• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • recipes
  • drink
  • dining out

The Delicious Life logo

menu icon
go to homepage
  • recipes
  • drink
  • dining out
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • recipes
    • drink
    • dining out
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Ticketless Travel, but Make Sure it's Round Trip - Versailles

    September 2005 Uncategorized

    Ticketless Travel, but Make Sure it's Round Trip - Versailles

    versailles, cuban restaurant, los angeles

    Versailles Restaurant
    10319 Venice Boulevard (@ Motor Avenue)
    Los Angeles, CA 90034
    310.558.3168
    www.versaillescuban.com

    Up until I moved to Los Angeles, the only Latin cuisine I had known was “Mexican,” like Taco Bell and if I was lucky, El Torito. Okay, I exaggerate to make a point, since I practically grew up on Tex-Mex in San Antonio, but that’s why Mexican is in quotes. :) Obviously, that was all a long time ago – long enough that I’ve developed quite a Latin palate. I’ve tried and love Argentinean, Brazilian, El Salvadorean (more on that to come), Peruvian, and Spanish. But the first one I tried that wasn’t Mexican was Cuban at Versailles.

    The details of that first meal at Versailles are pretty hazy, probably because I was in shock that the beans weren’t refried, the rice was neither red nor dry, and there were no chips y salsa. I waddled away from that meal thinking that Cuban food was God’s gift to garlic roast pork.

    It’s been a long time since I’d been back to Versailles. The occasion had just never availed itself to me. With time turning into money, meals were one extreme or the other – Jack in the Car on the commute home at 11 pm, or else a big dinner outing on the weekend. Versailles fit in neither category, caught in that ‘tween phase, too big and awkward to eat without thinking, but not sophisticated enough for lip gloss and high heels. And besides, Versailles isn’t only in that ‘tween phase, but it’s also located in the ‘taint - ‘taint close enough on the Westside, and ‘taint far enough toward somewhere else to be worth a drive.

    versailles cuban food, los angeles
    versailles looks exactly the same

    Well, now I work within walking distance for lunch at Versailles (not that I’d ever walk there), and look who’s all grown up now! No one really, actually, because Versailles looks exactly the same as the last time I ate there. Even the huge gaudy red name painted across the front and sides looks like it hasn't been touched. The restaurant appears to share its parking lot with some sort of used car dealership or perhaps a body shop or perhaps they’re just that busy, as there are cars parked in every which way, even on the sidewalk out front.

    versailles cuban food, los angeles - bread
    wonder white with parkay

    But parking appearance are deceiving, and though Versailles has always had a reputation for being ridiculously busy, we were seated right away at a small table, close enough to the side wall so we could read the daily lunch specials on the board overhead. The server promptly brought water and a basket of bread which initially I purposely pushed away to make it easier to ignore. It’s just bread after all, but they looked at me like I was crazy, so I took a piece. The bread had been spread with a garlic butter and toasted already. Breaking it apart, first it crisped, leaving flaky crumbs all over the tabletop, then tore apart in the center, warm and softly chewy. It was promising on sight, sound, and touch, but finally on taste, it was disappointing. Wonder white with Parkay. I was right. It’s just bread.

    versailles cuban food, los angeles - grilled chicken breast
    like marinated tree bark

    All the times I had been to Versailles before, I had always ordered the roast pork, even though the place is reknown for their garlic chicken. On this long overdue re-introduction to Versailles, I didn’t go with their famous dish, but I did order chicken. The chicken breast was lightly pounded flat, marinated in tangy citrus, grilled, topped with sliced onions on the plate, and served with rice and french fries. Either the marinade had been too aggressively acidic or the grill time was too long, because the chicken breast was dry and hard. Sure, that’s the nature of chicken breast, but not so hard that I was sending rice over the edge of my plate vigorously sawing at the chicken flesh, and not so dry that I had to gulp my ice water with each bite to get it down my esophagus. The flavor was good, but a great tasting marinade can only do so much for birch tree bark.

    The onions were the only thing that I finished, and that’s quite a statement given that there were french fries on the plate! How upsetting that they were completely flavorless - no salt, no seasoning, neither crispy nor soggy, just tasted like oily, grainy cardboard. I even surprised myself by leaving almost all of them. The rice was drier than I would have expected, but perhaps I was just comparing it to the rice I had recently eaten with lunch at Cafe Brazil. The rice I didn't mind since I'm not a fan in the first place, but the fries? That was disappointing.

    versailles cuban food, los angeles, barbecue chicken
    drowning in sauce, no life vest required
    versailles cuban food, los angeles, black beans
    black beans on the side

    Barbecue chicken and shredded roast pork were the other two dishes we ordered. The barbecue chicken is still on the bone, smothered with a garlicky barbecue sauce, and served with blacks beans and plantains. Strangely, though the chicken meat and bones were left i
    ntact, the meat was dry. It wasn’t quite as desert dry as my chicken breast, and certainly drowning in sauce it was much easier on the esophagus, but meat on the bone should be moister and more flavorful. It was a bad choice anyway, since the dish requires the use of hands – not desirable for returning to the office.

    versailles cuban food, los angeles - roasted garlic pork
    if there's a return trip, stick with pork

    The roast pork wasn’t bad, as it seemed more tender and moist than the chicken dishes by comparison. Perhaps it was just easier to chew because it was already shredded. The rice, stained black by the beans that were cooked together with it, was even drier than the plain white rice with the chicken breast. The meats were dry, the rice was dry, the fries were dry, but the most disappointing thing was the plantains – which were dry, not as sweet and caramelized as I remember or expect, and tasted like they might have been made hours in advance and re-heated. I would have been okay with a everything else, but the plantains were a crash-landing.

    I went to Cuba via Versailles, but I want to come back. It just wasn't as good as I remember it, and I don't think it's the cuisine. It was Versailles. I might give the restaurant another try, since it was my first time back in a long time, but it’s more likely that when I want to go to Cuba, I’ll travel via a different restaurant.

    tags :: food : and drink : cuban : restaurants : reviews : los angeles

    You May Also Like...

    • El Talpa - The OG of the OG
      El Talpa - The OG of the OG
    • Home State, Los Feliz {restaurant}
      Home State, Los Feliz {restaurant}
    • Qusqo Bistro and Gallery - To Where I'd Like to Travel and the Winners of Around the World, Shark's Fin
      Qusqo Bistro and Gallery - To Where I'd Like to Travel and…
    « Eat at Joe's - Joe's Restaurant in Venice
    Dine for America - Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief »

    Sharing is caring!

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Email

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Silverlake Bodhisattva says

      September 15, 2005 at 6:01 pm

      a. Versailles doesn't ALWAYS do well; it's a low-budget/high volume place, and sometimes, they're just not on their game, and they mess up. Give 'em another chance.

      b. Never order the pork as a lunch special; in fact, avoid the lunch special; all it gets you is their (not very good) fries, instead of the other sides.
      c. The chicken you want at Versailles is the ROAST chicken. NOT the BBQ, NOT the breast, not anything else involving chicken, unless you're looking at their arroz con pollo.

      I might be prejudiced in their favor; I took my wife there on our first date....

      SILVERLAKE BODHISATTVA

      Reply
    2. Xericx says

      September 15, 2005 at 7:13 pm

      Last time I had the Roast chicken, it was dreadfully dry, even swimming in the garlic sauce. So inconsistent....this was the manhattan beach location.

      They had a garlic halibut or something that wasn't bad though.

      Reply
    3. djjewelz says

      September 15, 2005 at 7:44 pm

      Sarah,

      My company just moved into the area, so I look forward to hearing more about your lunch adventures. I need to find more places to eat than just what labites delivers!

      Versailles is very hit or miss with their chicken. Although it is their most "popular" dish, I usually stick with the roast pork.

      Happy dining!

      - Julian

      Reply
    4. duckduckgoose says

      September 15, 2005 at 9:36 pm

      I prefer El Rincon Criollo which is not too far from Versailles at 4361 Sepulveda in Culver City.

      Reply
    5. duckduckgoose says

      September 15, 2005 at 9:36 pm

      I prefer El Rincon Criollo which is not too far from Versailles at 4361 Sepulveda in Culver City.

      Reply
    6. sarah says

      September 15, 2005 at 9:58 pm

      silverlake bodhisattva: thanks for the recs, and i suspect that as long as i am working here in culver city, i will likely hit up versailles a few times. i didn't love that first time back, but maybe that was bad luck, so hopefully next time, wth your suggestions, it'll be a lovely trip to cuba :)

      xericx: maybe i'll try fish - fish can't get dry, can it?

      j: welcome to the neighborhood! well, feel free to search around the delicious life, i've been to a lot of the places within walking distance of my office. and if you ever need a suggestion, email me or IM me (TheDeliciousLife on aol)!

      duckduckgoose: just as you suggested! ;) i will be making it to el rincon criollo sometime in the next few weeks, i think. but that last time i asked you, i ended up at con sabor :)

      Reply
    7. sarah says

      September 15, 2005 at 9:58 pm

      silverlake bodhisattva: thanks for the recs, and i suspect that as long as i am working here in culver city, i will likely hit up versailles a few times. i didn't love that first time back, but maybe that was bad luck, so hopefully next time, wth your suggestions, it'll be a lovely trip to cuba :)

      xericx: maybe i'll try fish - fish can't get dry, can it?

      j: welcome to the neighborhood! well, feel free to search around the delicious life, i've been to a lot of the places within walking distance of my office. and if you ever need a suggestion, email me or IM me (TheDeliciousLife on aol)!

      duckduckgoose: just as you suggested! ;) i will be making it to el rincon criollo sometime in the next few weeks, i think. but that last time i asked you, i ended up at con sabor :)

      Reply
    8. Siel says

      September 16, 2005 at 4:39 am

      Since I went vegetarian, I've only been there once -- A girl cannot live on beans and rice alone. A shame, considering it's literally right around the corner from my apartment --

      Reply
    9. Anonymous says

      September 18, 2005 at 5:26 am

      I didn't know you were raised in SATX!!! :) Do you remember the name of that Korean place on Walzem Rd? the one with only one waitress?

      Reply
    10. Oakland Rezident says

      September 21, 2005 at 6:38 pm

      Duckduckgoose hit it on the money, El Rincon Criollo is a far better choice when you're craving that garlic flavor. I've never been back to V's since.

      Reply
    11. Oakland Rezident says

      September 21, 2005 at 7:52 pm

      Sarah-

      Would you consider doing a review on J-Lo's out in Pasadena, Madres Restaurant. I've yet to hear anything about this place. Cuban upscale fare.

      Reply
    12. sarah says

      September 22, 2005 at 5:39 pm

      sure! are you buying? ;)

      i may try, but i'll be honest, there are sooo many restaurants i have on my to-dine list right now...eventually i may make it all the way out to pasadena ;)

      but i have been to the conga room (not to eat)! haha!

      Reply
    13. Eddie Lin says

      September 30, 2005 at 1:13 am

      Sarah,

      You ordered the wrong dish. Rabo Encendido aka Oxtail Stew is the only way to fly when you visit Versailles!!!

      Eddie

      Reply
    14. hermz says

      January 11, 2006 at 8:25 pm

      The last time I ate there, the guy across from me stained my shirt when he cut into his garlic chicken and it squirted juice across the table. That wasn't dry at all... too bad your visit was so arid.

      Reply
    15. sarah says

      January 11, 2006 at 10:18 pm

      alright, just beacuse eddie made a uggestion and hermz got squirted (LOL!), i will go back. :)

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published.

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Follow Me

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter

    if you shop on Amazon starting from here, TDL gets a teeny tiny affiliate commission!

    just a regular ol' ad

    Recent Posts

    frui popsicles paletas platter

    How to Serve Popsicles on a Fruit Platter

    grilled avocado lobster cobb salad board

    Lobster Cobb Salad Recipe

    quinoa tabbouleh with kale and cherries

    Quinoa Tabbouleh recipe with Kale and Cherries

    Latkes and Smoked Salmon Platter Recipe

    Copyright © 2022 · The Delicious Life