With all of the Jaliscans, Capitalanos, and Michoacanans here in Los Angeles you’d think we’d have some better carnitas. Carnitas are various pork parts fried in pork lard; while it’s done all over Mexico, the predominant styles are from Michoacan, Jalisco, Mexico City, San Francisco de los Romo in Aguascalientes, and in the Bajio (eastern half of Michoacan, and all of Queretaro and Guanajuato) region of Mexico. Outside of these regions, carnitas are usually prepared by artisans from Mexico City, Michoacan, and Jalisco.

A carnitas Taco Task Force run was looking hopeless last year; there just weren’t enough solid locations to even make the minimum 5 stops, and nothing outstanding besides Metro Balderas. We all love carnitas, and you can usually do pretty good even with the carnitas found around LA using the cheater method– boiling the pork in water and frying them up before serving. This cooking style is like the kind you get at Olvera St. or just about any Mexican-American restaurant around town. The texture is stringy, but the flavor can be passable, often times more attractive than having dry carne asada.

Taco Task Force Mission: We are here to rate tacos without prejudice, and give this culinary treasure its proper due. We are the antidote to amateurish taco blogs, we are a tacoligarchy.

For this mission we expanded the Taco Task Force from the original cast: Josh “el guapo” Lurie,Matt “el chico paletero”Kang, Cathy “la risa” Danh, Javier “el flaco” Cabral, and I “el jefe”, to include new TTF draftees:Eddie Lin, Zach Brooks, Valentina Silva, Jo Stougaard, and David Lieberman.

On January 22,2011, the TTF members reporting for duty were Josh Lurie (JL), Matt Kang (MK), Zach Brooks (ZB), Valentina Silva (VS), Dave Lieberman (DL) and his wife Linnea (LL), and I (BE). Our control of the day was the taco surtido, a mixed carnitas taco consisting of either all the available parts of that taquero or the taquero’s personal preference. This typically includes muscle tissue like shoulder or rib, combined with skin, and various offal.

We scored each taco on a 1 to 5 scale, 5 being the highest score in the categories of Grade of Key Ingredient, Condiment/Tortilla, Overall Flavor, and Cooking.All scores were averaged to reach the Overall Score. We made 5 stops that day representing the popular, established, and new restaurants/stands/trucks that have a specialty in carnitas.Who has the best carnitas in Los Angeles?

Coming in at #5 on our list is Carnitas Michoacan #3

Carnitas Michoacan is a well-known chain with over 30 years experience here in Los Angeles; famous throughout the talk forums for their Michoacan-style carnitas.

They claim to have over 5 zillion sold, for this accomplishment, they should be charged with senseless mass porkicide. These are hardly Michoacan-style; more Elks Lodge banquet hall style, employing the cheater method of boiling then frying prior to serving. They only have shoulder, no other parts available. The texture is bad enough, but combined with a strange-tasting, dry pork, my interest died after the first bite. It wasn’t a surprise that these were so bad, but its popularity made Carnitas Michoacan a necessary stop, one of the many hazards of TTF duty. This is a “don’t go” place.

Carnitas Michoacan #3
741 S Soto St
Los Angeles, CA 90023
(323) 266-7188

OVERALL SCORE 1.768/5

At #4, Carnitas El Tio, a new discovery for the TTF

Carnitas El Tio looked promising with its lil’ piggy logo and cool a-frame building down in Compton, but it proved to be just ok. Despite the fact that they’ve been around since ’94, they’ve curiously remained more of a local joint. The boil then fry method is again employed here to mediocre ends. The flavor was good at first, then just vanished, and there was some dryness in this taco.There was also a funny aftertaste that I couldn’t quite place…these carnitas are just OK, but I don’t see coming back here again, local it shall remain.

Carnitas El Tio
1903 N. Long Beach Blvd.
Compton, CA 90221
(310)4938126

OVERALL SCORE 2.89275/5

Coming in at #3, Los Cinco Puntos still kicks it Old School

Los Cinco Puntos in Boyle Heights is an institution where carnitas are cooked in traditional cazos(large metal pots), and are fried in lard. There’s always a line here for their East LA style thick-corn tortillas, tamales, roasted lamb heads, and carnitas. They’ve even got a damn good moronga, blood sausage. The taco surtido contained ribs, and hog’s maw, a good combination that was more dominated by the hog’s maw, not a bad idea since the rib was a little chewy. Los Cinco Puntos also has tripe, tongue, shout, and skin available for carnitas. Here I would stick with the offal and skin tacos. They have a great jalapeno salsa,too, and drop nopales come standard on your taco. After all these years, Los Cinco Puntos still delivers.This is a solid carnitas taco

Los Cinco Puntos
3300 E Cesar E Chavez Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90063
(323) 261-4084

OVERALL SCORE 3.48175/5

Our carnitas runner-up, at #2, Metro Balderas

Metro Balderas has 10 years in the carnitas game; their original branch still stands in Northridge. We stopped at their better known Highland Park location to sample their Mexico City style carnitas. Mexico City is all about the offal, here you can even get a pig uterus taco. The surtida had uterus, hog’s maw, snout, rib, shoulder, and ear.These tacos are strong in their saltiness and pork flavors, and they have a pleasing texture from traditional cooking in a cazo. It doesn’t hurt that they have amazing salsa, the best of the day for the TTF.

Metro Balderas is a sure bet if you’re in the mood for top-notch carnitas in LA.

Metro Balderas
5305 N Figueroa St
Los Angeles, CA 90042
(323) 478-8383

OVERALL SCORE 3.6785/5

And, introducing the #1 carnitas in Los Angeles, Tacos Los Güichos!

Tacos Los Guicho’s weekend carnitas were a recent discovery of mine. Here the truth in cooking is revealed to all, slow cooked pork in a bubbling bath tub of lard. The surtida had ears, lips, hog’s maw, shoulder, and rib. The cooking here is careful, and this is the only place that excels in all parts, from offal to muscle tissue. Los Güichos is another Mexico City-style carnitas location, superior in a balanced pork taste, and with great condiments to finish your tacoing in style.

Tacos Los Güichos
carnitas on the weekends only from 8am ’til they run out
regular menu 7 days a week
southwest corner of Slauson and Avalon
Los Angeles, CA

OVERALL SCORE 4.036/5

Stay tuned for more Taco Task Force missions, to bring you the best in tacos here in LA and beyond.

This article was reprinted with permission from StreetGourmetLA, which has additional images, expanded ratings, and more!

Long before Los Angeles’ food truck fetish with Asian-fusion tacos, Pueblans had already traveled down that road.There are many incorrect stories about the Lebanese influence in the taco arabe, or arab tacos, but actually the original creators of these Pueblan curiosities were of Iraqi descent.

It was in 1933, that the Tabe Mena family first served what is now known as the taco arabe, an adaption of the Greek gyros sandwich, which lept from lamb and a yogurt or tahini sauce to pork loin and chipotle. Other families of Iraqi heritage dispute the Tabe Mena family’s claim, but the Tabe Mena family maintains that their grandfather Jorge Mena, who had fled the Turkish invasion of Iraq in the late 1800′s, was the first to set up shop.

The Tabe family is still behind the spit of one of the largest tacos arabes chains in Puebla, Antigua Taqueria La Oriental. There are currently over 300 taquerias in the city of Puebla that produce this iconic taste of Pueblan cuisine.

Read the entire article and review of Antigua Taqueria La Oriental on Street Gourmet LA

As a public service to the taco lifestyle, we have asked famed street gourmet Bill Esparza to drop some taco knowledge in this ground-breaking series we call TACOS 101. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

The Crowd

The universally accepted rule of stands and trucks is that where there’s a crowd, you shall find good tacos. This is more applicable in Mexico where there are full on taco wars, a gaggle of stands all serving carne asada for example. Customers will have established the supremacy of a stand over time. It’s always true that a crowd keeps the tacos fresh, with a higher turnover than a slow stand.

In Los Angeles, a place can sometimes be popular for various reasons, look for the crowd, but look for other indicators of excellence too.

There are a large group of Mexicans standing in line so it must be good? Well, many of the Mexicans standing around were born in the United States, and are Mexican-Americans. Many Mexican-Americans don’t have experience with great tacos, and aren’t aware of Mexican cuisine outside a cursory knowledge. Mexican-Americans are Americans, they love hamburgers, hotdogs, pizza, and Harry Potter, just as much as a non-Latino. There are pockets of Los Angeles that have more recent arrivals from Mexico that carry a little more taco experience. But, never assume someone is a foodie or an expert just because of their heritage.

LA Taco Scene

Los Angeles is flush with taco trucks manned by unskilled taqueros cooking meats on a flat iron, which should be fried, roasted, or steamed. Hog’s maw, chicken, steak, brains, al pastor, tripe, tongue, all from a single taquero cooking  on a flat iron? These aren’t the best practices, and this style of taco doesn’t exist in Mexico. This is a style that has developed in the local Mexican-American community.  No separate money handlers? This is essential for hygiene, and part of a taquero apprentice program where young aspiring taqueros clean, handle money, and prep before learning the finer skills of tacoing. Being a taquero isn’t a job, it’s an occupation requiring training, just like being a chef. Taqueros are specialists. An al pastor man is an al pastor man for life, moving from stand to stand, and taqueria to taqueria.

Salsas at our trucks tend to be bland and often are the same styles everyone else has. Condiments are an afterthought, and the pride and commitment to maintaining a fresh and clean condiment station seems unimportant to many.

Meats are bought for the sole purpose of keeping the cost of the taco at a buck. This means poor quality meats and ingredients. A great taco for most types of tacos in LA isn’t possible at the dollar price point. Our economy is different. In Mexico, even some of these tacos are more than a dollar, but they remain around a dollar due to lower food, employee, and operation costs. Carne asada has to be above two dollars in order to deliver a quality bite here in the United States.

That being said, there are good versions of the Los Angeles style of taco truck here in LA, and they garner a loyal following.

Taco Hunting

For those seeking the best tacos in Los Angeles, the rewards will outweigh the inconveniences. Sure, it’s great to grab a late night taco at a random truck. But, it has been my experience that when presented with the genuine article, most people have a hard time going back. So, let us dive in!

Start with regionalism. There is a certain pride that comes with representing a particular region of Mexico that marks the best stands, trucks, and taquerias. When your taco shop calls out their state or hometown, it’s likely they are making their regional style of tacos. Think small Mexico vs. big Mexico. Tacos Mexico is a sloppy, and bland taqueria chain. There isn’t a taco to represent the entirety of Mexico, like their name, their tacos are generic.  A truck or stand called Tacos Nayarit is better as it refers to a state, but even more specific would be a stand or taqueria named Tacos Acaponeta, named after a city in Nayarit. Mariscos Jalisco, estilo San Juan de Los Lagos, from the highlands of the state of Jalisco, is one of our best tacos in Los Angeles. The reference to their hometown is what brought my attention to this truck. They have a shrimp taco made from a secret recipe brought back from their town. It’s these little things that matter.

Look for specialists, and skilled taqueros. Look for places that observe traditional serving times, like places that do carnitas, or birria in the mornings, or on the weekends only. Any eateries observing Mexico’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner practices are worth a stop. Carnitas at night that are boiled, then fried in the truck are going to be salty, have a stringy texture, and lack in pork flavor.

Some Traditional Tacos in LA

Al Pastor/Adobada-adoboed pork roasted on a vertical spit.

Service-after 6PM until 2AM, or 4AM on weekends.

Region-Best from Mexico City, Puebla, Guanajuato, Yucatan, Baja California, but is done in all states.

Tacos Leo, Mid-City

http://www.streetgourmetla.com/2010/09/tacos-leola-brea-and-venice-tacos-al.html

Barbacoa-Pit roasted lamb and pancita(offal stuffed lamb stomach) served with lamb consommé with chick peas.

Service-Weekend mornings to early afternoon

Region-Best from Hidalgo, Guerrero, Puebla, and the State of Mexico.

Borrego de Oro, but better at underground locations.

http://www.borregodeoro.com/

Birria- Oven roasted or stewed goat, beef, lamb, or other proteins (even seafood), in a sauce of cumin and red chilis.

Service-mornings to early afternoon

Region-Best from Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Michoacan, but prepared in all states.

Flor del Rio, Boyle Heights

http://www.streetgourmetla.com/2010/02/taco-task-forcethe-best-birria-de-chivo.html

Carne Asada-charcoal or mesquite roasted beef.

Service-after 6PM is when the carne asada stands get going,’ til around 2AM, and 4AM on the weekends.

Region-Best from Sonora, Baja California, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Coahuila, generally dominating the northern states.

Mexicali Taco Co., Downtown LA

http://www.streetgourmetla.com/2010/09/for-unlawful-carne-asada-knowledge.html

Carnitas-pork fried in lard, traditionally in a cazo(large copper pot)with various parts.

Service-Mornings to early afternoon, especially on weekends.

Region-Best in Michoacan, Jalisco, Mexico City, Aguascalientes

Tacos Los Guichos, Vernon/Main

http://www.streetgourmetla.com/2011/01/tacos-los-guichoslos-angelesca-mexico.html

Tacos de Guisado-stews and braised meats, seafood,poultry,vegetables,etc.

Service-Mornings to early afternoons during the week.

Region-All over Mexico, but the greatest tradition is in Mexico City.

Tacos Carmelita, MacArthur Park

http://www.streetgourmetla.com/2010/12/tacos-carmelita-mexico-city-risingtacos.html

Tacos de Pescado-tempura battered fried fish

Service-mornings to early afternoon

Region-Baja California, especially Ensenada

Ricky’s Fish Tacos, Silver Lake

http://www.streetgourmetla.com/2009/12/las-best-baja-fish-taco.html

Tacos Dorados de Camaron-deep fried shrimp and vegetable tacos

Service-mornings to early afternoon

Region-Highlands of Jalisco

Mariscos Jalisco, Boyle Heights

http://www.streetgourmetla.com/2008/10/mariscos-jalisconot-just-another.html

Previously: Part 1 / Part 2

As a public service to the taco lifestyle, we have asked famed street gourmet Bill Esparza to drop some taco knowledge in this ground-breaking series we call TACOS 101. Read Part 1 here.

Condiments

This is an essential skill of the taquero. The best stands actually pair salsas with their menu items. The red salsa is for the buche (hog’s maw), but try the green salsa on the suadero (brisket). It’s okay to have only one or two salsas if you are specializing in a single item, or just a few items. More isn’t better if the salsas aren’t good.

Nina’s salsa bar in East Los Angeles

The salsas should be colorful, fresh, and stylized. The station should be maintained, and the vegetables should be vibrant and fragrant. The area should be clean. A poorly maintained condiment area, especially when things are slow, is a sign that you’re dealing with a hack, or a careless taquero. You’ll know when you come across a top tier stand by the condiments.

Where’s the Beef?

In Mexico, taqueros are specialists. Carne asada should be flame roasted with charcoal or mesquite. Anyone working carne asada shouldn’t be cooking any other meats. If it is cooked on a flat iron, it isn’t asada, it’s called bistec (steak). The verb asar means to roast, and you can’t roast on a flat iron. Al pastor (spit roasted pork in adobo) or adobada (adoboed,a regional name for al pastor) is performed by a lone specialist. If you have asada and al pastor, there has to be a minimum of two taqueros. Brisket, buche, tripe, chorizo, longaniza, eyes, brains, cheeks, tongue, sweetbreads, and head can be done by a pair of taqueros, or a single taquero. These are called tacos de fritanga in Mexico City. A stainless steel comal with a convex grilling area is the beacon for this style of cooking. Chorizos, briskets, and offal are mingled and fried in the well of the comal, while the brains, head, and other delicacies are steamed. The selection is usually around six different meats, but there are places that have all the aforementioned cuts.

Lengua (tongue) Tacos

Fish tacos are performed by a specialist, with the only other menu item being shrimp tacos. This is done in a stainless steel comal with a concave well for frying. Some fondas serve great home-style fish tacos along with a larger menu like Mariscos Becerra in Playas de Tijuana, or McLulu’s in Loreto. These are sometimes cooked in a cast iron pan, just like families do in their home kitchens.

The quality of the meat and selected cut should be of the upmost importance. Seasoned taqueros select the proper meats, fish, poultry, and vegetables for their tacos, and have professional knife skills. Poor knife skills are a dead giveaway that you’re dealing with a weekend warrior.

Tortillas

Handmade or recently made? Flour or corn? Crispy or soft? Store bought? Made from scratch or from corn flour?

The tortilla is important. Hecho a mano means handmade on the premises. Recien hecha means they were purchased from a tortilleria. The northern states of Mexico, especially in Sonora where they do the best carne asada, flour tortillas are common. These range from small taco sized flour tortillas made from scratch or from a tortilleria, or the sobaqueras, thin flour tortillas the size of a pillow case. In the south and central regions of Mexico, corn is king. Corn tortillas are used in every state in Mexico, always depending on the cuisine, and some states use both equally.

Cheap store bought tortillas are a no no, but there are some quality brands out that the taquero might choose because of the neutrality of the tortilla or for deep frying, but in most cases, there’s no excuse for this. Homemade tortillas please!

The use of store bought tortillas is too common in Los Angeles. Let your taqueros know that you’d rather pay a few cents more for the real deal.

Lastly, the range of tortillas whether they’re made from corn or flour is vast in Mexico. Different textures, consistencies, and flavors are available. This is another area lacking in Los Angeles. A corn tortilla from one truck to the next is that same soft, bland, wrinkly wrapper. Look out for the stand with a signature tortilla.

Previously: Part 1. Next: Part 3

As a public service to the taco lifestyle, we have asked famed street gourmet Bill Esparza to drop some taco knowledge in this ground-breaking series we call TACOS 101.

Maize, corn, was first domesticated in Mesoamerica around 7000 years ago, some archaeologists date this as far back as 12,000 years. Around 1200-1500 B.C., nixtamalization was developed, the process of soaking and cooking the grain in lime water, and hulling it to prepare corn tortillas.

Tacos are a pre-hispanic food consisting of a tortilla, corn or flour*, folded in half, but sometimes rolled, filled with vegetables, meats, fish and seafood, insects, even just plain salt. The fillings are cooked using a variety of methods. While tacos were observed by Hernan Cortes and his men when they entered what is now Mexico City in 1519, and the current forms of taco production were established throughout the 20^th century, certainly, there has never been a better time to enjoy tacos than the present.

In Spanish, a taco means tack, to plug a hole. No doubt, a taco fills that hole in your belly when you’re on the go, whether off to work, grabbing a quick lunch, shopping with the family, or just a little recharge after leaving the club.

The taco genre is ever expanding in its vocabulary, it seems as though a new style is unveiled each day. In general, the north is dominated by grilled meats, the south by stews of vegetables and meats, and in the coastal regions, tacos are filled with seafood. But, Mexico has 32 distinct regional styles of cooking, thirty-one states plus the capitol, Mexico City, and the taco varieties reflect this hyper-regionalism in a striking manner.

In Los Angeles, tacos are everywhere, and the City of Angels even has its own style of Mexican-American tacos, and burritos, which are a part of the taco family. In recent years, the Kogi Korean-Mexican fusion truck launched a taco frenzy of non-latino loncheros trying to cash in on this wave.

The big difference between tacos in Los Angeles and those in Mexico are in economics, traditions, culture, equipment, specialization, and formatting. The majority of the tacos in Los Angeles served from stands, taquerias, loncheros, and restaurants are poor to mediocre. The great ones are few, but some of those are as good as you’ll find from a competent location in Mexico.

Etiquette

In order to enjoy tacos, it would be valuable to understand taco etiquette. Ordering street food from a traditional taquero means calling out your order, this is a direct and masculine cultural practice. You may be waiting a long time if you’re standing there waiting to get called on or to make eye contact, unless there is a formal line. Your order should be a demand, not a question. Do say, “Me da dos tacos!”(Give me 2 tacos) Or, “tres de asada.” (Three asada tacos) There is no “may I….? Or, “I would like….please.” That’s how we order in American culture, not in Mexican street food. Let them know if you want it crispy, or any other special instructions beforehand. If the taco is made contrary to your liking, it’s your fault, not the taquero’s. The responsibility lies on you to get your al pastor griddled, for crispiness, or smooth, sliced directly from the spit into the tortilla.

Traditional taqueros have you pay at the end and go on the honor system. You let the money handler know how many tacos, other items, and drinks you had at the end of your meal, and he will add up your bill. Many here in LA now charge up front adapting to the American style of service.

Tacos are served in Mexico from stands, carts, stalls, fondas, and taquerias, here in Los Angeles, we also have the loncheros, or food trucks. Tacos should come from an eatery that can deliver tacos instantly. Avoid ordering tacos at a place where they will be sitting out on a counter waiting for a waiter, as tacos peak rather quickly. Tacos to go just aren’t the same experience as being handed a warm tortilla filled with sizzling meat.

Read Part II: Condiments, Meats and Tortillas

My all time favorite taco at Pati’s is her taco de nopal con huevo. We’re talking cactus strips in a tomato sauce with some fried eggs floating in the sauce. You get a fried egg on your taco, a contemporary version of the usual egg and cactus scramble. This stand has a flair for cooking.

From StreetGourmetLA’s latest post on Tacos Guisados in Mexico City. Read the entire post. Also, coming soon on TACO from Street Gourmet LA: the groundbreaking series Tacos 101, so stay tuned!

This is a game changing taco stand in Los Angeles.

For the past four years, right under our very noses, a brilliant Mexico City style tacos de guisado shop has been sitting right next door to Langer’s, hidden in plain sight. No, it’s not some entrepreneur that has family from Mexico, or traveled to Mexico City to research tacos de guisado, but a real cook from Mexico’s capitol.

Located at the Westlake Mall in MacArthur Park, Tacos Carmelita is the only food option next to lingerie, clothing,and electronics stalls. The neglected theater sign reminds that the Weslake neighborhood, now home to mostly Mexican and Central-American swap meet malls and stores,check cashing,and fake ID’s pushers,was once upscale. This area still has a bit of a rep, but has really mellowed in recent years.

Read the full review by Bill Esparza on StreetGourmetLA

Trolling for street food stands and restaurants from Huntington Park to Culver City this past Saturday, all I managed to find was this crazy ass fool standing on a corner in Leimert Park. At first I thought he was really with a woman.  

Anyways, she seems very nice.

The King of Baja Fish Tacos

Acaraje with vatapa, tomato salad, and malagueta pepper sauce.

The state of Bahia located in the North-East of Brasil is has the most distinctive african culture in the country. From capoeira (afro-brasilian martial arts dance), african derived music forms such as samba and axe (aah-shay), the west-african derived religion called candomble, to its cuisine with strong links to Africa, Bahia is a treasure. Dende oil (palm oil), extracted from the West African palm tree that was brought by slaves to Brasil is a defining ingredient in Bahia cuisine.

After missing eachother for the past month and a half due to my busy schedule, I finally hooked up with Reni(hay-ne) and Ilma(Eel-ma) of Sabor da Bahia catering for some acaraje(a-cah-rah-jay) today. Acaraje is like a Brazilian version of falafel. A black eyed pea fritter which is deep fried in dende oil then shaped into ball, split open when cooked, and then stuffed with vatapa.Vatapa is a creamy paste made of bread crumbs, shrimp, coconut milk, and dende.Malagueta peppers, Brazil’s chiles, are ground into a sauce to put in the acaraje, and a tomato salad adds to the party, but not without some dried shrimp thrown in.In Brasil, acaraje can be the size of a softball, quite a filling meal. This is street food, the most common item you will find in the colonial part of Salvador da Bahia called Pelourinho. The baianas(bahia women) wear traditional white clothes with a head wrap.Baianas are so cool that every samba school in Rio and Sao Paulo has a procession of baianas in traditional costumes.

Reni and Ilma make party size acaraje, the same size of falafel. And friend and I stopped over to watch them make it to order. This is a labor intensive food.Their are baianas in kitchens at our Brazilian restaurants here in LA, but they don’t have acaraje. Too much work.

Whole black eyed peas are first ground into smaller pieces. These are then soaked in water and peeled. The outer layer of the black eyed pea must be removed to yield a perfectly white batter.

For the spice,malagueta peppers are soaked in vinegar and spices then kept refrigerated until use.You can buy them here in LA at the Brazilian markets, but the homemade version is much more satisfying.For Sabor da Bahia’s pimenta(hot sauce), they mash it up so it spreads easily on the split open acaraje. When we peeked in the kitchen, the vatapa was in a bowl of warm water on the stove to preserve its consistency.

The batter for the acaraje is stirred constantly before deep frying, but only the hands of a baiana are suitable.Reni chatted with us about Bahia, and axe music, she is a singer. Never once did she stop stirring, loving care from baiana to the hot dende.

For $10, you get five acaraje, pimenta(hot sauce), tomato salad, and vatapa. The vatapa is thicker than many I’ve had on the street in Brasil, but for this smaller sized acaraje, it’s perfect. The more runny vatapa would not stay on these party size delicacies. And, Reni and Ilma like it this way. I do too.They also make a version of acaraje called abara. It’s a similar preparation except for that the ingredients are steamed in banana leaves. It’s a Brazilian black eyed pea tamal with shrimp and dende.You get three abara for $10.

Reni and Ilma are baianas, their apartment is immersed in Bahia culture, wish I could have heard Reni’s music. She could’nt stop stirring black eyed peas long enough to go put on her CD. This is a true gem. Acaraje, from a baiana cooked in her own home. Next best thing to being in Pelourinho and getting it on the street. All you have to do is call them a place your order. They have acaraje on Fridays, and need at least an hour to prepare your order, so call in advance. Call a day ahead, ;eave a message if they don’t pick up and they will get back to you.Abara is available every day. They work during the week, but sometimes can get orders out in the evenings Monday through Thursday.I’ve been asking restaurants for years to make this stuff, thanks Reni and Ilma for this taste of Bahia.At present, Sabor da Bahia is the only place in town to get acaraje. Look for them at Brazilian festivals too.

Sabor da Bahia
The Authentic Taste of Bahia
baianas:Reni/Ilma
Catering and Festivals
310-841-2729
Orders are for pick up only
cash only

More pics at:
http://streetgourmetla.blogspot.com

The burrito was born in Chihuahua where popular tradition attributes the invention to Juan Mendez, who would would store guisados in flour tortillas and transport them by burro to Ciudad Juarez for sale. Hence the name, burritos! Today the fine Chihuahua burrito tradition is famously represented in Villa Ahumada with their famous burritos of asadero cheese, where motorists driving from Cd. Juarez to Chihuahua stop to pay homage to the burrito norteno. In Sonora, there burritas de machaca are a must have snack, along side a bit of frijoles maneados(refried beans made with two cheese and chorizo mixed in). Northern Mexican burritos are thin, usually made with wheat flour, and have a single guisado, but no more than two ingredients. The best ones I’ve had recently were in Jalisco at a burritos nortenos stand, a burrito with picadillo and another with rajas con queso (chile strips with cheese), great 2AM street eats.

Sergio of Mariscos Chente turned me on to Ricos Tacos El Tio in Inglewood. These burritos can be found in Sinaloa and other northern states. Here they are known as all-meat burritos, o de puro carne . El Tio is a ‘hood joint frequented by local blue collar types and itchy scratchy armed street characters, another great people watching opportunity. Here I ordered a chicken burrito, which had a dollop of slightly runny refritos to give the burrito a more stew like texture. These aren’t the norteno burritos, but Mexican in their simplicity of a meat with some cilantro and onion, and saucy beans. There is no rice, sour cream, lettuce, or guacamole. As the chef said, no one puts rice and all that stuff in a burrito. This was good, but not the burrito norteno I was craving.

On my way to La Casita, racing down Florence I caught the word Nortena on a sign out of the corner of my eye. I pulled over and there it was. Gorditas Nortenas in Bell has typical foods of Mexico: tacos, sopes, quesadillas, some Americanized comida corrida(fast food), and a burrito menu.

The burrito norteno comes with deshebrada with avocado, and a light spread of mayo. It’s rolled thin and then finished on the grill. But you can request any guisado to be done norteno style. They have many interesting guisados despite their rather ordinary menu: nopal con huevo(cactus and eggs), carne de puerco en chile rojo, requeson (Mexican version of ricotto cheese), choriqueso(chorizo and cheese), chicharron en chile verde, and of course frijoles con queso. This a Mexican cafeteria style place and the various cooks hail from Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Morelia, and other heartland cities of central Mexico. The gorditas are excellent from this part of Mexico, and you should try the gorditas here as well, there are thin and light like you would find in Zacatecas, Guanajuato, and Aguascalientes. Pick any guisado from the menu to stuff it with.

So, the next time you get a craving for Mexican, but aren’t ready for a rabbit mixiote, sautéed ant eggs, or a breakfast of barbacoa and morcilla(blood sausage), you can eat an authentic northern Mexican burrito, guilt-free. When your food snob, or Mexophile friends start hating you can have your savory revenge. Just don’t’ order the wet burrito!!