SACRAMENTO, Calif. — At Lola's Lounge in Sacramento, flavor runs in the family. The restaurant on 16th Street and Broadway serves up Spanish and Latin cuisine with a large influence from Puerto Rico, taking inspiration from family recipes.
"Most of them come from my abuela, Elda. Our house-made sangria is her recipe, so all in the family," said Lola Serrano-Class, who runs the restaurant with her mother.
Her parents named the place after her when she was a kid.
"We are the first Puerto Rican restaurant in Sacramento. We are very proud of that," said Serrano-Class.
The restaurant started in Elk Grove. The family moved the restaurant to Sacramento’s Broadway corridor two and a half years ago.
A staple on their menu is tostones, which are plantains that are smashed down and fried. The tostones are served with many of the offerings at Lola's Lounge, including traditional dishes like pollo encebollado, or chicken with caramelized onions.
The restaurant also offers its twist on tostones. Take jibaritos, for instance, which are beef sliders made with tostones instead of the bun.
Chef Janey Tozier presses out all the plantains daily for these dishes.
"I probably make about 250 or 300 of these a week. They're very popular," she said.
She uses a kitchen tool called a tostonera and Tozier's is sentimental.
"Little Lola brought it to me from Puerto Rico and it's fabulous," she said.
Lola and her family not only bring back kitchen gadgets from their trips to Puerto Rico but also flavor inspiration.
"She brought back a lot of new recipes that she wanted to try," Tozier said.
Tozier and Serrano-Class said their flavors often remind guests of home.
"I've had a lot of people say 'Wow, it tastes exactly like my grandma is in the kitchen making this,' and that's like one of the best compliments you can ever receive, so it's great just to serve people and bring a smile to their face," Serrano-Class said.
"I know a lot of chefs live for the Michelin stars and that's great. I live for Puerto Ricans from New York to come in and hug me and tell me that it was just like their mother was in the kitchen," Tozier said.
The restaurant also has a patio for guests to dine in. It is called the Jardín de Elda, named after Lola's grandmother who inspired many of their dishes.
