Café Tropical
Cafes, Sandwiches, Cuban
2900 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Are you a Mexican taqueria?
No. Five down and four to go, Miss Francis?
Can I assume that you are not a coffeehouse?
No. Six down and three to go, Mr. Cerf?
Are you a Starbucks?
No. Seven down, two to go. Mr. Block?
Well do you serve waffles?!
[Audience laughs.] That makes it one to go, Miss Kilgallen?
Could you be a ‘tropical cafe’?
[Audience clapping.]
Cafe Tropical is the 1950s Hawaiian Garden that never dried up, but Cuban. It’s kind of old and kind of tropical, mostly due to the Cuban pesos that are taped to the front counter next to their register. It’s one of three Cuban places I can recall in Silver Lake, and one of the two that have not been destroyed by hurricane gentrification.
If you want sweet bakery things, then this place is for you fatty. I have no comment on the sweets but it’s got a very strong, delicious and inexpensive espresso. It’s got a lot of tables. It’s reluctantly got wifi, but the place wasn’t made for computer surfing as there are only incidental outlets that computer surfers plug up at next to the kitchen area.
Finally, there is a lot of dedication that they spend to their potted trees; they spend quite a bit of time carrying them outside when they open and back inside when they close. They look heavy! I remember having a conversation with a friend of mine while this guy is moving these tall potted trees. He was talking to me while I saw these large trees hovering behind his head as they were carried from one side of the cafe to the other. I was touched by the dedication that they have to set up and closing the outside. Even though this cafe looks its age and most people would probably not even take a second glance at the potted trees adorning this place outside, I do.