Trying out the flickr map…
Hidden in plain sight in the Mercado la Paloma, Chichen Itza is located right across the street from the DMV near the USC campus.
This place sells Yucatan food and sits toward the back of the market…you’ll first walk past the Oaxacan stand with the interesting looking desserts, vegan ice creams, and fresh juices.
A vegan friend first told me about this place, but there is plenty of meat on the menu. Pictured below the cochinita pibil which is a slow roasted pork that is served up with rice, black beans, and tortillas. There was a habanero chilie sitting on top of the tender pork that I avoided biting into - cause its just too many Scoville units for me to handle.
Check out Chichen Itza for Mexican food that’s close to campus…it doesn’t smell like a horse stable like La Barca does, and it beats Chano’s when the sun is still out. According to their website, Chichen Itza has a location in Koreatown as well. Oh yeah, it’s pretty cheap too, considering the quality and presentation.
…at least for pushcart vendors in Gardena. Matt Korba tips us to the possible end of street vendors in Gardena .
There’s an article about it here, and one from the Daily Breeze. Where a person states
“..But, I don’t want them here. It’s not healthy. I’m pretty sure if they sell tamales on the street corner, they can’t be too clean.”
Well, I’m all for sanitary food, but street food, at least in every other country, is some of the tastiest food and I’d hate to see the end of tasty food.
For our east coast readers, or those who enjoy some eclectic entertainment, there looks to be a fairly new and very entertaining video podcast brought to us by Fornal Films.
In the UnderbellyNYC episodes, Baron Ambrosia exposes the eateries known to locals and ignored by the guidebooks. In Episode 2, the Baron introduces some local fare in the form of a chimi churri truck…truck food is good. Tacos come from trucks.
I subscribed to this podcast at Episode 1 as it brought back some gastro-recollections. I’ve eaten at the cuchifritos joint he features and I can vouch that it’s some tasty stuff (Did the lady in the episode look a bit uncomfortable at times?) Well after watching this, I had to do a quick search on chowhound to find a place in LA that had some cuchifritos. It looks like Ciudad might serve some during their happy hour…well hell yes to that.
Subscribe to the UnderbellyNYC podcast with iTunes.
As a follow-up to the last UK fish and chips entry, there is a really good place here in the LA area, more specifically:
English House of Fish and Chips
921 S Baldwin Ave, Suite H, Arcadia, CA 91007
626-446-1430
I have no idea how authentic it is being I’ve never been across the Atlantic to sample the newspaper wrapped versions, but the fish here is quite good with the batter being crispy and the fish never overcooked and never dry. The fries could use some work, but it’s easily overlooked. I usually order the three piece fish and chips with an order of cole slaw and fresh lemonade. Oh yeah, they’ve got fish tacos too, though I’ve never gotten around to trying them.
The Atwater Newbie has a link to an LA Times has article listing some restaurants that serve up fish and chips, but they neglect to mention the very tasty crispy goodness that is served up at this unassuming eatery at corner of Baldwin and Fairview Ave. in Arcadia.
Your Taco Truck Primer…
Taco trucks and stands are quite different from the restaurants that serve “tacos”. Tacos from restaurants in the US are filled with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and ground meat. In fact, I am hard pressed to count tacos from restaurants as “true tacos”.
True street tacos possess only the essentials. Meat wrapped in a warm hand sized corn tortilla. Onions, cilantro, and salsa (red or green) is up to you, but highly recommended. We often like a squirt of lime on there too. Order it up “para aqui” (for here) or “para llevar” (to go).
Below is a guide of common fillings you may see on the menu:
asada - beef, grilled or broiled steak, often marinated
pollo - chicken
al pastor - pork; you’ll often see it being cooked on a vertical spit, it is marinated, and sometimes served with grilled onions
carnitas - pork; roasted pork, pulled and often fried to give it a crispy exterior
chorizo - pork sausage
cabeza - cheek meat from a cow
chicharron - fried pork rind
lengua - tongue
buche - stomach
tripa - tripe/intestines
molleja - sweetbreads
sesos - brain
recent comments