LA Weekly’s Tacolandia with Bill Esparza

For a hot minute, LA went positively bonkers over food festivals. Weekend after weekend in parks, industrial spaces and parking lots, a bevy of pricey food festivals played host to a familiar cadre of restaurants, and, soon, food festival burn-out set in. Enter: Tacolandia.

This weekend marked the first annual LA Weekly Tacolandia, a festival featuring a selection of over 30 tacos from LA, the OC and even a handful from Baja, Mexico. With a fresh concept, unique vendor list and accessible price point, the event, curated by my friend Bill Esparza of Street Gourmet LA, stirred my appetite and seemed just the cure for festival fatigue.

Tents and food trucks filled the parking lot of the Hollywood Palladium for the festival. 

At the Tacos Leo Truck, a taquero sliced chili-rubbed al pastor pork off a trompo, or a rotating spit, onto a corn tortilla and finished the taco with a sliver of roasted pineapple.

Al pastor pork taco with roasted pineapple from Tacos Leo 

Fried scallop tacos with sea urchin sauce from Tacos Punta Cabras

Goat cheese and peanut taco from Sol

Cured snapper taco with achiote, cilantro, pineapple salsa, cabbage and avocado from George’s at the Cove

Goat and lamb from Gish Bac

Pork tacos with crispy skin from Chichen Itza

The Three Little Pigs Taco with carnitas, bacon and chicharrones from Loteria

Beef Tongue Taco w/ guajillo and tomato adobo from Loteria

Kokopelli from Baja served up three different types of tacos. 

The Kraken (octopus) and The Italian (portobello and cilantro) from Kokopelli

While “tacorazza” Bill curated a pretty delicioso line-up, a few vendors had me coming back for seconds…and thirds.

The Mariscos Jalisco truck served up its signature taco de camaron dorado, one of most sabroso tacos in the city. 

Crunchy shrimp taco from Mariscos Jalisco

MexiKosher is exactly what its name suggests: kosher Mexican food. Despite the unorthodox concept, its Matza Albondigas Taco with chipotle sauce, serrano aioli, chopped egg and turmeric rice really impressed, and I think a visit to their W. Pico (of course) storefront is in order. 

The talented Laurent Quenioux (the “LQ” in the BistroLQ pop-ups) was, to our group’s delight, an over-achiever and offered four different tacos. We sampled three, and each was more delicious than the last. Bien hecho, senor Laurent! 

Green Mole Rabbit Taco with Carrot Pico de Gallo from Bistro LQ

Escamoles Tacos with Zucchini Flowers and Nasturtium Leaves from Bistro LQ

The snappy Lobster Sausage Taco from Bistro LQ was one of my absolute favorite bites of the day.

Lobster Taco from Soho Taco

While my boyfriend munched on and swooned over the Tripa y Ubre de Res (tripe and cow udder) Taco from Mision 19, I searched for the guapo Javier Plascencia to do some swooning of my own. No such luck. I couldn’t find him!

My buddies from Mexicali Taco & Co. prepared a Taco Campechano with skirt steak and tripe.

The Pork Belly Chicharron Taco from chef Ricardo Zarate of Mo Chica, Picca and Paiche really wowed and had me lining up for serving after serving. The tender pork belly was topped with tacu tacu, jalapeno salsa criolla, au jus and huancaina sauce.

A drizzle of serrano sauce and panca tomatilla sauce finished the taco.

One of the biggest hits of the day was Mariscos La Guerrense, which normally operates as a stand in Ensenada. My friends loved this one so much that they ate one plate of tostadas while in line for another.

Sea Urchin Ceviche with Clam and Smoked Marlin with Scallop Tostadas from Mariscos La Guerrense 

After all of the festival’s savory bites, these flaky Puff Pastry Guava “Tacos” from La Monarca Bakery were sweet perfection.

Since tacos and tequila go hand-in-hand, those with VIP tickets could sip on drinks in the Tequila Garden. In a genius and much-appreciated move, the Tequila Garden and food were set up in different areas of the parking lot, which helped to control the crowds and prevented the mad crush of people that often plagues festivals.

I thought this little guy looked thirsty and offered to share my Tequila Sunrise with him.

Congratulations to Bill and LA Weekly for a delicious, fun, well-run and incredibly successful first annual Tacolandia.This is one festival I definitely won’t burn out on, and I’m already looking forward to next year!

Mexicali Taco & Co.

To all those experiencing vampiro withdrawals (myself included), fear not! They shall return in all their garlicky goodness on Wednesday, February 15th when Mexicali Taco & Co. opens its brick-and-mortar restaurant in downtown LA. If you’re a Mexicali newbie, prepare to get grubbing.

Two and a half years ago, best friends Esdras Ochoa and Javier Fregoso found themselves craving a taste of home and took matters (and meats) into their own hands, opening a taco stand– the Mexicali Taco & Co. The duo set up shop in a parking lot on 1st and Beaudry and quickly gained a loyal fan base with their simple, delicious and reasonably priced menu items, including tacos and quesadillas. They were even voted as the best taco in LA. After issues arose with their lease, however, Esdras and Javier decided to upgrade Mexicali’s digs.

Last week, Esdras, Javier and their new business partner Paul Yoo offered a sneak peek of their new restaurant at a friends and family night.

With red picnic tables juxtaposed against the modern woodwork on the walls, Mexicali’s interior is a charming combination of their O.G. roots and a sleek look befitting the downtown space. The casual, communal feeling of the taco stand was so integral to the Mexicali experience that I was happy to see that the place wasn’t overly gussied up.

Central to the Mexicali Taco & Co. experience is the salsa and topping bar stocked with items such as pico de gallo (my personal favorite) and pickled onions and radishes.

One of my friends ordered nachos ($6.00), a new addition to the menu. These nachos had all the comfort of the ballpark variety but with a tastier and heartier kick because of the Mexicali fixings.

A menu staple is the cachetada ($3.00)– a tostada topped with your choice of meat (carne asada, chicken or chorizo) and drizzled with an aioli chipotle sauce. We ordered one of each to maximize our enjoyment of the cachetadas’ unbeatable crunch.

Another new option is to order your dish “ranchero” style with a fried egg ($0.75) because a beautiful, runny yolk makes everything taste better.

For the indecisive who can’t choose just one type of meat, there’s the Zuperman ($4.75), a mix of chicken, chorizo and carne asada sandwiched between two tortillas.

Finally, there is my personal favorite– the vampiro ($3.75), a garlic-infused quesadilla filled with your choice of meat. In my vampiros, I always opt for the carne asada, which, according to Street Gourmet LA, is the most authentic carne asada you’ll find in LA.

For Mexicali’s soft opening, Javier and Esdras recruited their friends from the Churro Borough, purveyors of churro ice cream sandwiches. J and I ordered a Spanish Latte version as well as an Horchata and loved the sugary crunch of the round, seashell-like churros as well as the flavorful ice cream.

Huge congratulations to Esdras and Javier on the restaurant’s opening. As a friend of these two wonderful guys, I’m so happy and so proud to see where they started and what their dream has become. Salud!

Mexicali Taco & Co.
www.mexicalitaco.com
Follow them on Twitter
702 N. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 613-0416

Ricky’s Fish Tacos

Ricky’s Fish Tacos. The name of the popular spot explains why I have declined many an excited text and tweet about a taco meet-up: fish. Because of this terrifying word, I long neglected to look at Ricky’s Fish Tacos’ Twitter feed. If I had, I would have seen that they also serve shrimp–a seafood I love and will eat in any incarnation. Whoops.

Deciding to make up for lost time, I recently visited RFT’s new location in Silverlake.

Whereas RFT’s friendly namesake used to serve his tacos from a cart, he now runs a larger operation with a full-sized deep-fryer as well as tables and chairs–all in the shade of several large tents.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by smiles, the bubbling sounds of frying food and enormous jugs of brilliantly colorful, homemade agua fresca (on this day, the flavors were watermelon and hibiscus). The casual, cheerful atmosphere perfectly suited my lazy Sunday vibe, and we happily ordered two shrimp tacos (for me, $2.50 each) and two fish tacos (for J, also $2.50 each) and took a seat.

As we waited for our lunch, we also watched it being prepared, which I–as a generally nosy person–enjoyed.

*Bubble bubble*

The tacos come topped with fresh, crunchy cabbage and a flavorful pico de gallo. From here, you have your choice of several different salsas and a creamy mayo sauce to further dress your taco.

To his fish tacos, J drizzled on the mayo sauce and a smoky chipotle salsa.

To my shrimp tacos, I added Ricky’s recommendation for the least spicy salsa. Upon hearing J’s recommendation the mayo, however, I also added a generous squirt of that sauce.

The superlative praise lavished on Ricky’s Fish Tacos is deserved: these are no joke. The batter which coats the fish and shrimp is suprisingly light and, despite being fried, the tacos are neither weighty nor greasy. The cabbage and pico de gallo add a firm crunch to the tacos, and the salsas are all uniquely flavorful. Although I do not particularly love mayo, the cool, creamy sauce provided the finishing touch on both the shrimp and fish tacos (or so I’m told, with the latter).

We also thoroughly enjoyed our sweet hibiscus agua fresca, made with pressed hibiscus leaves. Like its color, the flavor of the drink was deep and complex. My only complaint is that the drink was so good, but the cup was so small!

I weep to only learn now that Ricky’s Fish Tacos sells more seafood than the kind mentioned in its name.

Ricky’s Fish Tacos
1400 N. Virgil St.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
www.twitter.com/rickysfishtacos