California Foodways: The Mitla Cafe

Aired on The California Report Magazine on September 12, 2014.

This is the start of my new series, California Foodways.  Come check us out at californiafoodways.com (just going live...); on Facebook, and on Twitter @cafoodways.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201409121630/c

The West Side of San Bernardino is one of those neighborhoods where people still live in the houses their Mexican American great-grandparents bought in the 1930s. Today, on the once-thriving commercial strip, there are plenty of vacant lots and storefronts, but one business is still a magnet for customers: the Mitla Cafe.  It’s proof that sometimes a restaurant is more than just a restaurant.  Since the ‘30s, the restaurant has born witness to and played a role in political change.  It also happens to be an unlikely inspiration for how mainstream America sees – and eats -- Mexican food.

The West Side of San Bernardino is one of those neighborhoods where people still live in the houses their Mexican-American great-grandparents bought in the 1930s. Today, on the once-thriving commercial strip, there are plenty of vacant lots and storefronts, but one business is still a magnet for customers: the Mitla Cafe.
It’s proof that sometimes a restaurant is more than just a restaurant.  Since the ‘30s, the restaurant has born witness to and played a role in political change. It also happens to be an unlikely inspiration for how mainstream America sees – and eats -- Mexican food.
- See more at: http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201409121630/c#sthash.JH9yiV7z.dpuf