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Friday, April 9, 2010

Gardena, California (southern Los Angeles) -- Restaurant El Rocoto

I happened upon this restaurant by accident on my way to the airport. The food was so excellent, I wanted to share it. It is located south of the airport on 91, just east of I-405.

It's a small looking place in a shopping strip. It looked a little iffy, and I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. The sign on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant said "seafood," so I decided to check it out. I arrived before noon, and the area did not look busy. The restuarant was indeed small when I entered; however, the food smell in the air was good, so I decided to stay.

I ordered the Picante Maris (#31), which is a seafood dish in a creamy tomato sauce. It was excellent! It contained squid, octopus, shrimp, mussels, calamari, scallops, and a crawfish on top! The crawfish surprised me because I did not recall reading that on the menu. The quality of the food was excellent, as well as the flavor.

This restaurant quickly became crowded and guests were waiting for tables before the end of my visit. Apparently I was not the only one who enjoyed the flavors. I received lousy service--my server did not ask if I needed anything else when she served my entree, she never checked back with me, and she did not process my check. The host eventually brought me my check and processed the payment when she noticed I was finished. I hope that my service experience was not the norm.

I would visit this restaurant again because of the excellent food quality and flavor. Here is the link to their website: El Rocoto

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