Celebrating 30 years of sabor, El Criollo reopens in Van Nuys

The new El Criollo

pollo El Criollo, but mix those beans and rice, brother.

lechon asado

lengua guisada, a simple yet satisfying creole culinary gem.

tostones dotted with lethal amounts of garlic.

If you've never been to El Criollo, the pride of the Sera family, now is a great time.Their new location is comfy, more spacious, and is still serving mom's same delicious Cuban recipes.I'd been a regular at the old location on Victory and was there as soon as they opened up on Van Nuys Bl., just up the street from Puro Sabor.This is the place in LA to enjoy Cuban creole(criollo)home cooking.Simple comfort food made from traditional sauces, the mojo(garlic and bitter orange) and the sofrito(tomato, peppers,onions, garlic, and cuban spices). Niurca Sera, the cook and wife of the host and owner,William Sera, has been blessing Angelenos with her Cuban delights for 30 years, only 6 months in the new digs.

In Cuba, the paladares(privately owned restaurants found in homes)are where you find this wonderful cooking, and many state run restaurants too.Simple dishes with pork, chicken, and beef like the classics picadillo(ground beef in sauce), lechon asado(roast pork), and fricase de pollo. The paladar La Julia in Habana Vieja has a killer lomo ahumado(smoked pork)served with congri(red beans and rice) or moros y cristianos(black beans and white rice mixed together "moors and christians").Too bad we can't get Cristal or Bucanero here, the two cuban national beers, light and dark respectively.They are excellent. At El Aljibe, the state run shrine to cuban roast chicken, the government guards their secret recipe like they do Castro's medical records.

Niurca also guards her recipes, my favorites are the rabo encendido(oxtail), lengua guisada(tongue), and the cuban tamal.The other night, 17 of us had a variety of dishes that were enjoyed by all.My lengua guisada was tender with a wonderful cuban tomato sauce, just like you would find in a cuban paladar.The oxtail is but into sections and stewed in wine and cuban spices until it melts into a heap of divine texture and flavor.These plates will put a smile on your face and a montuno in your step.The sides of tostones(fried green plantain), yuca, and maduro(sweet plantains are prepared with love. Have some tostones with the mojo de ajo(garlic sauce)to start and you will have breath that could wake the dead, but it'll be worth it.My favorite part of dining at El Criollo though is when the 80 something William Sera with ageless charm and grace suggests the moro rice(beans mixed with rice), or the rice and beans separately.But, with a sly grin William adds"these are better if you mix them together","muy sabroso".Have your beans and rice mixed by Niurca, or mix them yourself! There is no slowing down for Niurca and William Sera.The only thing missing at El Criollo are people playing dominoes out front and those delicious bucaneros, perhaps a diplomatico "churchill" to smoke after the fall off the bone oxtail.

El Criollo

6622 Van Nuys Blvd.

Van Nuys, Ca. 91405

p: 818.785.8625

f: 818.785.8624

http://www.cubanfoodla.com/index.html

Passport #5 Havana Nights-La Bodeguita de Pico

Havana is truly an amazing city.It's timelocked state is unique in this disposable world of fast food and short attention spans.Adults play dominos in the street at midnight under a functioning streetlight.Groups of revelers sing sweet songs on the malecon to the hypnotic clave, and children race down the pavement in homemade scooters crafted from crates and spare parts.La Rampa, La Habana Vieja,Miramar, Parque Central, Central, all sizzle with the rythyms, joy, and animated lives of the fiery and infectious Cuban people. At night tourists and Cubans frolic in the carnavalesque atmosphere of the night clubs.Mojitos, Cristal, Bucanero, Havana Club, puros, Cuba Libres, Pina Coladas,salsa, La Casa de Musica,dancing in the steets..........


For food you have amazing Paladares(privately owned restaurants in homes)serving up Lomo Ahumado with moros y cristianos and incredible homecooking if you are lucky enough to be invited to someone's house for arroz con pollo!State run restaurants are not always as exciting, but there is an excepion, El Aljibe. This restaurant serves up a special roast chicken marinated in seville oranges, garlic, and secret spices cooked to fall off the bone perfection. I have dreams about this restaurant and this dish.

Last Tuesday, 25 members of my Passport class, including current and former students and their friends, met at La Bodeguita de Pico, a little bit of Havana in Los Angeles. I arranged this dinner due to the presence of the El Aljibe chicken, which is the name of the recipe as well as the restaurant in Havana. We ordered the Gran Plato del Chef appetizer plate which included the delicious pappa rellena(my favorite),platanos fritos,chicharrones, y platanos fritos rellenos de camaron y carne molida.A few mojitos later were served the El Aljibe chicken with frijoles negros and arroz blanco, cuban style.The chicken was delicious and quite a genenrous portion.It was not as great as the chicken at El Aljibe in Havana, but was also different.The manager said that the recipe comes from La Bodeguita del Medio, the restaurant/bar in Cuba made famous by Hemingway and the hordes of tourists that now frequent the place. These two restaurants have a relationship in recipes and things including the La Bodeguita de Pico mojitos which are assembled with ritualistic authenticity down to the way they are muddled. La Bodeguita has a fabulous menu including many classic Cban dishes not found at other Cuban restaurants in LA. The outstanding EL Aljibe feast was well received by all.I hope to return to this restaurant to sample their other offerings, but I may not make it past the El Aljibe chicken, whose flavor and aroma are what sultry Havana nights are made of, without the humidity, of course.

La Bodegita de Pico
5047 West Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 937-2822
Open Wednesday through Sunday
http://www.labodeguitadepico.com/
Cigar club 1st and 3rd Tuesday each month