Tag Archives: Mexican cuisine

Los Portales – Culiacán – Tampiqueña

Posted on by
Reply

IMG_9856-001

It was a hot afternoon, and Los Portales felt like an oasis. Not a cool oasis, as the air conditioning consisted of gently blowing fans in an open courtyard, but rather a welcoming, relaxing place to recover from a hard morning of tourism, and to have a lovely meal. Located in an old building in the Centro Histórico, across from the cathedral, the location was perfect.

I was in the mood for meat, so I ordered the Tampiqueña, a common dish in upscale Mexican restaurants that can take many forms, in my experience. Here, it was a lovely piece of thin-cut marinated steak, cooked medium, with all the expected accompaniments… a grilled green onion, guacamole, refried beans with crumbled cheese, and a baked potato. I couldn’t have been happier.

IMG_9854-001IMG_9850-001

Colonia Taco Lounge – La Puente, CA – Really Amazing Tacos

Posted on by
Reply

IMG_3683-001

IMG_3699-001

It was a nice day for a drive, so I persuaded my friend Leili to make the trip to La Puente for what I promised would be some of the best tacos in Southern California… We weren’t disappointed. Forewarned that it was basically a bar that served tacos, we weren’t surprised to find a big, sparsely decorated room with the menu choices written on a blackboard. And we felt immediately at home by the friendly service.

These are not your abuelita’s tacos. I started with the duck taco – how can you beat duck confit with a smoky guacamole? The full, rich flavor of the duck was remarkable, beautifully enhanced by the complex tastes hidden in the sauce, and I was convinced it would be my favorite of the day. Leili was craving the potato tacos – believe it or not, there were 2 choices. One crispy with mashed potatoes, rajas and crema, and the other stacked with layers of crisply fried potato slices and cheese.

We kept ordering until we couldn’t fit another taco into our mouths. We didn’t try all of the 15 tacos on the menu, but we came embarrassingly close. I decided my favorites were the braised beef and the deep fried cauliflower (both pictured here), and Leili stayed with her original instincts, and voted for the crispy mashed potato taco.

We finished off with bunuelos – lightly toasted tortillas dredged in sugar and cinnamon – and coffee, and chatted well into the afternoon, celebrating that great feeling of having made a great food discovey.

IMG_3682-001

Here’s the address: 13030 E. Valley Blvd., La Puente, (626) 363-4691

Tacos Punta Cabras – Scallop Tacos

Posted on by
2

IMG_2365-001

IMG_2357-001

With the grandfathered exception of The Border Grill, I never expected to find serious tacos in Santa Monica. Out for a walk on Santa Monica Boulevard, though, I had a feeling about this small, casual spot, and decided to give it a try. It also helped that I was hungry at the time.

The menu is very specialized, in the form of an order sheet with boxes to check. Tacos are limited to fish, scallop, shrimp and tofu. There are also seafood cocktails and tostadas. And that’s kind of it. They give special consideration to gluten and nut allergies.

I went for a fish taco and a scallop taco. There were no surprises when they arrived, basically baja style tacos with fried fish and scallops, shredded cabbage and a dash of crema on soft tortillas. The surprise came when I took my first bite. Perfectly cooked, beautifully balanced flavors and wonderful textures, these aren’t the quick comfort food we’ve come to expect of tacos…

This is serious food!

Here’s the address: 2311 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Phone: (310) 917-2244

Mateo’s Ice Cream and Fruit Bars – Mezcal Ice Cream

Posted on by
1

IMG_2605-001

IMG_2600-001

Whenever I’m in the Pico Union neighborhood of Los Angeles, I try to make a stop at Mateo’s. It’s a colorful, friendly place that makes me feel happy the moment I walk in, and they have the most interesting assortment of ice cream flavors I’ve ever seen.

There are all sorts of exotic flavors I’ve only encountered in Mexico, including Mamey, Passion Fruit (called Granadilla here), Guayaba, Guanabana, etc. I recently tried the Mezcal flavor, something I expected to be a weird novelty, but was delighted with the flavor. I was feeling adventurous, so I tried it with a scoop of Rompope flavor, the Mexican version of eggnog. Again, I thought it was going to be a bizarre combination, but the flavors blended perfectly.

I’m reluctant to admit that I’ve been so involved with trying all the ice cream flavors that I have never tasted the beautiful selection of paletas, or popsicles. The good news is that I find myself in the area regularly, and will certainly get around to them.

They have various locations, but this one is at 1250 South Vermont, in a shopping center at the corner of Pico.

IMG_2735-001IMG_2602-001

Torta Cubana – El Taurino – Los Angeles

Posted on by
2

IMG_1944-001

IMG_1945-001

It seems to me that whenever a Mexican restaurant wants to make a really crazy sandwich, they blame it on the Cubans. There’s really no end to the things you can find in a Torta Cubana. A favorite place in South Omaha throws in a fried egg, and Tacos Por Favor in Santa Monica includes a sliced and grilled hot dog. One thing in common, though, is that they always include breaded beef “milanesa” and marinated pork leg “pierna adobada.”

The Torta Cubana at El Taurino is relatively sane by comparison with some places. Served on a unique, tasty roll, the milanesa is fresh from the frying pan, and the pierna is moist and spicy. The avocado, tomato, onion and crema are in perfect balance, and the red sauce served on the side is spicy enough to demand your attention. One of my favorite sandwiches in Los Angeles, a city known for its great sandwiches.

Even if you’re not hungry, El Taurino is worth a trip just to see the wonderful bullfighting theme decor. The walls are lined with original bullfighting posters, photos and artworks, and a couple of losing bullfight contestants are mounted on the walls.

Always a fun, tasty experience.Try the barbacoa on weekends, and there is a truck out the back to take care of weekend crowds, and late-night hours.

1104 S Hoover St, Los Angeles, CA 90006
(213) 738-9197

Here’s the website: http://www.eltaurino.com/

Tacomiendo – West L.A. – Chanclas and Potato Tacos

Posted on by
Reply

IMG_1769

IMG_1774-001

IMG_1778-001

I recently saw an article in which Tacomiendo’s potato taco was ranked near the top of all tacos in the United States. Located in a dreary West Los Angeles (not a notorious hot-bed of Mexican food!) strip shopping center, located between a dry-cleaner and a car repair shop, I had my doubts. In fact, I condescendingly assumed the writer had never had a potato taco before, and once he (or she) experienced the magical combination of mashed potatoes and crispy fried tortillas, declared it to be the best in the country. Today I tried it for myself, and haven’t changed my mind about the reviewer’s experience level. Don’t get me wrong – it was a perfectly presented, extremely tasty potato taco, and I will certainly order it again, but it’s not noteworthy on a national level.

What I found more interesting was an item called a Chancla. While I stood in line, I looked it up on the internet, and learned that it seems to come from the Puebla region south of Mexico City, and that it is widely subject to interpretation. A chancla is a flip-flop sandal, and what I received did resemble footwear in way. It was beautifully fried masa stuffed with black bean paste, sort of a larger version of a Salvadoran pupusa. It was covered with a spicy red salsa, and topped with carne asada, cilantro and crumbled cheese.

It was sort of a pizza experience, but very, very Mexican… and very, very tasty.

Here’s the address: 11462 W Gateway Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064

Phone: (310) 481-0804

Shrimp Tacos – Mariscos El Jato – East Los Angeles

Posted on by
Reply

IMG_1420

IMG_1425-001

I spotted this East LA seafood restaurant on a Sunday afternoon a couple of months ago. The reason I noticed it was the large number of customers, but that was the very reason that kept me from trying it that day. They were just too busy. I was in the neighborhood today, and had much better luck.

The menu has photos of the food, and my mind was made up the moment I saw the 5 Tacos de Camarón con Ensalada. It turned out to be 5 huge tacos buried under slices of avocado and a sour cream cole slaw. The tacos were filled with grilled shrimp that seemed to be lightly breaded, and a dash of pico de gallo, fried until they were crispy. I rarely encounter a crunchy taco, but the robust combination of seafood flavor, textures and even the warm and cool temperatures delivered on the promise I had seen in the photo.

I spoke with the owner, El Jato himself, a friendly, outgoing native of San Juan de los Lagos, Jalisco, near Guadalajara. He told me that he created most of the dishes on the menu, and all of the plates I saw whizzing past me looked delicious. I saw beautiful tilapia fried whole, gigantic fish tacos, and big seafood-cocktailish looking dishes called chavelas.

So there are at least three more visits in my future, before I go for a repeat on the shrimp tacos.

Here’s the address: 2936 E. 4th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033

Phone: (323) 264-6590

The Restaurant With No Name

Posted on by
Reply

IMG_1195

IMG_1172-001

IMG_1182-001

I’ve been curious for a long time about the restaurant next door to the Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles. In a previous post, I featured a wonderful octopus cocktail I had there, but never figured out the name of the place.

The sign outside says “Home of the Original Shrimp Place since 1929,” but it actually seems to be a food court with 2 food stands and a bar in back… I guess I’m satisfied with that as a reason to have no name.

Meanwhile, I had a delicious shrimp tostada, and couldn’t resist a repeat of the octopus cocktail. Name or no name, it’s on my list of fun, tasty places.

National Taco Day

Posted on by
Reply

IMG_9600

The LA Weekly magazine tells me it’s National Taco Day, and they list their 20 favorite tacos in Los Angeles. I’ve only had 7 of them – many of the establishments are trucks – but from what I can tell, these guys really know their tacos. Meanwhile, here are a few recent favorites of mine… unfortunately not in Los Angeles.

Here’s the LA Weekly link: http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2013/10/tacos_los_angeles.php

IMG_9546-001

IMG_0117-001