‘Mexican’

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Chipotle x 8 at Ocho Mexican Grill

January 19th, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

The S stands for stubby.

Chipotle is kind of the gold standard of Mexican fast food (I mean, unless we’re talking Taco Bell).  You can find it pretty much anywhere, the prices are pretty good and there is no doubt that it’s fast.  But it is not alone…all over there are copycats and similar joints that may or may not have existed before the rise of Chipotle.  Ocho Mexican Grill in downtown LA is one of those copycats…sort of.  A combination of my buddy Joel and a 50% Scoutmob discount convinced me to visit this downtown twist on Mexican fast food fare and I entered with high expectations. Continue Reading»

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Impregnated by El Nopal

November 3rd, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Impregnate me!

For a few months now, I have driven by El Nopal in Palms nearly every single day.  And on just about every one of those days, I say to myself, “I want to eat there.”  But it is not simply because I love Mexican food, it is because of what is written just below the name of the restaurant on their sign: Home of the Pregnant Burrito.  I’m a pretty literal guy and assumed there was some sort of burrito fetus residing in the larger burrito.  This proved to not be the case, but it does give me an idea for an awesome burrito if I ever open up my own Mexican place (read: never).  Anyway, onto the burrito. Continue Reading»

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Compunding Words at MexiKosher

August 29th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Fun with puns!

Who doesn’t love a good pun?  Or even better, who doesn’t love an awesome compound word.  Combining giant and enormous gave us ginormous.  Combining lion and tiger gave us liger.  And combining terrible and institution gave us Ohio State University (yes, I know that is technically three words, but I stand by it).  Now joining the ever-growing list of compound words is a restaurant named MexiKosher in (surprisingly) Pico-Robertson.  I love a good compound word as much as the next guy, but could this new Kosher Mexican restaurant make a happy unvegan?  I intended to find out. Continue Reading»

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A New Beginning at Taco Plus

August 25th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

This is more of a burrito plus.

Moving to a new place is never easy.  Driving habits and living habits have to change, but more importantly, eating habits have to change.  This can be easy for some, but when you have a meat blog it can be tough to say goodbye to the Taco Bell that once resided across the street.  But it is also an opportunity to try new things, so as I woke up on my first real weekend in my new place, I realized it was time for a stroll around the area in search of food.  Quickly, I found Taco Plus. Continue Reading»

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Unexpected Fruitiness at TnB BBQ

August 17th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

What the what sauce?

On a one-night bender, I found myself facing down three strange taco trucks on Main Street in Santa Monica.  None looked familiar and none looked particularly amazing.  But it was 2 am in Los Angeles, when food options are usually limited to subpar diners and…well…taco trucks.  The trucks here seemed to be some sort of missing link between gourmet and roach coaches and so after much circling we wound up at TnB BBQ. Continue Reading»

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Down in Mexico With Red O

August 5th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Wait, is this China?

Rick Bayless is apparently a pretty big deal, and not just because he got his PhD at the University of Michigan.  No, he is actually a famous chef who specializes in Mexican food.  Now, when I headed off to dinner at Red O, I was entirely unaware of both the existence of man named Rick Bayless and the fact the Red O’s kitchen was run by him that he was Red O’s consulting chef.  Clearly this was not going to be an everyday ordinary Mexican meal.  The exterior had a design reminiscent of the Bird’s Nest in Beijing.  The interior wasn’t too shabby either, but this style came at a price.  One of our party was sporting khaki shorts and was nearly denied entry, despite everyone else in the restaurant wearing shorts.  This almost knocked the place down a notch to me, but I was willing to forgive if they could deliver some amazing food. Continue Reading»

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Make Way for Cafe Rio

June 28th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

The pearly gates of Utah.

I have a coworker who has a problem.  The problem is she is a vegetarian.  Gross, right?  But not by choice.  You see she is lacking the enzyme that breaks down meat in her body, so the simple act of eating meat makes her violently ill.  It’s really the only acceptable form of vegetarianism, yet there is one place she will always eat meat, stomach be damned.  That place is Cafe Rio.  It’s a seemingly generic Mexican place that I have driven past many times in Manhattan Beach and brushed off.  But little did I realize that Cafe Rio is huge in Utah.  Like real huge.  And it’s about to get even huger.  There are currently 40-something locations, but they are planning an expansion on the scale of 100 restaurants.  So when one opens across the street from you, remember you read about Cafe Rio on The Unvegan first.  With my coworker in mind, we finally stopped at Cafe Rio to what all the meat fuss was about. Continue Reading»

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Komodo Heads Indoors

May 9th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Some prep kitchen.

A long long time ago, I managed to get myself into the Komodo Truck launch party.  It was a good time for all, and apparently the truck has been pretty successful.  So successful, in fact, that they recently opened a storefront at Pico-Robertson.  I wasn’t there for the debut of this one, which may be a good thing.  While the debut of the truck was plagued with long lines, when I walked into the restaurant I found myself the only patron.  The friendly cashier made sure to tell me that although things seemed pretty grim, the restaurant doubled as a prep kitchen for the truck.  So although I was the only one giving money to the restaurant that night, the place was indirectly earning them some money wherever the truck may be. Continue Reading»

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Quesoing at Qdoba

April 22nd, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

The Q stands for queso.

On the fringes of the Mexican fast food world lies a restaurant chain called Qdoba, which I’m pretty sure is pronounced queue-doh-ba.  Qdoba functions in an assembly-line vein similar to Chipotle and the food itself tastes pretty similar except for one special thing: queso.  For those who understand the language Spanish, queso simply means cheese and it would be no surprise to you that cheese is on the menu of a Mexican restaurant.  But, for those of you who are well-versed in the language of Qdoba, queso means so much more. Continue Reading»

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Menuless at Gardens of Taxco

April 7th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Course number one is a cheese a dilla.

About a year ago, a coworker of mine walked up to my desk, slapped a golden matchbook on it and told me I had to go to this restaurant.  The restaurant he spoke of was called Gardens of Taxco in West Hollywood and despite the strange-sounding name, he told me it was amazing.  One year later he is no longer a coworker of mine, but a Living Social deal popped up for the place and I took it as a sign from the tax gods that it was time for me to pay the Gardens a visit. Continue Reading»

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Beer Me Some Breckenridge Agave Wheat

The taste of skiing?

Colorado is definitely a beer state, and not just because Coors comes from the Rocky Mountain State.  No, it is also home to New Belgium (of Fat Tire fame) and seemingly countless other micro and craft breweries.  While in Breckenridge for a ski weekend, I decided I had to at least try one of these, and because it turned out to be the only one available at dinner, my choice happened to come from the creatively named Breckenridge Brewery.  The brewery, by the way, is actually no longer in Breckenridge, having expanded and moved to Denver in 1992.

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It doesn't taste like wool.

What is this?»

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