Gloria's Cafe: Authentic Mexican and El Salvadoran Food in LA

When my boys were young, we had a wonderful woman who cared for them. Her name is Julia, and to this day she is one of the most special people I have ever known. She is warm and loving to everyone who has the good fortune to know her. She has not worked for me for over 20 years, but she never misses birthday or holiday phone call to everyone in our family. She is truly one of a kind.

One of the special things she did for my children was take them to her home on her days off. She would leave Saturday morning by bus with them, and I would usually go pick them up Sunday night at her home. To this day, my kids describe these weekends with Julia as among their most memorable moments in their childhood. That says it all. What they did was mostly hang out with her family, help Julia cook a big family dinner, and play with the kids in her neighborhood. They just loved it. A special treat was when Julia took them to an El Salvadoran restaurant for pupusas. They still talk about these outings. Recently Guy Fieri from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives visited Glorias Cafe in Los Angeles and raved about it, so I had to see what it was all about. They serve authentic Mexican and El Salvadoran food in a little cafe on Venice Blvd in West Los Angeles. If you're in the area and in the mood for something special, you might check it out.

Here are some of their most popular items. Plato tipico is a combo of typical Salvadoran fare. One pupusa, yuca frita, chicharon, curido, plantanos, rice and black beans. All that for $11.50. Another very popular item is Seven Seas Soup. This is like a Salvadoran boullibaise. It combines 7 seafood items in a tasty vegetable soup. At $13.00 it's a bargain. Another very popular item is Bistec Encebollado. This is Salvadoran style marinated strips of steak, sauteed with salsa and seasoned grilled onions at $12.00. My favorite dessert is Empanadas de Leche. This is a very sweet dessert, so split it. Its sweet mashed plantain, filled with sweet milk custard, deep fried and rolled in sugar. 2 per order at $3.75. There is so much more that Gloria's has to offer, but I like to stick to the Salvadoran choices, as I can get good Mexican in plenty of restaurants.

The story I told you about Julia and my kids is just another example of how food and experiences surrounding food are so important in our life. My children will never forget Saturday afternoons and pupusas with Julia.