Porto's Bakery & Cafe

Porto's Bakery & Cafe in Burbank, California

Between every two or so hours of driving from Fresno to Los Angeles, my dad would need to take a break. We happened to be in Burbank at the end of our second last leg (before we got stuck in the horrendous Los Angeles rush hour traffic for two hours). Porto's is very highly ranked on Urbanspoon under the 'cheap eats' category as most of their pastries cost anywhere between $0.50 to $5. My mom was attracted my the mass amount of people hustling in and out of the bakery and my praise of how cheap it was.

I was astonished at the large display of desserts and the array of bread loaves for sale. My eyes shone while my the nerves in my brain zipped back and forth trying to make decisions. A dozen or so employees went to and fro from the cashier and filling customer's boxes with sweets. This large bakery is a busy and evidently popular place, but service is quick and friendly. Got time to kill? Grab a drink to pair with your meal or afternoon snack and enjoy some chatting time at one of the tables inside or do some people watching outdoors (if it isn't blazing hot).

Desserts from Porto's Bakery & Cafe

It would be unlike myself if I didn't leave the bakery with a box of sweets. This time, it was also because we were getting hungry and our eyes began to get bigger than our stomachs. My mom allowed me to pick four things, one dessert per person. We actually took like three days to finish these because we kept over stuffing ourselves during meals and had no appetite for dessert when returning to the hotel. Due to my lack of research and reading of reviews on this particular bakery, I wasn't sure what to purchase. My mom and I chose according to what looked appealing and what sounded special. Here is what we tried and our thoughts:

Pina Colada Mousse ($2.95) - The mousse had bits of crushed pineapple and was topped with shredded coconut, which delivered the a heavy pina colada flavour. It was one of the less-sweet desserts of the bunch and Dad liked this best out of the four we bought. The fresh orchid flower was a pretty decoration.

Parisian ($2.75) - This was a very dark chocolate cake. I, like Peanut Crumpet, prefer dark chocolate and really liked this dense and mildly sweet devil's food chocolate cake. The chocolate whipped cream was a lighter option than using buttercream icing (which I don't really like anyways). My only suggestion is that this cake could be more moist.
 
Cappuccino Mousse ($3.50) - Compared to the Pina Colada mousse, this mousse was much thicker and very sweet. The texture was almost cake-like. Due to the sugary-ness of the dessert, this individual cup could be easily shared between three people. Although it was just decoration, the chocolate coffee bean was the highlight for me.

Mango Cheesecake ($2.95) - Cheap cheesecakes usually don't do justice to the cheese part of the name but this one was pretty well made and a good amount of cream cheese could be tasted. The mango flavour is also strong enough, though a bit artificial.

Our total came to roughly $12 for four items, which is a good value in my opinion. My mom expected it to be cheaper, but since I'm used to paying almost $10 for a single serving cake at some fancy patisserie in Downtown Vancouver, Porto's is very cheap. There is such a vast variety of pastries and goods to choose from; everyone will be able to find something that is of interest. The serving sizes are generous for the prices and quality is acceptable. According to what I tried, many of the desserts are too sweet for my Asian family's sweet tooth, although some better than others. Porto's Bakery is not a must-do in greater Los Angeles but it's definitely a popular spot amongst locals and is worth dropping by if in the vicinity. 

Reviews on Yelp



Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Old Spaghetti Factory

Just like how my family visits COWS Ice Cream every time we're in Whistler, the Old Spaghetti Factory has become a routine of ours as well. The portions are large enough so the hunger will stay away until dinnertime and the prices are very reasonable considering the tourist-y location.

All entrees come with a starter of either minestrone soup or garden salad and end with a scoop (or maybe two) of ice cream and a choice of coffee or tea. Look for the "It's all included" sign on the menu. For $12 to $15, one can have a complete meal at a convenient location in the heart of the Whistler Village Stroll. My aunt hails this restaurant as the best value in all of Whistler, she sometimes coming for both lunch and dinner.

Fresh Loaf of Sourdough Bread

Shortly after being seated, the waiter or waitress will bring a small loaf of sourdough bread for you to nibble on as you read the menu. Warning: This bread is highly addictive and dangerous for those trying to avoid carbohydrates. It's impossible to stop stuffing this soft, warm bread into your mouth. They give free refills of this bread too! Consider sharing one plate of pasta if self control is a difficulty. Refined carb overload galore! The whipped butter is rather tasteless though. Whipped to the point of being like...air. Fresh bread tastes good enough by itself, no need to add unnecessary fats.

Garden Salad with Sesame Dressing

My parents and I ordered two pastas to share amongst the three of us. It was just the right amount of food.

Seafood Fettuccine Alfredo

The first pasta was the Seafood Fettuccine Alfredo.There were plenty of small scallops and shrimp, but that's as 'fancy' as the seafood gets. Then again, this large serving of pasta only cost $14.25. I enjoyed the thick al dente fettuccine noodles. The alfredo sauce is very traditional, not much to it rather than cream and butter. But it got a bit too heavy near the end and I saw the butter start to separate and rise to the top. Definitely save this dish for a 'cheat day'.

The second pasta we shared was the Spaghetti with Spicy Meat Sauce. The spice was different from the type of spiciness we had anticipated; it was more herb-y... Not very special but did the job. 

My brother ordered the Chicken Parmigiana and it was a really large portion for $14.95. A large breaded chicken cutlet with a portion of speghetti with tomato sauce. Two people with a smaller appetite than a growing teenage boy can share this and still be full. However, I can't speak for the taste as I didn't try this dish. 

We all ended our filling lunch off with a cup of coffee or tea and some spumoni ice cream, which is Old Spaghetti Factory's version of Neapolitan ice cream but with pistachio, chocolate, and vanilla. The pistachio doesn't have much flavour, so don't expect to get some fancy expensive gelato. Whoever scooped our ice cream this time was very generous as we got two large scoops in each cup, yay! 

We made our visit on a Sunday afternoon during lunchtime. I made a reservation in the morning before heading out to the farmer's market to ensure we'd have a table. Better safe than sorry since sometimes they're so packed there's a one hour wait list. That wasn't the case this time though, despite it being a weekend. The entire restaurant had ten or so groups when we arrived at noon. I had asked to be seated outside on the patio, which is a nice environment but it was just too hot on a sunny August day. Fruit and vegetable plants decorate the patio, but they're kind of...overgrown or dying, haha.

Old Spaghetti Factory is a family-friendly restaurant to go to when you need to fill hungry tummies and have a place to chat and relax. Food isn't five-star quality but it's acceptable and affordable. Service is kind but not always promt; it depends on how busy the restaurant is. Our server came back often to ask how we were doing at the beginning of our meal but less near the end. She did remember our requests for more bread and water when we asked for them. There isn't any major reason for my family to not come back for pasta when we're in Whistler.

I apologize for the lack of photos in this post; I thought I had past photos of the dishes I had this trip as we seem to order the same few things. But I was wrong so hopefully on my next trip (maybe next year?), I'll be able to make a second review with more photos.



Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡