[dropcap size=big]W[/dropcap]hen Luis Torres moved to Los Angeles from New Jersey six years ago, the one thing he missed most was the Dominican food he grew up eating. “There’s no place in L.A. right now to get official authentic Dominican food,” he told L.A. Taco.
Indeed, there are currently no known Dominican-focused restaurants in Los Angeles County. L.A. Taco checked. The only Dominican restaurant in Southern California is in San Diego — Tropical Savor in downtown SD, which is featured in this Pero Like video.
Granted, Dominicans make up less than half-a-percent of the Latino population in L.A. County. But Torres had to find his food and community somehow, so he turned to social media for help.
“Let me see if I can find my people out here because I miss my food,” he recalled saying, as he scrolled through Instagram. On a nostalgic whim, Torres looked up the hashtag #DominicansinCali and found it used once before years ago in Los Angeles — and that's when the idea clicked.