‘Mexican’


A Green Torta at Pink Taco

December 3rd, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Neither pink nor taco.

The name Pink Taco is something of a shock.  You’d think you were walking into a strip club or something, but lo and behold, you end up walking into a restaurant.  The Pink Taco in LA is at the Century City mall and although it’s not part of their glorious food court, it was still a place worth checking out.  As you would expect, once you realize Pink Taco is actually a restaurant, the place serves up Mexican food in a trendy way. Continue Reading»


A Little Stand Called Cactus Taqueria

October 28th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

A taco stand with cheese.

Out in Hollywood, there is a little taco stand on a corner called Cactus Taqueria.  Having heard a lot about this place, I felt that I needed to stop there to have a Mexican dinner before the Belle and Sebastian concert.  I showed up and found the little stand in the corner of a parking lot on Vine.  There were a few people waiting for their orders and another few groups eating out in the outdoor, yet covered seating area.  It looked like a great place to find a good taco. Continue Reading»


Somewhat Mal at Malo

October 20th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

They didn't actually look this flourescent.

Although Restaurant Week has just concluded, I once again took the opportunity to try out a couple new places that I wouldn’t ordinarily visit.  The first was Malo in Silverlake, which is a Mexican Cantina.  Their menu wasn’t exactly exciting for me, but I still thought the place could surprise me.  The reason the menu wasn’t exciting was because there was really only one good unvegan option for both the appetizers and entrees. Continue Reading»


King Taco, Not Nacho

August 19th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Red means hot.

In the mood for some authentic Los Angeles tacos, my buddies and I set off for King Taco near downtown in the McArthur Park area.  Although this wasn’t the original location, we figured they still served up some pretty good tacos.  I could tell it was pretty authentic because it was mostly filled with Hispanic people and everyone seemed to speak Spanish at the counter.  By the time I figured out what I wanted, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to order in English, but luckily the cashiers turned out to be bilingual. Continue Reading»


Yo Quiero Mucho Mas

July 27th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

I'm so plattered.

Surprisingly close to Poquito Mas in North Hollywood, there is a restaurant called Mucho Mas.  I’m not sure which came first or if there is some sort of rivalry between these two similarly, yet oppositely named restaurants.  Whatever the case, a work lunch took me off to Mucho Mas and I was eager to see if mucho was better than poquito.

By the time I arrived, a good amount of my coworkers were seated at the outdoor patio are and an appetizer platter had already been ordered.  Fortunately it was unvegan-friendly.  It came with cheese quesadillas, beef flautas, beef taquitos, chips, beans, guacamole and sour cream.  It was a delicious way to start out the meal and I could only hope that my main course would be as good. Continue Reading»


One Flimsy Tortilla at Dos Burritos

July 15th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Uno burrito.

On my way to see In the Heights (I’m cultured!) at LA’s Pantages Theater, I had no time to eat any food.  I also had no idea what kind of food even existed on that part of town.  The Hollywood Strip is quite the foreign territory for me.  After parking at a failed meter (score), I whipped out my Urban Spoon to see what it would show me.  After sifting through a couple of dead ends, I found Dos Burritos and walked in to see what it could offer me. Continue Reading»


It’s Not Always Time for Bacon

July 6th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Where's all the bacon?

Every once in a blue moon, a restaurant comes along that you just can’t pass up.  Sometimes it’s Taco Bell, and sometimes it’s a place called Bacon in Scottsdale.  Although clearly capitalizing on the current bacon trend, the name sounded great to me when the girlfriend’s family suggested it.  Since it was Father’s Day, we expected a long line, so we called in advance and a table was ready for us by the time we got there. Continue Reading»


Drunk Trucking at Tacos El Gallito

July 2nd, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

A truck worth blogging about.

In my experience, most taco trucks aren’t worth blogging about.  It’s not that I feel like I am too good for them or that they aren’t interesting, but in most cases I have found that they all taste pretty much the same.  This is not true of Tacos El Gallito.  I stopped by here one night with no plans to blog, but just hoping to get a decent taco.  Instead, I had one of my most legendary LA nights and wound up befriending a couple of their Mexican patrons named Toast and Reuben.  I also fell in love with the truck and vowed to return to give them a proper unvegan review. Continue Reading»


Sodium Overload at Mexicali

June 7th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Look out for a braising.

I couldn’t really figure out whether Mexicali Cocina Cantina in Studio City was named after the city of Mexicali or because it is a blend of Mexican and Californian food.  Whichever it was, I was pretty impressed with the creative creations on their menu.  It seemed that nearly everything on their menu had undergone some sort of upgrade from 87 octane to at least 89.  Rather than just beef burritos, they had Kobe Beef Burritos.  Rather than just fish tacos, they had Ahi Tuna Tacos.  Everywhere I looked on the menu, there was something that seemed inspiring, at least in name. Continue Reading»


A Bit of Pinches Tacos

May 20th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Taco or poorly wrapped burrito?

Just recently, West Hollywood’s Pinches Tacos branched out to Culver City and my buddy, Waldo, decided we had to try it out.  I didn’t really know anything about the original place, but I figured it had to be good enough to build a second location.  Since he was picking up, I checked out the menu online and found two tasty-looking tacos.  The first was Pollo Mole and the second was Carne Asada.  The menu was pretty vague about what came in each, so asked Waldo to order them without vegetables.  He is a firm supporter of the unvegan way, so he was happy to get them ordered correctly. Continue Reading»


Going Global at Plan Check

Fries of the world.

A couple of weeks ago, The Backyard Bite invited me to The Burger Culture Clash, sponsored by Stussy (which apparently still exists) and Plan Check. Plan Check, by the way, is a sort of new (since February) restaurant in West LA with Chef Ernesto Uchimura of Umami Burger fame. As my love of burgers, especially those of the umami variety, I jumped at the opportunity.

Although I arrived alone, I was not the only lone eater. Just next to where I was seated, I met e*star LA and we decided to share a meal called loneliness, because it’s better than eating alone. We made quick friends over our respective blogs and Midwestern roots, then got to work at dissecting the special menu, which Plan Check will be featuring for the next month if anything tickles your fancy.

Continue Reading»