I wondered where Cuban restaurant, Versailles, got its name since I don’t believe the French had much to do with anything during it’s history.

The Spanish occupied Cuba in 1492 (thanks to the energetic Chris Colombus) til Cuba gained independence in 1902 (only after a few scuffles, such as the Spanish-American War).

After doing a little Nancy Drew investigation, I found out the owner had a lot of milestones in his life involving the word “Versailles”.

Orlando Garcia and his oldest son, William opened up the first Versailles location in 1981.

Coming to Versailles (I haven’t been in about 5 years) is like hanging with an old college friend (if you attended college during the Reagan years). When you see them, it’s like no time has passed.

Literally, nothing has changed about their food/menu since I was here last. And there’s comfort in knowing exactly what to expect*

*devour.

They’re famous for their Garlic Chicken so, of course, I made someone order it. They go heavy on the garlic so those wishing for subtlety, keep looking.

The Roasted Pork is tender, juicy and simply prepared. Make sure to take the leftovers home and make a yummy sandwich. Or just it eat plain since you’re broke and don’t have any bread.

Or you can just order the Cuban Sandwich, which doesn’t offer a lot of meat but is served on an outstanding sourdough roll.

I highly enjoyed all the appetizers.

The Ham Croquettes were rich and packed a punch.

The Beef Empanadas were large and the beef was not dry (as they can tend to be), there was a nice gravy inside.

The Yuca Rellenos (not pictured) were heavenly. Fried cylinders of pureed yuca crammed with just the right amount of ground beef and pork.

Definitely Cuban comfort food.

While my first journey to Cuba may still be a ways off, I am definitely tempted to bump a few countries further down the list to see what kind of culinary trouble I can get into down there.

1415 S La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90035
(310) 289-0392
http://www.versaillescuban.com