La Cabana
Tuesday, May 24, 2005 8:39
When you walk into La Cabana in Venice, just west of Lincoln on Rose, you will think that you found an undiscovered gem serving Mexican feasts. You would be half right. La Cabana has some great food, and margaritas, but it is far from undiscovered. It’s not uncommon to have to wait a half hour or more on a crowded night. Fortunately the place is deceptively large and they have a closed of bar in the back where you can snack on chips and salsa and have a drink.
On your way back to the bar, you can’t miss the indoor tortilla grill, or the ladies standing around the grill crafting home made corn tortillas, which you will undoubtedly order once you get your table. I personally prefer flour over corn tortillas, but when they are hot off of the griddle, it’s impossible to resist. When you do sit at the bar, you might decide to order one of their exotic margaritas, beyond just strawberry they also have mango, pineapple and any combination of their flavors. On the other hand, I’m happy with a basic margarita on the rocks with salt. Although the bar can be crowded at times, turn over is constant and people are generally friendly enough to share stools and table real estate.
Once your table indicator lights up and the host seats you, you are faced with making the decision of what to eat. Consider starting with the cevice and a side of guac for your chips. Service tends to be relaxed but accomodating. For first timers, you may as well start with their taco plate, served in the home made tortillas with rice and beans. I also enjoy the Sopes, essentially tostadas served on a hearty base of masa, a dough made of dried corn that has been soaked in limewater then rinsed and ground (pictured). The two sopes should be more than one person can eat, unfortunately the masa does not save well, so find a friend and split this dish with something else and do some sampling.
Parking for La Cabana is a bit scarce, so everyone parks in the shopping center across the street. As far as I know it is common practice, but don’t blame me if you get ticketed or towed.
La Cabana
738 Rose Ave
Venice, CA 90291
(310) 392-6161
By Jonah (see more of his posts). Jonah is the founder of la.foodblogging and also created Digesty, a food blog aggregator and Cheww.com, a spam free foodblog search engine.
sarah says:
May 24th, 2005 at 3:46 pm
wow - i see that place on my drives down to venice, and have wondered about it, since i’ve never heard much buzz about it. will have to give it a try soon!
ChefJoAnna says:
May 25th, 2005 at 4:10 am
Jonah, we eat at all the same places. La Cabaña’s a favorite of mine, too. I’m sure we’ve probably run into each other!
sarah says:
May 25th, 2005 at 9:49 am
now, the question is, chef joanna, how did you get that n with the tilde on it!??!?
Gabebc says:
June 1st, 2005 at 6:36 pm
La cabana is one of my favs great posting great food great margaritas!
Ceencee says:
August 2nd, 2005 at 8:01 pm
La Cabana is one of our favorite places. Weve been going there for many years and the staff is great! (not to mention thier tasty margaritas too!)
Nancy Roberts says:
August 7th, 2005 at 2:33 pm
I know the parking is a little scarce, but it may be a well-kept secret that AFTER 10 P.M. you can park at the mini-mall right next door to La Cabana, which is certainly very convenient.
Mike says:
November 15th, 2005 at 3:27 pm
The beauty of “La Ca” is that it is open everynight until 3AM! It’s always a great fall back to go to after a long night.
Holly says:
April 24th, 2006 at 1:16 pm
La Cabana is amazing, whether it’s huevos rancheros, nachos, Dos Equis on tap, a tasty margarita, spicy nopalitos salad or even just rice and beans… YUM!