Let's talk about Mexican food (Santa Clarita, Burbank: prices, gardens, best)

[Winston Smith]

Downtown Oxnard.

As others have said, there are great Mexican joints all over L.A. and the surrounding area. In the San Fernando Valley there's a place on either Balboa or Hayvenhurst, and I think Nordhoff Street or Plummer that stands out in my mind. It's called, simply, "Mexican Food." The line for lunch is usually out the door! (Sorry about the vague coordinates, but the streets in the SFV all run together for me. I drive to it by landmarks. )

[ladysrodgers]

Originally Posted by desertsun41

I only want to politely add this:

The amount of hatred for Mexicans, especially the illegal ones is as high as it can get. No one wants them here taking this and that from us and burdening us with this and that.

But you want their food? Is this 2 faced city or what? Besides, that food is gross. And I love different foods, including some weird ones that most of you would not eat. But Mexican food is just awful.

What do you do with that green goo anyway?

Oh please.....I haven't seen any anti-Mexican sentiment, only towards "illegals."

Mexican food is delicious! If you live in Texas, you already know what to do with the green salsa.

[Paula Lynn]

Casa Sanchez in Long Beach is to die for. (Corner of Termino and Anaheim)

[Cubancoffee]

Go to Chowhounds.com; locate the Los Angeles message board; do a search on Mexican in Los Feliz, Silverlake, Echo Park, Hollywood.

In your future area, I can recommend two cheap places, both on Hillhurst: Yuca's, which has great cochinita pibil tacos and burritos, and the Best Fish Tacos in Ensenada, which has great ... uh ... fish tacos.

[LaEscritora]

Thanks so much for all the helpful hints! The hugeness of this move is starting to hit me and I am realizng that I am going to miss all of the little places that I have here in Chicago. You know, there are some things that you can't find in any guidebook and I am so glad to be able to chat with native Californians to discover them!

[jessemh431]

Tito's tacos is good. They have been around for decades. It's on Washington Place and either Sepulveda or Centinela in Culver City. Not the best area, but plenty of white people goin there. They're known for their meat tacos and burritos. That's all they have. I heard someone say there was a "cat meat scare". I don't know anything about that though. Can someone explain?

Tito's Tacos is a little far from you, but if you're in the area, stop by. It is a nice, family owned (I think) restaurant. None of these big chain places.

El Tarasco isn't too bad either. It is a chain, but some are very quaint and are hole-in-the-wall places. For example, the one on Rosecrans and Highland in Manhattan Beach holds maybe 15 people or less, so everyone must do take out and there is a huge wait to get food.

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by LaEscritora

Hey all! I will be moving to LA at the end of the month and I am wondering where to get good, authentic Mexican food. I love little hole-in-the-wall joints...can anyone reccommend a place?

PS I will be living in the 90027 zip code. Thanks!

there are a million great places, but there's one that really stands out for me:

el parian, located on pico blvd in the pico-union neighborhood near k-town and downtown. get the birria (stewed goat ribs). so intensely flavorful and delicious. they give you the diced tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and freshly-made tortillas on the side. the food is from the jalisco region of mexico (something you can't find in chicago, nyc, or many other areas of the u.s.).

i found out about the place through chowhound.com's la boards as well as a glowing review by jonathan gold of la weekly. seriously, this place is the real deal - a dumpy hole-in-the-wall in a sketchy neighborhood with bars on the windows. always looks like it's closed. no gringos whatsoever. but really great food.

for fish tacos, go to tacos baja ensenada in east l.a. probably the best fish tacos i've ever had. go to la's chowhound boards for more info about this place, or just google it (lots of praise about this place online).

[JesusisLord]

Tito's Tacos in Culver City, El Burrito Jr. Redondo Beach, Arcense Pupuseria Hawthorne.

These are all fabulous places to eat.

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by Charles

I didn't even bother to look at the zip. The hole in the wall places are all over. You are correct they are the best - especially for the money. If you see a bunch of 1980s Toyota pickup trucks loaded with lawnmowers and gardening equipment parked there, then you have found a good place.

Another tell-tale sign of a good restaurant within the L.A. city limits is seeing a bunch of city trucks parked there. City employees seem to know where to get the best lunch in the area.

Originally Posted by cre8

As others have said, there are great Mexican joints all over L.A. and the surrounding area. In the San Fernando Valley there's a place on either Balboa or Hayvenhurst, and I think Nordhoff Street or Plummer that stands out in my mind. It's called, simply, "Mexican Food." The line for lunch is usually out the door! (Sorry about the vague coordinates, but the streets in the SFV all run together for me. I drive to it by landmarks. )

I'm not exactly sure which place you have in mind, but I might be thinking of the same one:

It's on Balboa Blvd. at the intersection of San Fernando Mission Blvd. It's in a little strip mall, near a liquor store on the southwest corner of the intersection.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned "El Tepayac" yet. It's over in the East L.A. area, on Evergreen, about a block or two south of Wabash. They have long been known for their excellent burritos (my favorite is the Hollenbeck). If you have several mouths to feed, you can get the Manuel's Special burrito. It's nearly two feet long, so you want to have several mouths to feed if you order it.

Originally Posted by desertsun41

I only want to politely add this:

The amount of hatred for Mexicans, especially the illegal ones is as high as it can get. No one wants them here taking this and that from us and burdening us with this and that.

I spend a lot of time in and around the L.A. area, some parts of which are largely hispanic, other parts of which are largely white. I have yet to see much hatred for hispanic people, with the only exception being for the criminal element known as "illegal aliens," and that's because they broke the law of the land to come here.

Originally Posted by desertsun41

But you want their food? Is this 2 faced city or what? Besides, that food is gross. And I love different foods, including some weird ones that most of you would not eat. But Mexican food is just awful.

Wanting Mexican (or Salvadoran, Chilean, Cuban, etc.) food has nothing to do with being two faced. A large number of these folks did come to this country legally, and have a right to open a restaurant to share the cuisine of their culture here, just like everyone else (Chinese, Japanese, Middle Eastern, Thai, etc.). I think stating that Mexican food is awful shows a broad disregard for the vast array of dishes that are available. I'm sure almost everyone could come up with at least one or two things that they don't like in the way of Mexican food, and some people could come up with more than that. But to say all of it is awful, in my opinion, shows me that you haven't given it much of a chance. I will admit, however, that in some restaurants many things are not very good. These places don't usually last, though.

Originally Posted by desertsun41

What do you do with that green goo anyway?

If you mean guacamole, I eat it. It's good on lots of things, from chips to burritos, to salads, and beyond.

[High Springs Gator]

Do they have a Moe's Southwest Grill in LA. People love them in Fl where I live. Moe's burrito's are awesome.