100 years ago, Alexander Alejandro Borquez and his wife Rosa opened a tiny cafe on Moneta Avenue, serving tasty, homestyle Mexican food. Little did they realize that their modest enterprise would survive a century, becoming one of Los Angeles’ most popular restaurants in the process.
As should be expected with Los Angeles’ long Spanish and Mexican history and heritage, these cuisines ranked high with residents, if not officially listed in city records. The 1875 City Directory officially lists a Mexican Restaurant for the first time, and in 1894, City Directory formally lists a Spanish Restaurant downtown. These establishments were unfortunately segregated in an area called Sonoratown, adjacent to both Chinatown and the Plaza, some of the poorest areas of Los Angeles, and the original location of the city. By 1900, city fathers determined to accentuate this Spanish heritage by romanticizing its past. White residents, immigrants, and visitors began searching out food connections to the glorious past. Soon, the Borquez family would open their own restaurant to join the growing boom and popularity of “Spanish” food. Continue reading
This week’s mystery movie was the 1956 Universal picture A Day of Fury, with Dale Robertson, Jock Mahoney, Mara Corday, Carl Benton Reid, Jan Merlin, John Dehner, Dee Carroll, Sheila Bromley, James Bell, Dani Crayne, Howard Wendell, Charles Cane, Phil Chambers, Sydney Mason and Helen Kleeb. 
ladailymirror.com 