As all you wonderful, loyal readers know, the Dineamic Duo recently embarked on a road trip to Disneyland! This blog stems from a fun little side quest we took in search of breakfast on the way. Truthfully, this side trip was a little bit of a struggle for us, but we made it through to the other side. Happy, full, and even closer as a couple. We wanted to eat outside of the park (save a little moolah where we can), so we rolled the dice and relied on what we could find along the way. Our gamble really paid off. We happened to stumble upon Porto’s Bakery in Buena Park. Back story, Ian’s mother used to take him and his family to the Porto’s Bakery in Glendale when they were young. He has raved about the potato balls, meat pies, and baked goods. So we popped a U-turn (metaphorically), and headed over to Porto’s.

I think it is very fitting that we went to Porto’s before heading to Disneyland. Why you ask? Because Porto’s is the Cuban bakery and restaurant equivalent of Disneyland. Honestly, I think Ian was giddier over eating here than he actually was to go to the theme park. It is a giant, beautiful compound of a restaurant with different areas devoted to coffee, baked goods, and a cafe. The fare is Cuban (not Armenian like young Ian remembered for some reason). It’s affordable, exciting, and utterly delicious.

Earlier I alluded to some delicious pastries and baked goods. Let’s discuss further, shall we? Ian and I are meat and potato people. Unless he is doing some trendy diet like Keto, but we are going to gloss over that for now. That is why we decided to start with getting a potato ball and a meat pie. The potato ball is a ground beef mixture in the middle of light, fluffy mashed potatoes, then rolled in breadcrumbs and fried. It’s comforting and warm. The meat pie is the same beef packaged in a flaky, buttery crust.  And let’s not forget the price – around a dollar each.  Read that again.  You could fill up with just a few dollars!

We were trying to stock up for our big day, so we also decided to get some sandwiches. Ian got the chorizo and cheddar omelette sandwich on Cuban bread. The chorizo was Spanish style– similar to pepperoni. The cheddar cheese was smokey, rich, and melty. Per Ian, it was a next level class of cheese. I got the Medianoche sandwich. It’s like the rich, exciting cousin of the classic Cuban sandwich. It’s got slow-roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, and Cuban dressing on a sweet Medianoche roll. That roll is incredible. I’d like to only have all my sandwiches on that roll from now on please. It’s buttery with a nice chew to it. It comes with fried, unripe plantains that are basically just like large, oblong potato chips.

We finished up our meal with some well-deserved coffees and then headed on our merry way to the park. Porto’s was a fantastic, accidental breakfast that was beyond our wildest dreams. If you are ever near a location, go. Eat your heart out. Your wallet and your tummy will thank you!