I finally forced myself outside the two-mile radius to which I relegate my weekday dining, and actually drove to Venice to try La Cabana, a Mexican restaurant I have seen many times on my old commute to work. Lincoln Blvd. and Rose Ave. is quite a feat for me.

The restaurant is in an area that looks and feels sketchy, especially with the chain-link fenced empty lot next door to it. The building is nothing fancy on the outside, except for the large sign plastered across the front that proclaims that La Cabana has been awarded for "Best Margaritas." We'll see about that.

If La Cabana was going for an ancient-ruins-turned-cantina-bar, they got it. The inside is dark and cavernous with brick and stone archways. The host in a short bolero-like tuxedo jacket and bow tie seated us in a booth in the back by the bar. The ceiling by the bar was strung with Christmas lights shaped like margaritas and Sauza tequila bottles. That's classy.

I didn't love the somewhat oily and chewy chips, and the salsa tried to make up for its lack of flavor with an overdose of screaming hot chiles. No matter though, because we ordered margaritas, which are offered in different sizes, and they served to chill the flavorless burn.

The menu is very standard, except that I will note two things: 1) that La Cabana printed its menu "landscape," which meant it was very awkward trying to flip between the pages like it was a drawing pad, and 2) two entire pages are dedicated to quesadillas of all kinds. I liked that, but opted for something less ordinary.

Albondigas soup is something I always order - I have it inmy mind to make this at home one day, but only after I've tried it in at least two dozen different places. Unfortunately, La Cabana's will not be one that I will try to remember. The broth tasted  like lightly salted water, and the meatballs were not any more flavorful.

The sope, a thick masa tortilla, was rock hard and as dense as clay. I left the sope itself on the plate, and scraped off the refried beans and chicken. It sounds like I didn't love La Cabana, but that's not entirely true. While the salsa, chips, sopa, and sope were dreadfully flavorless, the plato de barbacoa made up for all of it with tender, flavorful, highly spiced barbecued meat. The sauce was something I wasn't used to - very earthy.

Overall, the food at La Cabana wasn't bad. The margaritas were good, but I wouldn't agree with the sign out front that says they're "The Best." It's not that I wouldn't want to go back to La Cabana, but there are a few restaurants that are no more than a mile away from my house that are almost exactly the same.

La Cabana
738 Rose Ave (@ Lincoln Blvd)
Venice, CA 90291
(310)392-7973
www.lacabanavenice.com