PRICE:
Frommer's Highly Recommended

Housed in a charming, basic cottage tucked away on a side street, Berta's faithfully re-creates the sunny flavors of Central and South America, where slow cooking mellows the heat of chiles and other spices. Everyone starts with a basket of fresh flour tortillas and mild salsa verde. Mouthwatering dishes include Guatemalan chilemal, a rich pork-and-vegetable casserole with chiles, tomatoes, cornmeal masa, cilantro, and cloves. Try the Salvadoran pupusas (at lunch only) -- dense corn-mash turnovers with melted cheese and black beans, their texture perfectly offset with crunchy cabbage salad and one of Berta's special salsas. Or opt for a table full of Spanish-style tapas, grazing alternately on crispy empanadas (filled turnovers), strong Spanish olives, or pincho moruno, skewered lamb and onion redolent of spices and red saffron.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's San Diego 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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