Reviews

Old Timey Mexican at El Cholo

June 10th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit Comment
The biggest burrito in the world.

The biggest burrito in the world.

El Cholo has been part of LA since Prohibition, which is no small feat in a city that flocks to trends like they cure cancer.

It took me a while, but I finally made it to the original El Cholo in Koreatown.

I had a difficult time deciding what to get from the menu.  The prices were a bit steep, but I figured it was worth it to try an LA classic.  In a cool little nod to their history, on each menu item they list the year that it became part of their menu,  I finally decided on the great barometer for Mexican food, the burrito.  At El Cholo, they call it the Burrito Dorado, which they began serving in 1977, making it seven years older than me.  According to the menu, it’s composed of chili con carne, beans, rice, cheddar cheese, tomato sauce, sour cream and guacamole.  I hoped none of these ingredients would be older than me.

When it came, it was unbelievably huge.  Easily the biggest burrito I had ever seen, and if it tasted any good, it would be well worth the price.  Looking tiny next to it was a small salad that thankfully made no real contact with the burrito.

Assuming I could never finish the beastly burrito, I began eating.  I must have blacked out at some point because all of a sudden the friend I was eating with pointed out to me that I was eating the last bite of the burrito.  I guess it was pretty good.  Typically this burrito would have constituted two meals, and at the price of a little more than 10 bucks, it was definitely worth it.


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Unvegan Top 20 for 2011

‘Tis the season for “Best of the Year” lists, so I thought I would join the party and put in my top 20 new restaurants from 2011.  By the way, this means the restaurants were new to me, not new to LA.  Please note that I am only including meals in the Los Angeles area.  As much as I loved the food on my travels, you can check any of those places out pretty quickly by clicking here.  So, without further caveat, here’s the best that 2011 had to offer for the unvegan:

20.  Cobras and Matadors

This tapas place in Mid-City is everything tapas should be.  From bacon-wrapped dates to a variety of cheeses, there is really something for anyone looking for a delicious meal.  Just beware, while tapas can be kept to a moderate price, when you throw a big group in with small plates, there are bound to be some people who don’t get their money’s worth.  But keep the group small and Cobras and Matadors will send you home full and happy.

19.  Steingarten

Dishing out delicious sausages, including a few of the exotic variety, Steingarten also offers up a pretty stellar beer selection.  If you’ve ever wanted to eat alligator in sausage form, Steingarten won’t disappoint, but they also serve a wider range of foods, including some pretty delicious burgers.  Their sausage execution, though, could use a bit of improvement, which pushed another sausage joint further up on the list. Continue Reading»