg might make Manolo an anathema to the health food crowd. However, healthy eaters can’t go wrong with Manolo’s fresh squeezed juice. For those who gave up on counting calories, they serve a rich hot chocolate made with whole milk, just perfect for churro dunking.
