An Afternoon In Temecula

For my sister's birthday in January, I decided to call her and invite her to meet me in Temecula for lunch.  We hadn't seen each other in quite a while, and with her living in Lake Elsinore, Temecula seemed like the perfect place to meet.  It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time together.  I had been to the wineries several years ago, and to an olive farm, but had never really explored old Temecula.  It's a cute little town with lots of souvenir shops, dress shops, olive oil shops, and restaurants.  There are so many wonderful restaurants that I can't wait to go there again.

Madeleine and I  settled on Havana Kitchen.  We both like ethnic food, and since leaving Los Angeles, I haven't had too many opportunities to eat Cuban food, and I imagine she hasn't either.  I don't think Lake Elsinore has many (any) Cuban restaurants.  Havana Kitchen is a restaurant, bakery, and coffee house.  All of it is delicious.  Here's some of what we ate.

Havana Kitchen serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.  It's casual dining, you order at the register, get a number, and the server brings the food to your table.  Madeleine ordered breakfast, a kind of Cuban sandwich with chicken and cheese and topped with a fried egg.  It was delicious, but so big she could only eat half.  I ordered a traditional Cuban sandwich, with pork, cheese, pickles, on grilled bread.  Just wonderful, served with a side of black beans.  The restaurant also served some good looking salads, and some bowls.  They would take a serving of rice and top it with things like steak and onions, or brisket and veggies.  Perhaps the star of the restaurant is dessert.  They make a coconut flan and a traditional flan.  Additionally, they make some individual tarts, like lemon and pecan, that were delicious.  No, I didn't eat them all, but knew from the look how delicious they were.  Havana Kitchen also offers Cuban espresso, many mixed coffee drinks and cold fruit drinks.

The old town of Temecula looks similar to an old western town, with lots of wood structures.  There are lots of fun shops to browse in, selling jewelry, scarves, men and women's clothing, olive oil, housewares and other fun stuff.  I felt lucky to get out of town without buying a single thing.

Next time you have a free day, try old Temecula.  You'll enjoy a day of browsing and fine dining.  Madeleine and I enjoyed the day and our time together, and plan to  do it again soon.