‘Mexican’
My first foray into Pittsburgh’s Mexican food scene brought me to Round Corner Cantina in Lawrenceville. I really had no idea what to expect, but I found a nice outdoor patio area and a good selection of tacos. I ordered myself some Yuengling and then took a look at the taco menu for a while before landing on their Puerco Tacos.
Out in the suburbs of Minneapolis is a place called St. Louis Park. Within that park is the West End, a mall containing, well, you know what malls have. This one, though, had a restaurant called Rojo. Mexican in theme, the place was slightly upscale and was kind of what is expected from Mexican restaurants so far from the border. Nothing was particular creative or exciting-looking, but this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
While reports all over the radio waves are calling Sioux Falls, South Dakota some sort of a boom town, by the time we reached it we knew very little, if anything, about their food scene. Luckily, a friend of mine hails from the largest town in South Dakota and pointed us towards Mama’s Ladas, a Mexican place in a town that feels about a far from Mexico as possible.
Possibly the hardest part about leaving LA (besides giving up my income, friends and weather) was leaving the delicious Mexican food behind. But when we were in Portland, we learned that there was hope for Mexican food beyond the world that hugged that southern border. We were taken to ¿Por Que No?, a little taqueria shack in what seemed to be mostly a residential neighborhood in North Portland.
The fast food restaurants of the world have taken some remarkable paths. McDonald’s and Subway have infiltrated nearly every corner of the globe. Taco Bell has brought “Mexican” food across the United States and places like In-N-Out have garnered cult followings while remaining tied down to a specific region. There is a reason that people on the East Coast have heard of In-N-Out and a reason why people in the Northeast heard of Chick-fil-a before its expansion. Likewise, there is a reason I had ever heard of TacoTime.
If you could have one final meal in LA that truly represents the city, what would you choose? Umami Burger? Korean BBQ? Some sort of Asian fusion? Anything with avocado in it? Seeing as I had eaten Umami the night before, for me it was a taco truck. You see, taco trucks just might represent LA better than any other food purveyor. Their mobility is all-important in a city that relies so much on cars. Their Mexican dishes feel perfectly at home in a place that was once Mexico and is chock-full of Mexican heritage. And their relatively low barrier to entry provides a great opportunity in a city that brings new opportunists in every day. For my last meal in LA, I chose Leo’s Taco Truck.
Down in San Diego for a drinking and baseball excursion, I somehow found myself at a place called Jalapenos in Carmel Mountain looking to fill my stomach with something non-alcoholic. My buddy had told me that the California Burrito was the way to go here and went on to explain that said burrito had fries…inside. A powerful anti-aging face treatment. Formulated with liposome RNA. A powerful cell bio-activator. Provides restorative effect to damaged cells. Valmont Prime Renewing Pack Contains anti-wrinkle peptides and ginseng extract to stimulate microcirculation. Visibly minimizes the appearance of wrinkles. Fine lines and pores. Absorbs impurities and relaxes facial features. Unveils a softer. Smoother. Brighter. Even-Toned and younger looking complexion. Yeah, I know, pretty awesome and I was ready to commit as soon as I learned what else filled the thing.
Just when you think you’ve eaten every important burrito LA has to offer, a coworker comes along and tells you that you have to try La Cabana in Venice. I’m sure this has happened to everyone and just like me, everyone else probably thought taking a trip to La Cabana was a good idea. After all, while I had never read about it anywhere, I trust the word of real people more than anything.
Once upon a time there was a little taco stand in downtown LA called Mexicali. For unknown reasons, they had to shut down, which was very upsetting to me considering I hadn’t yet tried their supposedly amazing food. Yet, after some time they opened up a brick and mortar near Chinatown that I just had to get to. And now that I’ve been, I can safely say that anyone who hasn’t been needs to go. Like as soon as possible.
Ever since starting my job in Torrance, one of my coworkers has not stopped talking about the tacos at Los Paisas. Finally, we made our way there so I could see what he was always yammering about. I quickly found out that Los Paisas was more than just a restaurant, it was also a bakery and mini-market. As good as multiple identities are, though, all I cared about was tacos.