My Passage to Porto's

We've picked up cakes from nearby Porto's Bakery before for coworkers' birthdays, and with the exception of the Parisian chocolate, they've all been pretty impressive. I've seen the place on a smattering of best-of lists, most notably for their Cuban pork sandwiches, but until today I had not partaken.

Lucky for my tummy, I had business that took me past the place around lunchtime today. I stopped in and braved the long (but moving) line for a steak torta and horchata smoothie (can't resist horchata).

Apparently, the place can be pretty cheap if you know what to order. My coworker, who was riding shotgun got out of there with two empanadas and a small salad for $4! Mine was over double that.

Horchata Smoothie (16 oz): $3.25
Pretty good, with all the requisite spices that make horchata taste like a little bit of Thanksgiving, but the blended ice waters it down too quickly.

Steak Torta: $6.55
Soft Cuban bread with a nice sour edge, but you can tell it was baked early this morning. That seems kind of lazy for a BAKERY. The shredded beef was seasoned and slow cooked. I think it'd have been great with some black beans and rice. On the sandwich with lettuce, tomato, guacamole (is that even Cuban?), and cotija cheese, it came off as ok, and not worth the money. It had the feeling of a decent -- not great -- burrito.

Overall, it was good, but I'm not sure I'd brave the drive or line again for that level of quality.