
"Rosa Porto built a reputation on sweet baked goods before expanding into a Southern California empire of pastry-and-savoury shops; the mariquitas are hard to beat, cut long and thin and served with a small cup of garlic sauce. The true stars are the pastelitos (small layered Cuban pastries) filled with picadillo, guava, cream cheese, or combinations thereof, and the Cuban sandwich and ropa vieja sandwich are two of the best belly-filling bargains in town — the lines are long but move quickly." - Alejandro Benes