Toribio Prado's empire spans the city of L.A. This "mastermind" (as Charles Perry of the Los Angeles Magazine dubbed him) has a slew of wildly popular restaurants stretching across this West Coast metropolis, where he is so celebrated that Buzz magazine named him "one of the 100 coolest people in the city." Yet in terms of culinary style, Prado goes far beyond the environs of L.A. At Cha Cha Cha, Prado is packing them in with his inimitable pan-Caribbean cuisine. Cha Cha Cha, wrote Lynell George of the Los Angeles Times, is "a jubilant dinner party in progress, filling the air with a host of enticements-citrus, garlic, and nose-itching chilies." As Jonathan Gold wrote, Prado is "the undisputed baron of upscale Caribbean cooking in Los Angeles."

Born in Mexico and raised in L.A., Prado actually discovered his love of cooking in the Caribbean. At age 12 he ran away from home (angry that his mother had cut his ponytail off while he slept) and made his way to Puerto Rico, eventually finding work in a few of the island's restaurants. Homesick, he returned to L.A. and made his debut in its dining scene at power-lunch legend Hugo's in West Hollywood. He was 14. Three years later, this precocious young chef was discovered by Richard Irving and Lynn Von Gersting, who opened the famous Ivy restaurant to showcase his talents. By 1986, Prado was ready to go it alone. He opened Cha Cha Cha in a tiny space in East Melrose. Soon, Hollywood denizens and culinary cognoscenti were making pilgrimages to this outpost of haute Caribbean cooking. A slew of terrific reviews followed. In short order, Prado opened a string of restaurants that spread his fame across this buzz-conscious city: Café Mambo; Prado Restaurant; Cha Cha Cha in Encino, Long Beach, La Jolla; and Cava, which "may be the best tapas bar this side of Barcelona," according to Los Angeles magazine. Most recently, he opened Cha Cha Cha Chicken, a gourmet Caribbean "fast food" restaurant that the Los Angeles Times's George called "a busy paradise." This month, Prado's red-hot cuisine cha-cha-chas into town. Put your dancing shoes on.