This was painted last year but sadly only reached TACO today. One of the most apt things we’ve ever posted! From the artist, Liqen:
Este rico taco se encuentra en el soleado barrio de Tejavanes, en Tlalnepantla de Baz, cerca de Mexico D.F. .
Gracias a Sadid (Eikon) ,a Dhear, y a todos los vecinos menos a la del abarrotes (ya sabeis).
This “Taco” is did in the sunny getto of Tejavanes, in Tlalnepantla de Baz, next to Mexico D.F.
What’s your favorite taco?
Ok..I LOVE tacos..Always have, always will. I have a few standard places that I go to for nostalgia..King Taco, Titos Tacos and Los Burritos on Santa Monica west of Fairfax, I don’t strictly go to those places though. Pretty much every Mexican restaurant I go to (which is quite often, if not daily), in whatever city I may be in, I will order at least one taco. I like both hardshell and tradtional. Asada, pastor, pollo, lengua, you name it…even potato tacos. How can anyone not like tacos?
How did you get involved with WCA?
WCA was founded by Rival (Rest In Peace), Miner and PJay, with Sed and Rak, in 1985. Previous to that it was called ‘ISM’ crew, short for International Style Masters. That was the summer of 1985..the heyday of the Pan Pacific yard. At the time I didn’t personally know them, we saw each other at the Pan, but never kicked it or painted together. I was pretty much solo at that point, and had been hitting spots around town by myself…no crew. A few weeks, maybe a month later, high school started..Fairfax High to be exact. WCA had been born already, and Vice67 (Sel), Coozie, Risky and Design9 were already down. The day before school started, I did a Pyro (then spelled PIRO) piece on the big wall in the middle of the courtyard at the school, so the next morning everyone would see it…and everyone did. At recess, I was sitting off to the side watching everyone’s reaction who looked at my piece. Rival, Miner and PJay came up to me, and Rival asked if I did the piece. Saying that I did, he instantly asked me if I wanted to join their new crew…WCA. I agreed, and from that point on, and still to this day, we were all family. So I wasn’t a founding member, but rather an OG, and when I say OG WCA, I refer to the select few that were in the crew in ’85-’86, up to the point when we battled K2S at Belmont in ’86. I share a very strong bond with my brothers from that time period…we ate, slept and shit WCA for decades, and for me, I still do.
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Having the number one reviewed Asian restaurant in LA on Yelp is pretty amazing in and of itself, but doing it from your 2 bedroom North Hollywood apartment? Impossible. And yet that’s exactly what happened to Nguyen and Thi Tran in 2010, prompting a curious and congratulatory call from Yelp HQ in San Francisco to confirm that the venue was, in fact, their home.
Starry Kitchen took the LA dining scene by storm and haven’t looked back, eventually opening a small (and legal) restaurant in California Plaza in the heart of Downtown, along with unique pop-ups and other events around town. Nguyen explains that many ethnic restaurants get their start in people’s homes, and remembers going to family friends’ backyard Vietnamese “restaurants” back home in Texas. The big difference is that Starry Kitchen catered to everyone and not just the local immigrant community, providing a unique experience that fans still miss even as they rave about the fried tofu balls at the new location.
Starry Kitchen does Asian cuisine anchored by Vietnamese techniques and ingredients, but Nguyen embraces the taco lifestyle to the fullest; Instead of just emailing us his favorite LA tacos, he invited us on a taco mission to two of his current favorite spots. Up first was Romero’s, the venerable 23-year old K-town Mexican joint where the owner and his wife still work the counter and grill. Nguyen loves this spot because the carnitas are how he likes them– motherfuckin’ crispy. The proximity to his favorite bar, the Beer Belly, doesn’t hurt either.
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Smog City was one of the first street artists ever featured on L.A. Taco back in 2006 and has been an inspiration to us ever since. His political message combined with menacing art and perfect placements make him an LA original that has inspired tons of other paste up artists in this city and worldwide. Currently you can see his latest project and prints at C.A.V.E. Gallery in Venice. We sat down with the man behind the Smog to discuss LA, tacos, and death by fumes.
TACO: First things first, what’s your favorite taco?
SMOG CITY: King Taco’s Lengua tacos, or the hard shell asada tacos from Taco’s Por Favor…
TACO: When did the first Smog City get up? How has the Smog City project evolved and changed through the years and what’s happening now?
SMOG CITY: 2004 in West LA. Back in those days I was all fired up about political issues, and what effects artists can have on society. As the years went on I was sorta accepted into the street art fold of society, and lived that sort of lifestyle. Getting up and just being an artist sorta became more important and fun than staying true to the to reason Smog City ever hit the street in the first place. It became more about the Hollywood experience, and the horrors of such a glamorous place…all based around the premise that smog was facetiously to blame. I can’t say I ever lost sight of what the project stood for, but I feel like this period of Smog City has to go back to the roots of what I wanted it to be. The factual evidence and information available on air pollution is reason enough to be alarmed, people are all mad about the effects of cigarettes, why aren’t we warned and upset about the state of our natural environment?
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Artist Joby Cummings knows a thing or two about tacos, and sent us this illustration to prove it. Click the image to supersize it.
Grubstreet LA lets us know today about Komida‘s “12 Days of Tacos”, a wacky holiday celebration of traditional American holiday food put into tacos. Komida is the taco shop from Yamashiro’s executive chef Brock Kleweno. The list of tacos…
• Roast Turkey with Pinot Noir/five-spice cranberry sauce (12/8)
• Brioche Stuffing with Kleweno Family Farm Sausage (12/9)
• Grandma’s Green Bean Casserole with/ haricot vert, roast garlic bechamel, crispy shallots (12/12)
• Spiced Sweet Potato with brûléed homemade marshmallow (12/13)
• Agave glazed ham with blood orange and pineapple salsa (12/14)
• Caramelized onion Yukon gold smashed potato with mom’s lumpy gravy (12/15)
• Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese with buttered bacon breadcrumbs (12/16)
• Shiitake scalloped potato with Grafton cheddar crisps (12/19)
• Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer with/ grilled venison loin and ginger cherry salsa (12/20)
• ‘Fruit Cake’ with Figgy Pudding Sauce (12/21)
• Gingerbread cookie with yuzu icing (12/22)
• Pastrami and sauerkraut with Asian 1000 island and rye seed tortillas (12/23)
Read the full story on Grubstreet.
L.A. artist Susanna Battin‘s latest work engages in a one day action (this Friday, Dec 2) to restore the horizon normally blocked by a billboard on the 15 Freeway. The digital image will be viewable on the Southbound 15 after the 91 interchange and is best seen from the second from the left lane. The work is part of the artists exploration of the interactions between the manmade and the natural. Keep reading for the full project description, show times, and map link.
We caught up with Battin over email for a quick couple of questions:
Are you a frequent freeway driver?
I limit my freeway driving to only include visits to my grandma, who lives off of the interstate 15 where the new installation is to be shown, and making other long distance trips.
What’s your favorite taco in LA?
Favorite Taco in LA is from La Fuente #6 in Highland Park.
If you ask Ozomatli’s Ulises Bella to pick a favorite taco spot in LA, get ready for a long answer. Ulises has hit seemingly every spot in town, and is always on the hunt for new locations. In the end, he decided to take LA TACO to his “favorite spot right now”, with an emphasis on right now. Don’t go looking for Ulises at this tacos al vapor spot, which is at the corner of Atlantic and 54th, because he will probably have moved on by the time this goes to press. In the meantime, enjoy these pictures of Ulises enjoying mass quantities of lengua, cabeza, sesos, chorizo, and asada tacos. When you’re ready to go visit in person, don’t forget to add some habanero “death sauce” to your tacos– Ulises recommends it.
You’ve lived in Los Angeles almost all your life, how does the city inspire you?
Well LA is a beautiful city, with our mountains and beaches. I love how our city pops up all over the place downtown, Venice, Echo Park, Silver Lake, Culver City, Highland Park, Eagle Eock. All over there is this intricate Spanish Moroccan ancient Babylonian Mayan architecture and between the Griffith Park Observatory and the Bullocks Wilshire there is an underlying Egyptian/ art deco influence. These elements make this city aesthetically interesting to me. I think the local deserts and forests inspire me the most though. I go to these places when I’ve had my fill of the city and swim through rivers with my backpack on my head and cook dinner on mountaintops. LA gives me a bit of the whole world right here in one place.
Where in the city have your lived, and what is your favorite corner?
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For the past two years, thousands of Angeleños have enjoyed the carne asada tacos, vampiros, quesadillas and zupermans of Mexicali Taco & Co, which set up 4 nights a week in a parking lot in the shadow of downtown. Sadly, due to new parking lot regulations, the guys have been forced to close up shop for the time being. We just received the following statement from the founders…
“We started Mexicali Taco & Co. with just the little money we had and a dream to bring the home-style taco experience from our childhood to LA. In the 2 years that we’ve been around, we’ve had the privilege of not only serving our patrons, but making countless friends along the way. Due to issues with the parking lot, we will no longer be able to meet you at 1st & Beaudry. However, Mexicali will be popping up here and there, so please continue to follow us on social media. In the meantime, we will be working on a new and better Mexicali Taco & Co. to serve our patrons and followers!”
If people don’t have twitter I encourage them to check out our website for latest news via twitter feed:
www.mexicalitaco.com
The 2 year run was a lot of fun for everyone involved and we’re sad it’s over. On the other hand, we know this is the end of one chapter, but the beginning of bigger and better things for Mexicali. Also, let this be a lesson to those of you who never hit the 1st and Beaudry location– the taco lifestyle waits for no one, you need to take your opportunities as they come.
