Rosy's Bakery & Cuban Café

12215 Hawthorne Blvd
Hawthorne, CA 90250
(310) 675-2253
http://www.yelp.com/biz/rosys-bakery-and-cuban-cafe-hawthorne

Rating: 4.5 stars

Typical cost for lunch: $ ($5.50 - 9)
What was ordered: Sandwich Cubano, Fricase de Pollo, Sopa de Pollo, Sopa de Frijole Garbonzo
Date of visit: 23 February 2011 (1st visit)

Review: Chris Cognac, from the Food Network’s Hungry Detective, has a theory: “The shittier the location + the longer it’s been there = how good it is”. I bring that up for two reasons: 1) it is a perfect description for Rosy’s Bakery and Cuban Café and 2) while we were enjoying our meal, Chris Cognac came in for lunch. Rosy’s is in a rundown strip mall right next to the Hawthorne Police Department. We almost walked right by it because the wedding cake in the window doesn’t exactly proclaim: “Cuban Café”.

I ordered the Cubano and received a giant pressed sandwich with layers of two kinds of ham, cheese, mustard, and pickles. A big pile of French fries were on the side. At $5.50 it is a heck of a deal. A great sandwich starts with great bread and that is where the “…Bakery & Café” part of Rosy’s name becomes important. The sandwich was made with a giant Cuban roll that was soft and chewy and had obviously been baked that morning. The cheese was gooey and the ham was sliced thin and piled thick. This is a spectacular sandwich. I recently picked up the 2011 Eat: Los Angeles – the Food Lover’s Guide to LA, and they suggested going to Havana Sandwich Co. in downtown El Segundo. They got it wrong; Rosy’s Cuban sandwich is ten times better and just over half the price.

My friend ordered the Fricase de Pollo combination plate. It was a big pile of mildly seasoned boneless, skinless chicken fresh from the grill. It came with a big scoop rice, maduros (fried plantains), salad, garlic bread, and a cup of black beans. It was an awful lot of food for $9 and the chicken was perfectly cooked with nice char lines. I have mentioned in the past that I am not a fan of fried plantains. They are usually too greasy for me, but these were great. They were still fried in oil, but the oil was left in the fryer and the plantains had a nice, slightly crispy exterior.

In the spirit of trying to properly evaluate the restaurant, we both ordered a small bowl of soup. I got the chicken soup (Sopa de Pollo) and it was good, but not nearly as tasty as my sandwich. It had noodles, big chunks of carrots and a whole, bone-in, skin-on chicken thigh. It was a little work separating the meat from the chaff, but worth the effort. My friend ordered the Garbanzo bean soup. It had an excellent flavor with onions and garlic. The broth had a red tinge to it. I’m not sure if that was due to the presence of tomato paste or red spices (paprika/red chillis). Unfortunately, ordering the soup left us too full to try any of the Cuban bakery piled up in the display cases. I am not too concerned… we’ll be back (and will probably up their rating to 5 stars). 4.5 stars.

-Ben