Sinaloa Express

MÉXICO 🇲🇽
(SINALOA)

COVID-19 UPDATE: The restaurant is fully open for indoor dining.

📍 4174 Tweedy Blvd., South Gate, Southeast Los Angeles

Just a short walk away from the former location of Kinner Field, where Amelia Earhart learned to fly in South Gate, the Tweedy Mile is now one of this Gateway City's high-flying business corridors. Nicknamed the Azalea City, South Gate is home to its share of chain pharmacies and fast food joints, but like its other big boulevards, Tweedy Blvd. has tons of small, Latino-owned businesses including many Mexican and Central American restaurants.

An early lunch here at Sinaloa Express was actually by happenstance when a follow-up meal at another Tweedy Mile restaurant was foiled by an unexpected closing. With "Express" in the name, not much was expected in terms of dine-in comfort, but the spot is actually larger than it seems from the outside, complete with big upholstered booths that could probably fit six in a pinch.

The breakfast menu is the only place to find the uniquely Sinaloan specialty of chilorio, but thankfully breakfast items can be ordered all day long. This particular dish is worth seeking out, slow-simmered shredded pork that is fried in lard and cooked for hours in chilies. The bright red finished product is amazing, and also goes well with frijoles puercos.

An order of chilorio natural ($13.50, above) lets you enjoy it as the name suggests, without eggs, onions, or tomatoes, but regardless you also get beans and a block of white cheese. Paying an extra $2 to upgrade your beans to those frijoles puercos, another Sinaloan specialty, is always money well spent. These are more earthy than usual here, tasting like they were also cooked on the grill, but still full of pork fat, olives, and other bits.

Before your orders arrive, a squeeze bottle of crema shows up at the table with your utensils and a housemade red salsa. Crema lovers will be very happy with this arrangement, as anything from the chilorio you throw in freshly made corn tortillas to sides of fries or fresh seafood can be improved with as much as desired.

All the big plates of lunch and dinner options are listed under a "Sinaloan Style" title, including the carne asada ($16.99, above), a platter of thin diezmillo cuts, buttery rice, creamy beans, salad, avocado slices, and a pile of fries. Also right on top is a chile toreado, blistered from the grill and ready to take bites from when life needs spice.

Sinaloa is obviously no stranger to some of México's best seafood and not surprisingly a simple tostada de ceviche ($5.75, above) does not disappoint here, made with fresh shrimp. What it lacks in bold colors, it makes up for in taste. Use a little of the California-made Sinaloan salsa roja that is on each table to spice it up and give a small kick of vinegar.

While this meal barely scratched the surface of the large menu, orders of pork ribs in red sauce, filets of grilled fish, and a few other seafood dishes can all be ordered with confidence. No matter what your selections end up being, do not forget the frijoles puercos.

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