Hollywood: Whole Hog Dinner at 3Dog Cantina Recap
spicy mimosa
Recently I was invited to a whole hog dinner at 3Dog Cantina. It opened last Fall along the Cahuenga Corridor in Hollywood. In my 20s, I ran around Cahuenga to the different bars and clubs but only recently started returning for the food.
3Dog Cantina hired Efrain Cuevas, an underground Chicago supper club chef as their Chef de Cuisine. He’s brought a lot of regional Mexican cooking to the menu. But for this night, it was very experimental. Chef Cuevas mentioned he didn’t have a menu until he started cooking a few hours before we arrived.
Chef Efrain Cuevas
Chef Cuevas decided to make a Mexican Breakfast for dinner.
bacon wrapped strawberries
Chef Cuevas got the whole hog and did quite a bit with it including curing his own bacon. For a “light” starter, he wrapped some of that house-made bacon around fresh strawberries. The result? Sweet and salty and completely new. I really liked this combination versus bacon and dates because it wasn’t too sweet…or sticky.
tacos of the week
3Dog Cantina specializes in different weekly tacos but we’ll get to our special tacos soon.
back patio is dog friendly
The back patio is also dog friendly. For a restaurant named 3Dog Cantina, you would expect it to be so. They will even make your doggie a burrito.
Michelada
Our four-course dinner had been paired with cocktails and beer. With the strawberries, we got a spicy mimosa. And for the upcoming shrimp and bacon quesadilla, he added his housemade shrimp powder to the Michelada creating a lot of umami.
shrimp & bacon quesadilla
The shrimp and bacon quesadilla used toasted tortillas creating a crispy experience. I really liked this dish. And the Michelada was perfect because it helped cut the slight saltiness of the dish.
Victoria beer
Victoria beer is Chef Cuevas’ favorite and one of Mexico’s oldest beers. With a simple squeeze of lime, it went well with our tacos.
pork tacos
Lovely pork tacos had a bit of marmalade to continue with the breakfast for dinner theme.
Jalepeno-infused Tanteo tequila
To end, we were served a shot of the spicy Jalepeno-infused Tanteo tequila with a slice of the hot pepper. I pushed mine into the shot which was probably a bad idea as I ended up numbing my lips a bit and make the shot even spicier. So the Minty pro-tip? Don’t do that.
jalepeno pancakes with cinnamon butter
For dessert, we had jalepeno flecked pancakes with cinnamon butter.
I’d like to come back to try the regular menu. I couldn’t fit even one more taco in!
1615 N Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028 — (323) 465-1750
© The Minty 2013