Taco Nostalgia

La Taquiza
3009 S Figueroa St
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(213) 741-9795

Delicacheena loves attending conferences at 'SC because it's the best university ever, but it doesn't hurt that La Taquiza is just a bit north of campus. This place has been around forever or at least since we lived on 30th St which was long, long ago. Nice to see the restaurant in a L.A. Times article about aguas frescas the following week.

Come to me tacos al pastor y carne asada con salsa rojo and a sprinkle of cilantro and onions! Carne asada is just-right tender and juicy. The pork is smoky sweet and melts in your mouth. They give you two kinds of salsa for to-go orders, but there are more options in the salsa bar. The red salsa is hot without numbing your tongue; the green is that watery avocado (I think) stuff that you get at some places, but it was a nice slightly creamy contrast to the heat, meat and grease (grease equals flavor).

I guess there are other great items to consume (TW raves about the mulitas), but I'm here to wax nostalgic about the tacos of my past. I order four at a buck and half each. Don't you want to bite into these fat babies? Bits of meat tumble out when you hoist them to your mouth, but don't let any of them get away. Savor each mouthful.

"Cheena" in Baja

Delicacheena ventured south to La Salina in Baja for the holidays. It was a week of cold wind, wild children and questionable plumbing, yet it was oddly relaxing.

La Salina is about forty minutes of Ensenada and twenty or so miles from there is La Bufadora. La Bufadora roughly translates to "the blowhole," where ocean water shoots up along the cliffs after being drawn into a underwater sea cave. It was not as spectacular as INK imagined, but it still evoked oohs and aahs and numerous poor photo attempts.

Si, the aquamarine sea and sky made a more delicious experience, but we had some fresh and pretty good fish and shrimp tacos at Mariscos Moreno, the stand closest to the blowhole. It was $7.50 or 75 pesos for five items. What a view if you choose to sit at the benches and enjoy your tacos garnished with shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, and hot sauces on site.

Instead, we meandered down the shop-line street to check out the deals. Lessons learned: bargain or it's no deal, get the gordidtas de nata. The sweet pancake smell tempted us on the way to the blowhole and we submitted on the walk back.

At $2 for four hockey puck diameter gorditas, INK kept being reminded that Baja wasn't dirt cheap for the tourists, but eight chewy on the outside, soft and warm on the inside disks were happily consumed by babies and all.

Dios mio! How could we forget the fresh churros sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar--cranked into hot oil, emerging curly and golden and so much better than the frozen sticks found in Los Estados Unidos.

Tamale-Mobile

Los Angeles International Tamale Festival
MacArthur Park

Mama's Hot Tamales Cafe
2124 West 7th S.
Los Angeles, CA 90057
213-487-4300

Delicacheena loves an all over L.A. weekend: French-influenced dinner in Santa Monica, the game at Barney's in West Hollywood, early morning rowing in the Marina, shots in Beverly Hills, street festival at MacArthur Park.

It was misty at home, but the clouds were holding back around downtown and didn't turn the Los Angeles International Tamale Festival soggy on Sunday. UE and INK were ready with umbrella and, most importantly, empty stomachs. We joined the foodies and mostly Latino local families crowding 7th St. along the south side of the park. The soundtrack was five second snippets of classic rock and americana, a megaphoned street evangelist ["Jesus Cristo es el salvador del mundo."], hyperspeed dance remixes and blaring canned mariachi. There was a brief reprise from the medley when The Smiths' "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" en espanol was played in its entirety while we waited in line. [Hear Mikel Erentxun. Unfortunately you hear the audience singing more.] We ahhhed the tot clad in cowboy hat, vest and bandana astride the pony getting his photo taken, surrounded by wedding photogs hawking their talent, cookware demos, and citizens for Bill Richardson or Hillary Clinton.

The first stop was a booth frying up taco shells and taquitos, but they were temporarily sold-out of tamales so we moved on. We stopped at one of Mama's Hot Tamales Cafe booths. Mama's is a non-profit training restaurant and has a permanent location across from the park. Tamales were $3 at all the booths. According to the Mama's menu, the normal price is $2.75. They call themselves "The Tamales Capital of the World" and don't offer just the usual corn husk-wrapped variety. There were five available; we bypassed the vegan veggie and ordered chicken with vegetables from Honduras, the chicken and mole from Oaxaca, the Gutamalan pork, and chili cheese from Oaxaca. Only the cheese tamale was wrapped in corn husk, the rest were kept moist in banana leaves. The chicken with vegetables had a fry-sized length of potato, some peas and raisins and a green olive, no pit. The chicken with mole was oozing the rich, black sauce that would have been good with some rice. The meaty pork had red sauce and rice dough. Our hands-down favorite was the cheese with red and green jalapenos (rajas) that had a bit of kick and lots of flavor. Later we found that the earned best cheese tamale.

We had double-grease-torta envy even while we clutched our warm cornmeal bundles and sipped our two buck grande horchata, but a chewy on the outside, gooey on the inside cheese popusa is the only time we deviated from the tamale diet. Me Gusta Gourmet Tamales was winner of five of the six categories at last year's festival so we had to give them a try. This year they were named best beef and best pork tamales so that's what we ordered. They were wrapped in corn husks. The beef were hefty with masa, too much so, but the meat and red sauce were flavorful. The pork with green sauce were on the skinny side, but we were charged less for them. They were decent and tasted better with the mild red salsa poured on top. The cornmeal in both was fluffy and moist, but not as moist as Mama's.

We returned to the Mama's booth to find that they now had dessert tamales on sale-- strawberry and sweet corn. Delicacheena has enjoyed dessert tamales at Christmas time with pineapple and corn, but strawberry was something new. We were skeptical, but then even more delighted with the comfort food. It was like corn pudding (think New England), smooth and mushy, but with the sweet tartness of strawberries cooked down to nothingness. The sweet corn tamale was later devoured by JM. As we unwrapped the husks, the comforting smell of sweet corn revealed our treasured treat. The tamale did not disappoint as each bite melted in our mouths.

Fortifided with cornmeal and cheese, we headed off in the newly-christened Tamale- Miata-Mobile to make deliveries to the sick and infirm that could not join us that day. . .

Don't leave us Tia Juana

Tia Juana
11785 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064-1211
310-473-9293

The rumors were true. The westside tradition of comfort meals at Tia Juana near Olympic and Barrington is coming to a close on November 4th. Word is they lost their lease when the new Bed Bath & Beyond opened up. (Dern evil big box stores that tempt us inside, despite ourselves.) Adios to the funky faux finish walls and murals depicting dancers in Mexican dress and mock signs advertising abogados for quick divorces. Gone will be the asi asi margaritas, but quick friendly service. No more delicioiusly bad refried beans. No more melt-in-your-mouth tacos barbacoa. No more slap slap of the tortilla ladies patting out thick handmade corn tortillas and lovingly placing them on the gas griddle near the door. The handmade tortillas at La Cabana don't approach the corn flavor of Tia Juana. Best of all, it was just down the street. Guess we'll have to drive a bit longer to get our soft taco and corn tortilla fix. Reminds INK of when she moved away from La Taquiza and Tacos El Unico in south L.A. . .

Those of you in the OC can rejoice. Tia Juana has a new incarnation as La Choza. . . all the way down in Huntington Beach. Tell them Delicacheena says hola. They'll probably give you a bemused look, but do it anyway.

La Choza Restaurant
7402 Edinger Ave.
Huntington Beach
714-842-7888

Juquila Restaurante

Juquila Restaurante
11619 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310-312-1079

Don't know what to order at this little Oaxacan restaurant on Santa Monica with soccer always on the flat screens? Just get the mixed grill, the one that has everything listed. And if that's not enough, also get a kicky rajas tamale. Occupy yourself with the tortilla chips with cojita cheese and mole for dipping while your waiting for your feast.

The Botana Oaxaquena has string cheese, grilled green onions and jalapeno peppers, and various meats (Delicacheena shorthand--sausage, strips, jerkey). We thought we were ordering what we got last time, what we lovingly refer to as "the boat." The boat was served on a platter, not on a grill and also included a pupasa type dish of corn masa, cheese and beans.

The mixed grill came with corn tortillas and rice and smokey black beans with more cojita cheese. Slap everything into a tortilla garnished with cilantro and avocado and you can't go wrong. (Although UE would advise against the too-much-cinnamon horchata.)

La Super Rica y Mucho Queso

La Super-Rica Taqueria
622 N Milpas St
Santa Barbara, CA 93103
Ph: (805) 963-4940

Julia Child loved it so it must be good, right? Delicacheena will be the judge of that.

La Super Rica is a little blue joint in Santa Barbara on Milpas, a street that is a mix of residences and businesses. It's easy to miss and is not much more than a counter with a tiny kitchen in back and a funny listing patio covered in tarp to the side. Twenty numbered items are listed on a blackboard and pretty much consist of different incarnations of the same ingredients: tortillas, cheese, chicken breast, about two kinds of beef, two kinds of pork, chorizo, bacon, green chiles. Most items were around two to three dollars. There is also a board of daily specials that looked to be the same both times we've visited.

You order and pay at the front corner and then pick up your paper plates (no trays)when your number is called at the side window. While you're waiting, choose your plastic utensils and salsa. There's a pico de gallo with chunks of jalapeno, a hot sauce with red flecks of chile and a tomatillo with a big dose(too big for UE) of lime. All three tasted fresh and added dimension to the fairly simple entrees.

It seems that we all were craving various combinations of cheese, green chile and marinated pork. We had the pork taco; the chile and cheese taco; the pork quesadilla; the Super Rica Especial (at $6.00 is for big spenders) all three ingredients with three tortillas; carne asada tacos and the tamal(e) with corn, cheese, potato and green chiles.

The tacos came with two tortillas and thus became two tacos each. The slightly smoky pork was well-seasoned and just fatty enough. While the cheese was oozy, the charred peppers were soft and mild. Next time we'll order the tamal without the cream sauce, but we prefer the mole-based style. Be careful and don't order everything with cheese (one dish is basically a bowl of cheese!) or it's queso overload. We also miss the tortilla chips, but we made up the loss with sat fats of cheese.

P.S. For a pleasant, if not innovative, dinner of oak grilled seafood and steak try Paradise Cafe on Ortega, a block from State Street.

Food with Your Music, Music with Your Food

What's more important to Delicacheena, food or music? That would take more time and space than we have. Plus we'd lose half of our audience (ha ha). Here's a list of places where we can/could indulge both passions. However, "we're not talking fine dining."

The Echo --Nothing like chicken fingers on New Year's Eve. Booths around the perimeter.

The El Rey --Wolfgang Puck's cafe. JM will share her BBQ chicken pizza with you. Chairs and some tables along wall. Don't know what more is upstairs.

The Hotel Cafe --Remember when it was actually a cafe where you could get coffee and panini? They got their beer and wine license some time ago. Lots of tables since the expansion, but can you still get food?

Largo --(Usually) must order full meal if you sit at the reserved tables. Honey chicken? One of Delicacheena's favorite little locations because big mouths are not allowed, in the audience that is.

The Roxy --Garden burger with fries. Comfy raised booths. Depends on how many spots are reserved for the connected. Otherwise you can juggle a drink and a plate of fries right in front of the band.

Temple Bar --Small venue, selection of tea(!) and plantain quesadillas. Plenty of tables and cushy seating.

Spaceland --We've seen a guy with a cooler of tamales and we are willing to try someday, but don't tell the vendor police. Bar stools and tables, booths are usually occupied by the merch folks.

The Troubadour --For the longest time we thought we were just imagining the aroma of fries, but there really is a bitty kitchen in the corner behind the bar in the main room. A typical snack bar with gum, candy, dogs, fresh veggie plate. Fair amount of bar stools, some with tables. Another favorite venue--small with character and history and we can always find street parking.

The Wiltern --We smell the freshly baked frozen cookies, but we haven't partaken of the expensive treat. (Don't like that they don't manage their own website anymore, but are part of Live Nation.)

When Live Instruments Are Not Necessary:
Arena--Haven't been there in awhile, but it was nice to know you could cool off outside with a taco or burger in Arena's Giant and Spundae days. Circus Disco is there Saturday nights now, but Delicacheena feels funny about putting a link. . .

The Golden Gopher Bar --Decent jukebox and the table placards list places that will DELIVER to the bar. Plus there's the convenience-store-like front counter.

Mel's Drive-In --If you went there on karaoke night at the Hollywood Location, you might have heard JM and INK performing Squeeze while you ate your wet fries. Now there's a DJ late Friday and Saturday nights.

Palms Thai --Thai Elvis, anyone? Visit the bakery located in the same strip mall.

Outdoors:

Greek Theater --Bummer, you can't BYO anything, but there is food for purchase: ubiquitous chicken fingers, Pink's dogs, etc.

Hollywood Bowl --Everyone knows about the brilliance of the Bowl. Patina Group knows its way around outdoor dinning. Of course, can be as simple or elaborate as the meal you choose to bring. Haven't had the privilege of box seats. There are benches and tables outside the amphitheater, but its better to eat, hear and see "inside".

Ford Amphitheatre --Cute little guy to the Bowl's big-time sophisticate. We brought sandwiches from Susina and bought wine at the Ford. Such a pretty jewel with the bucolic hillside behind the stage and the stars above. The rain came later.

Been There, Ate That. . . too

JiRaffe--Probably the first place we had an amuse bouche. Ahh, INK's foot-themed meal: trout with peeky toe crab and black foot chanterelles. Why don't we go back?

Hungry Cat--Decadent lobster roll, heart-breaking chocolate souffle/creme brulee/bread pudding, few tables. Gotta try the creative cocktails.

!Loteria!--Because you can't always go to San Diego when you get a hankering for potato tacos.

Apple Pan--Burger, fries and apple pie ala mode. Or banana cream. Wonder which of the four veteran servers will be working our side of the counter. No nonsense, cash only.

My Secret Recipe--When you want oodles of spicy little octopi cooked in front of you in Koreatown. Believe them when they say medium is spicy. Wish the rice came at the beginning; like we said, it's spicy. Enjoyed the pa jun, fried pancake with more octopus and lots of green onion.

Bread Bar--Of course, that first visit during its early days was the best because they gave INK a free bag full of brioche and croissants.

Caprice--Don't really remember the French mini pastries too well. It's the experience of ringing the doorbell and either a tall, skinny guy with an accent lets you into the kitchen with large metal tray upon tray of delights. Or its a young woman or Caprice, himself, who will regale you about his youth in Provence. Sometimes its one on one. Other times there is a row of cooks with pastry bags in the background. They're all in their chef whites and they all offer free samples!

Tia Juana's--Soft tacos, so-good-must-be-bad refried beans and rice, handmade tortillas.

Surf's Up!

Taco Surf
4657 Mission Blvd.
San Diego, CA
Ph: (858) 272-3877


Delicacheena loves unseasonably warm days and was treated to a beautiful Saturday in San Diego. The reason for the trip was Razorlight and Mohair, but, hey, you gotta eat lunch and dinner.

We made our third trip (the first two were in one day) to a hole-in-the-wall called Taco Surf located in Pacific Beach. The "surf museum" boards line the ceiling and share wall space with beach-themed paintings and photographs, attracts young freckled and bronzed males in board shorts and wetsuits. Overheard: "Dude, I knew this Persian guy. He went to Peru all the time, just because." "Wait, why did he go. ..." "Uh, I mean he was Peruvian."

In addition to burritos grandes and nachos, there are about five different types of crispy, rolled (taquitos) and soft tacos. We each ordered three, not remembering them to be as large as they were today. INK got a crispy potato covered with cojito cheese, a soft carnitas and a soft grilled mahi mahi. The strange, but satisfying mix of mashed potatoes and crunchy taco shell was her favorite. Was that season salt that tinged it red? The flavorful bits of carnitas were almost overwhelmed by the guacamole and may have been better plain. JM had crispy fried fish and carne asada soft tacos and finished with a rolled potato taco with a side of guacamole. UE had a similar meal, substituting the carne asada with carnitas.

So if you're ever in PB and want some Mexican (food) and the ramblings of surf boys...be patient finding a parking spot and try a potato taco!