La Isla

What started as a food stand at Fremont Sunday Market has become this always-packed little cafe, offering possibly the only Puerto Rican cuisine in the area. As a starter, try the empanadillas ($4), little fried dough pockets filled with your choice of shrimp, pulled pork, garlicky potatoes, cheese, tofu, chicken or beef. Better yet, go for the appetizer platter ($9.99), which lets you also sample the salted cod fritters and the alcapurria, made with plantains and green bananas. The enormous pernil (pulled pork) platter ($15) has a huge pile of juicy meat alongside saucy rice, beans, avocados and cheese, plus a couple of piquant sauces. It’s hard to beat – you’ll be eating it for hours and still be sad when it’s gone.