Taco Truck and Bar Crawl

The Route of our crawl

Tacos at El Pique

The guys enjoying their tacos

Carne Asada at La Estrella

No tables here!

Reviewing the menu at Taco Zone

Condiments and Salsa at Taco zone

The taco truck craze in LA is phenomenal! I had to find out what the hype was all about and enlisted one of my very talented friends, John Lopez to map out a night of tacos and beer madness. John not only was born and raised in LA but writes for the LA Times and Vanity Fair, I thought he'd be the perfect ring leader. After doing a little research myself, I told him that a definite spot to hit was Highland Park.








To start, we met up at my loft in downtown where we quickly swished down a few Coronas, tortilla chips and freshly made guacamole. All 5 of us piled in John's car and away we went to Highland Park. Our first truck, the famed La Estrella, where we orderd a few carne asada and carnita tacos. Sad to say they had not finished cooking up the al pastor which I hear they are known for. Regardless, the carne asada was delicious, moist, flavorful with a perfect spicy red salsa. We decided to compare the same tacos next door at El Pique. Unfortunately, the carne asada was not as tasty as La Estrella but no complaints as the salsa was vibrant and spicier which complimented the taco nicely.








Next stop was Verdugo bar, dark, dingy, and 90s music with various beers on tap, my kind of place. We chilled for awhile and wanted to get a little loose before our next taco stop but unfortunately the line at the bar was unbearable. So, after our beer we moseyed over to Taco Zone in Los Feliz. We kept it consistent and ordered Carne Asada and Carnitas. We also tried the Mulita, a vegetarian delight of cheese sstuffed into a corn taco. Suadero (beef brisket) is a highlight there. Taco Time had a variety of condiments and salsa which I highly praise. However I found the carnitas to be dry and the carne asada bland. The Suadero was awesome, very flavorful.

It was midnight, we were tired and our plans of hitting Coles or the Association in downtown came to an end. All and all it was a fun time and I'd love to do it again, hey, maybe I'll make this an annual thing. Any other suggestions?

Authentic Mexican food in LA

My love for Mexican food started back in Virginia eating Taco Bell and Tippy’s as a youngster. I loved Tippy’s Taco House which was down the street on Lee Highway, as a matter of fact, some of the cousins fondly remember and joke about it, as it was served at my 12th Birthday party. My go-to was the Enchilada combo meal, 2 cheese and 1 beef Enchilada, red sauce, rice, refried beans, finished with a Beef Taco and tortilla chips, por supesto.

Fast forward, L.A. where I work for a Mexican food company. We had to give a presentation on Mexico and the different regions where the staples are no where near what we think is Mexican is: no burritos, no enchiladas INSTEAD moles, tamales, flavors that are tantalizing and tasty. We pepared Mole for the presentation and used 16 different ingredients, amazing. Ever since, I have wanted to explore every region and its indigenous foods. According to Chef Rick Bayless, there are 6 food worthy regions of Mexico; Chihuahua (Northern), Puebla (Central Mexico), Mihoacan (West Central), Oaxaca (Southern Mexico), the Yucatan, and Veracruz (the Coast).

Back to the point of this blog, down the street from South Pasadena is Highland Park, known for their hole-in-the-wall Mexican joints. I haven’t been to any probably because most of my friends don’t eat pork and most of them are MTA (Models Turn Actresses)….you can guess that H.Park isn’t safe at night either. I dragged Eric one night and we pick a joint that specializes in the Yucatan, Villas Durangos. A French trained Mexican chef was welcoming and proudly showed off a picture of himself in Paris. The salsa is super hot, chips straight out of the fryer, and beer ice cold. The waitress speaks Spanish so Eric and I struggle to order, still all the more amused My dish, Pollo Pibil was delicious while Eric was forced to order Carne Chile Colorado since the Cochinita Pibil (pit roasted pork seasoned w/an achiote paste, sour orange and wrapped in banana leaves) was fresh out! The meal with 3 beers, 2 very filling dishes came out to be $18, cheapest and tastiest meal I’ve had in awhile! I plan to visit more Mexican places in Highland Park but don’t think that will be too often unless I make more carnivore eating friends!

Tacos!

Back East, I grew up living off of Taco Bell and the local Tippy’s Taco House, this was our extent of Mexican cuisine. Naturally when I moved to the west coast and had my first taco I was horrified! I hated these tacos, I mean seriously, why do you need 2 corn tortillas and why are they not hard corn or soft flour (like at TB) and for the love of god, where is the sour cream, cheddar cheese and ground beef?

I am proud to say I have come full circle because I understand the function of each ingredient in the West Coast Taco. Let’s start off with the tortillas, not one but two hold up condiments and drippings of the meat of choice. The tortilla consisting of corn masa flour, not fried but steamed, generates that authentic corn flavor. Sour cream and cheddar cheese smothers it all, so crispy Napa cabbage, roasted salsa, lime, and Mexican Cotija cheese suffice perfectly. My favorite tacos are ‘lengua’ and ‘cabeza’, yes this does translate to tongue and head in Spanish, the meat is tender and delicious. I can’t even begin to describe fish tacos; mahi-mahi, swordfish and a new one for me, Salmon.

If you want to live a full life and never have had a Taco west coast style, I highly suggest one. Give me a call, I’ll be first to take you to the local late night Taco Truck!