I’ve been meaning to blog about Porto’s Bakery in Burbank for a while now. It’s a Cuban cafe and bakery that is always packed on weekends. The Burbank location is the newest of two locations, with the original store in Glendale. Finding seats during the lunch hour rush is a challenge but the wait in line isn’t so bad when the view is a huge selection of colorful desserts.
I’ve decided not to attempt to try all the desserts but I always like bringing people here for a quick breakfast or lunch. Their Cubano sandwich is good but what is really outstanding and something I’ve never seen or tried before Porto’s are their potato balls.
Potato balls are balls of mashed potato filled with seasoned ground beef, covered in bread crumbs and then fried. The potato balls sell for less than a dollar each and combined with a sandwich, it helps to fill the nooks and crannies in the stomach. I find them especially delicious with a dash of hot sauce.
After Porto’s or if you find yourself eating a potato ball standing up, walk over to this bizarre costume shop a block down Magnolia.
My Burning Kitchen 
I know Porto's has a great rep, but the one time I went to taste cakes for our wedding, it was awful. My guess is that wedding cakes aren't their speciality, so I'm willing to give it another shot, especially if there are potato balls involved!
Hi Nanette!Admittedly, I haven't tried any of the cakes at Porto's so I trust your opinion. I had to try one of their cupcakes and it wasn't very good…I think you should definitely try the potato balls!
I also read about these on Kirbie’s blog – potato balls sound like all kinds of awesome! Too bad they aren’t a little closer to SD.
Heh. This was a blog post from 2006 that I updated with the link from Porto’s. But they are delicious.
Oh! Sorry about that tweet I sent you. Now I understand why you didn’t mention the Downey location. Didn’t realize this was an old post. I hope Nanette has been converted. I’ll work on that.
Yeah, she didn’t like the cakes back in 2006! What the frak??