La Cocina del Camaguey in Los Angeles

Customers place orders with owner Ilonka Garcia for food to go.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Desserts are all homemade and include rice pudding, bread pudding and flan.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Ilonka Garcia holds a plate of appetizers from the cuisines of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

El Camaguey Meat Market, where La Cocina del Camaguey is located, is on Venice Boulevard, about five blocks east of Sepulveda, in the Palms neighborhood.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)