La Cabanita is just plain terrific
Friendly service, knockout food, astounding margaritas, cheap prices, casual & comfortable surroundings...WOW. It's just great. Not fancy, not pretentious, but great, great, great.
And I'm sure I'll feel the same way once my margarita buzz wears off.
Did I mention it's GREAT? :-)
Previously, El Cholo had been my fave for decent food at decent prices with very good margaritas. But La Cabanita is terrific food at great prices with amazing (and huge) margaritas. Worth the drive!
BTW, it's GREAT!
By me (lower case)
on Dec 10, 2003 11:58 PM
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And their chips are supposed to be....great as well, no? I've never been but my man talks about it a lot. It's just a hop, skip, and a jump from Silver Lake so we really should go..Thanks for the reminder!
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The chips were very good -- crispy, airier than most chips are, but lacking in salt, at least tonight (easily remedied, however.)
And, yes, it's a straight shot from Silverlake...enjoy, and please post your thoughts if you go.
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One great thing about La Cabanita is that their plain-Jane margaritas are terrific...none of that nonsense where you have to upgrade to the so-called "Cadillac" or better to get anything other than lemony water.
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So, WHERE IS IT!
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La Cabanita is located at 3447 N. Verdugo Rd. in
Montrose. Phone: 957-2711
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My wife and I devoured the chips & salsa at La Cabanita in about eight seconds flat. We were raring to go at our main course and ordered five different tacos... and they were all (save one) good, but definitely not amazing. I was especially excited about the chicharon taco (deep fried pork) but it was disappointing--the deep fried bits seemed to have come from a skinny, dandruffed pig. This is to say the deep fried bits were kind of dry, lukewarm and chewy as opposed to hot, crackly, and composed of equal parts skin, fat, and meat. The other tacos--carnitas, chorizo, carne asada, and chicken--were eaten happily, but not lustily.
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When did they start serving margaritas? They used to have wine and beer only.
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Not only do they now serve margaritas, they also expanded into the adjacent space. I don't remember when all of this happened, but I'm sure it was over a year ago.
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i disagree - La Cabanita is just plain horrible.
I have been there about 6 times and all were bad - even down to the chips.
I live in the area and there are much better family style mexican rests.
PEPE's
Gringos
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Here's hoping your next six visits will be better.
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LOL!
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I agree! I live a mile from La Cabanita and go there quite often. Their potato flautas are my favorite. :)
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La Cabinita IS great -- I happen to think they have the best mole in town, much better than Guelzgueta (or however it's spelled) that everyone is always raving about. And the daily homemade soups can't be beat, either. And as for the poster who recommended Pepe's instead -- Pepe's is fun, particularly on the kids-eat-free nights, but it can't hold a candle to the flair of La Cabinita.
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i ate at la cabanita for the 2nd time a wk or so ago. i had the same thing both times -- a chile relleno and a chile vegetariano. both are EXCELLENT. they are a little too spicy for my taste, really, but the flavors are very complex and that helps me to deal w/ the spice. very addictive -- i devoured both of them, practrically w/out taking a breath. i really nd to try something else on the menu next time.....
i am not as wildly impressed w/ their margaritas, though. not much flavor, too much ice! i may nd to switch to beer to go along w/ my chiles (or whatever else i may try).
yes, chips are great, too and so are the 2 salsas that come with them (1 green and tangy / spicy, the other red and smokey).
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Are we sure that those are REAL margaritas? If they still have the same license they used to have, they could be selling those fake malt-beverage or wine-based margs, as one restaurant near us does (we saw that fact printed in small type on the menu, and went elsewhere).
We still haven't gotten to this place. Gotta try it, but probably not when we're looking for margaritas!
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They now have a full liquor license. The margs. are the real deal although I don't recall them being such a bargain in price. I'd be willing to bet you and your wife will like the food. The tacos are on homemade corn tortillas and the rellenos are very good. NOT dipped and fried, filled with yellow cheese. The chile vegeterano and chile en nogada are very good. I usually order a chicken enchilada in mole sauce and the chile vegeterano.
Although I prefer La Casita in Bell, La Cabanita certainly fills the bill when I'm at the opposite end of town. They also have good little lunch specials until 2PM.
Cecilia
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Okay, how are the chiles rellenos done? 'Cause I actually LIKE them dipped and fried and full of cheese (any color), and tend to get all poochy-faced when someone tries to feed me a baked one, or one filled with picadillo or quinoa or whatever.
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Uhhh, don't order the chile relleno :))
Ask them, they may make it up the way you prefer.
they have a decent sized menu. I used to go there a least 2x a month and was never disappointed.
Cecilia
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They're kind of flat. Filled with cojita, I think. There was a lot of sauce on the one I had two days ago, so it was hard to tell if they were coated. But it was definifely not encased in a puffed-up egg batter. I think it might have been an anaheim chile instead of a poblano/pasilla.
And the sauce was good. Fully salted, but not too much.
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i was there for lunch today and ditto the TERRIFIC posts. The Pozole and Sopas were wonderful. The chips are great, and the salsas flavorful. Service was fine. It was a meal well worth going out of the way for.
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I must admit I'm unusually fond of La Cabanita as well however your previous liking for El Cholo is dismaying.
Their margs are terrific ... and love the salsas. Chips are fine but could be better. I like the ambiance late Sat & Sun afternoons or weekdays just before the dinner rush.
One of their dishes is a standout in my book: Sopes Compuestas (but never get them to go. They must be eaten post haste). Mole enchiladas a great.
I'm looking forward to trying their pozole as it looks delicious!
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I was thinking the same thing...I could never trust someone who gave the thumbs up to El Cholo.
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Are we talking about La Cabanita in Montrose (north Glendale, Sparr Heights, whatever) or La Cabanita de Don Chepe on Vanowen in North Hollywood?
I love the one in Montrose (they're not related) but those chips are horrible -- always gooshy and chock full of oil, like the oil's not hot enough when they're being fried. They will give you mole sauce to dip them in, though, which is tasty. Quezadillas de rajas are wonderful as are chicken enchiladas with mole.
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It would help too if the chips came to the table warmed. Don't most sit-down mexican places have a reach-in where they hold chips at like 200 degrees?
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