Success feeds on itself
El Portal, a longtime Playhouse District favorite, keeps it real while courting a wider patronage during hard times
By Dan O'Heron 11/12/2009
Has the voracious economy finally bitten off more restaurants than it can chew?
Spotting a lunchtime crowd as thick as bees at El Portal at 1:45 p.m. on a recent Tuesday, it certainly looked that way.
Though it would be risky to conclude from this bit of evidence that we’re having an unambiguous turnaround — at many restaurants I still don’t see many people giving thanks and making toasts — it was an uncommon sight and worthy of attention.
That’s primarily because over the past year in neighboring Old Pasadena, the economy has eaten up some 25 restaurants: CrepeVine, E’s Wine Bar, Fred’s Mexican Café, Gaucho Grill, Ghiradelli’s, Gordon Biersch, Hooter’s, JJ Steak House, Sisters of Bubik, La Maschera, Manny’s Pizza, Mojito’s, Rock Island Wraps, Siena, Spitfire Grill, ThaiItalia, Twin Palms (announced that Nov. 25 is its last day), Union Cattle, Vive, Zen and several other places that opened and closed so quickly that I didn’t catch their names.
So how has El Portal survived and visibly prospered as restaurants fold faster than the proverbial origami expert in heat?
“Although we feel fortunate,” said owner Abel Ramirez, “I’d say more than a matter of luck, it’s our passion, dedication, location and a chef — Cesar Soberanis.”
Soberanis — who also chefs at the Langham, Huntington Hotel & Spa — adds French, Italian and American refinements to classic Yucatecan cookery.
“He makes a difference that people can taste,” said Ramirez. “And no staff works harder to ensure our guests keep coming back.”
Remembering visits to the Pasadena Playhouse across the street, I’ve long been sold on the location. Whether the performance was a tour de force or just forced to tour, I could always count on the pleasures of beginning the evening with El Portal’s unique Yucatecan-style meals like pollo pibil (banana-wrapped chicken).
This bone-in quarter chicken is long-marinated in garlic and an achiote sauce prepared with ground red seeds from the
fruit of the annato tree, plus oregano, cumin, cinnamon, clove, pepper, allspice and lime juice. Fresh banana leaves are passed over a flame until they luster a translucent emerald green. This tells Soberanis they are pliable enough to work with (fresh and raw, they’d crack open when folded). Oven-baked until brown, jacketed with the leaves and achiote-sauced, the chicken meat attains a very special flavor.
Also not to be missed is Chef Soberanis’ classic pork cochinita pibil; aromatic steam bursts out when the baked banana leaf covering is unwrapped, having imparted its distinct flavor to hot, juicy tatters of pork, long-simmered in achiote sauce and more.
Ramirez said he’d like to dig an authentic Mayan rock-lined wood-fired pit in the parking lot, “if the city would only let me.” He would cover it with fragrant leaves and bags of earth; it would trap enough heat to steam an armadillo.
But the city isn’t having that. In its stead, Ramirez and his wife, Rosalie, with the sure-handed assistance of Chef Soberanis, have transformed Mayan pit cooking into modern steaming and baking, using exotic ingredients, tried-and-true techniques and traditional recipes.
Both Abel and Rosalie Ramirez were born and raised in the Yucatan. Abel was brought up in a village with a big family. He and his brothers would ride daily on horseback to their father’s ranch on the other side of a mountain. At night, they’d return with saddlebags brimming with fresh milk, fruit and vegetables, including avocados “the size of cantaloupes, so sweet and tempting, they often didn’t make it to guacamole.”
But the whole family made it to the barbecue pit for dinner. Beyond teaching Abel values of family and fresh food, the environment helped instill a nature tuned toward fun and fiesta. “Dad raised fighting bulls, but they were only used for caping demonstrations at various village celebrations.”
El Toro won’t appear at El Portal today, but a bullish sense of fun, fiesta and food prevails, with live mariachi music on weekends, “revolutionary” margaritas, award-winning tequilas and local artist exhibitions.
I especially like the gastronomic baroques of Chef Soberanis.
With so many things going for it at once, it’s no wonder success feeds on itself, even in the toughest times.
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