Otomisan

JAPAN 🇯🇵

EDITOR'S NOTE: Part of the "Los Angeles Classics" series. An updated version of this article (27 June 2025) is available as part of the Free Friday Favorites section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/otomisan-japanese-boyle-heights

📍 2506 1/2 E. 1st Street, Boyle Heights, Eastside

It is difficult not to feel (and see) the almost 70 year history of beloved Boyle Heights institution Otomisan, the ghosts of history blanket every surface of the space just like the layers of dust. Even fifteen years ago the Times was lamenting how walking through the screen door is like "stepping into history." The restaurant could hold its own in Gardena or Torrance, but probably would not be talked about as much if it had operated in one of those cities.

This is partly because of the complicated history of Japanese and Japanese American people being placed into concentration camps during World War II, their resettlement into Boyle Heights after the war because of the neighborhood's availability to non-white people, and this restaurant being the last holdout of a population that has mostly moved elsewhere. Those stories have been told very thoroughly and beautifully for decades, worth learning about through non-food sources for those interested.

While Otomisan can seem sleepy at times and busy at others simply because it is so tiny, try to grab a stool at the bar or tuck into a booth for the full experience of dining in. It is only while touching its surfaces and breathing its air that you can feel the Japanese-owned grocers, florists, and barbers that all operated in this space before it was converted to a restaurant in the 1950's.

As if cooked by a gentle touch, items like the pan-fried gyoza ($5.95, above) seem a bit lighter than usual here, six dumplings that are flipped to reveal their slightly charred bottoms. These are less dense and not oily at all like the run-of-the-mill gyoza, and would never fill you up before your mains arrive. A small vessel of chili oil comes with your dumplings, unnecessary but satisfying as well if you want to take your taste buds in that direction.

You can sometimes get cold buckwheat soba noodles here and those are certainly a worthy order if you come before they are sold out each day, but this meal had the pleasure of taking place on a misty and windy day after the recent February heat wave came to an end. It seemed like the ideal lunch for an order of hot udon. This can be paired with vegetables, chicken or beef, or even served cold, but the best way to eat it is hot as the tempura udon ($14.95, above and below).

A simple but pleasantly salty broth serves as the background for their big, slippery noodles. Only a bit of seaweed and thinly sliced scallion is put on top, making it that much easier for the steaming bowl to warm you when it arrives.

Like the gyoza, the tempura is lovely in its delicateness. The fried batter almost shatters under the weight of your chopsticks and leaves absolutely no oily taste in your mouth. It even holds up surprisingly when briefly dipping pieces of these battered vegetables and shrimp into the hot udon broth. Sogginess is not on the menu.

As well as a couple pieces of snappy large shrimp, an array of vegetables always includes a good assortment of what is in season or fresh. The most interesting bites on the plate above were hidden upon arrival, two half moons of eggplant and lotus root, an interesting comparison in textures.

When you are in the mood, Otomisan also makes some pretty serviceable sushi rolls. While this might not be the standard fare of an izakaya or sit down counter service Japanese restaurant, it probably speaks to having a clientele in Boyle Heights that generally is not seeking specialized fare and wants to eat from many parts of Japanese cuisine.

The spicy tuna tempura roll ($10.95) is on their small list of "specialty rolls" and is another way to enjoy their well made tempura as a thin piece of battered and fried shrimp is the in the center of the usual ingredients of a spicy tuna roll. While Otomisan is not necessarily a specialist in any specific dish, rolls like this prove that they make everything very special.

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Eat the World Los Angeles is and always has been free. It is a hobby born of passion and never solicits money or free food from restaurants. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better please tell your friends about us and if you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World Los Angeles is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

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Golden Deli

VIETNAM 🇻🇳

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (19 December 2024) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/golden-deli-cha-gio-los-angeles

For as long as you have been eating at restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley, there has been a crowd out front of Golden Deli waiting to be seated. There is obviously a good reason for this: as fads come and go and the masses move on, Golden Deli was never a fad to begin with and most of their customers come from relatively nearby. And they come often.

Like most Vietnamese restaurants in Southern California, the menu is broad and covers a lot of ground, dishes from the North, Central, and South of Vietnam. There are better places to eat banh mi, bun bo hue, and many other dishes in the San Gabriel Valley and Orange County, but in general everything is prepared to a high standard. Golden Deli is no one hit wonder.

At the top of any greatest hits of the restaurant, and certainly on top of every table, is a good portion of their delectable cha gio, pork-filled fried spring rolls (they call them egg rolls in English on the menu) wrapped in rice paper. You can order them as a smaller portion of two, or atop any number of dishes, but a full portion of phan cha gio ($11.50, above) comes with a heaping plate of fresh vegetables and herbs to make wraps and plenty of nuoc cham for dipping.

These cha gio are similar to the delicate beauties you may have come across when in Vietnam (called nem or nem ran in the north of the country), made exclusively with a rice paper wrapper and begging to be eaten immediately. Many (most?) places outside of the country have switched to a wheat flour wrapper to give the rolls a longer shelf life, holding up to delivery and allowing for larger batches to be made instead of fried to order.

The problem with coming to Golden Deli is that it is the type of place that will ruin those run-of-the-mill cha gio that you may have been enjoying from other places. It is hard to go back after such pleasure. It is a wonder of the world that never does an imperfect roll come out of the kitchen.

The "springrolls" section at the beginning of the menu is a selection of seven non-fried rolls that are usually called "summer rolls" in English. Those like the bi cuon ($5.25, above) are a selection of meat (this has shredded pork and pork skin) wrapped tightly with lettuce and other vegetables and herbs in rice paper. They are all probably better at the place you already think makes the best, but are enjoyable enough here not to pass over if the craving finds you.

Bowls of bun, a salad of rice vermicelli noodles and vegetables, are frequently seen on other tables and executed very well here. They are priced by how many toppings you receive on top, so this bun chao tom & nem nuong & cha gio (above) comes out to $13.50 while two items will be $11.25. Either way, there is absolutely no skimping on the meats or rolls, this order upped the table's cha gio ante another two full pieces.

Rice plates are just as nice, like this com bi cha chao tom & suon ($14.50, below) which throws the kitchen sink on rice: A thin pork chop, baked egg casserole, shredded pork skin, and fried shrimp paste. Combined with everything else ordered and shared, plates like this are a way to try a little bit of each.

The entire cacophony of sights and sounds, plastic plates and chopsticks and thin metal silverware, phones constantly ringing with orders, and the overall busy nature of Golden Deli give it the feeling of any beloved diner you might frequent. And at its roots this is what it is, the foods are not made beautiful when plated, but you know each component was made just right in the kitchen.

At the end of the meal, when the check shows up before asking for it (Hey, they have people waiting!), you even take it up to the register to close out your tab. Fall into the rhythm, sip that last bit of iced coffee, and catch up with your friends outside or somewhere else.

📍 815 W. Las Tunas Drive, San Gabriel, San Gabriel Valley

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Eat the World Los Angeles is and always has been free. It is a hobby born of passion and never solicits money or free food from restaurants. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better please tell your friends about us and if you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World Los Angeles is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

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Gish Bac

MÉXICO 🇲🇽
(OAXACA)

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (20 December 2024) is available as part of the Free Friday Favorites section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/gish-bac-oaxacan-los-angeles

It seems like much longer than just over a decade since this Arlington Heights institution opened and immediately starting attracting Oaxacan communities and general food lovers alike. While it may be slipping off listicles and year-end round-ups that need to infuse freshness and fad, it consistently makes some of the best Oaxacan food in the city and that will probably never change.

For that reason you are likely to hear Zapotec or Mixtec from the adults at neighboring tables, and in the next sentence their children speaking English in response. It may be sleepy for a weekday lunch, but there is always a table or two filled with a couple or men working nearby. Come on a Sunday after one of the Spanish-language masses ends across the street at St. Paul's and it may take a while to get a table.

In Zapotec, "gish bac" translates roughly to what people from Tlacolula call their city, a name that itself is Nahuatl for "place of abundance." This abundance is probably best seen on a Sunday in the city's famous market, where barbacoa vendors will probably yawn if you tell them you did not know barbacoa was a thing in Oaxaca. There in the state's second largest city, it is most certainly more than a thing.

The other specialties of Oaxaca are all done with a skilled set of hands in the kitchen here, which seemingly never has an off day when it comes to quality. For many diners this starts with the large tlayudas you can see stacked in the kitchen. Like any Oaxacan restaurant worth its salt, these are imported from a trusted source in that state, and because they contain so little water can survive the journey and come back to life when needed.

To do this, a base layer of asiento is laid down first, followed by a thin streak of beans and stringy cheese before going on the griddle and the rest of the colorful toppings and fresh vegetables are added. You can mix and match up to three meats on your tlayudas, the usuals of cecina, tesajo, and chorizo. A two meat tlayuda (above) costs $16.75 and is already a ton of food.

Note that cecina in Oaxaca is a thinly sliced adobo-rubbed pork loin and tesajo is salt-cured beef. The two pair together wonderfully.

The skill of the kitchen is maybe even more apparent with orders of any of their three moles. Mole negro ($15.85, above) is dark like an oil spill, its gloss reflecting the fluorescent lights overhead. And just like an oil slick, if you look closer you will see different colors within, a hint of the many flavors about to hit your tongue.

Dried chilhaucle negro chiles give the mole its namesake color, but the first flavors to hit your mouth are hoja santa and star anise. Throw in ground nuts, dozens of other herbs, spices, and chiles, and you could spend the entire meal just trying to figure out the ingredients of such a complex and wonderful flavor. Better yet, do not think about it at all and just enjoy bites with some of their big handmade corn tortillas or rice.

More on the sweet side (but not overly) and also dark and full of deep reds like the name would suggest, the mole coloradito ($15.85, above) is just as full or somehow maybe even fuller of flavors. Once again, one ingredient does not dominate the others, while the color this time is created by dried ancho chiles.

Both of these moles are presented with chicken and can be enjoyed with dark meat or breast for $2 extra for some reason. The restaurant also makes a mole amarillo that can be eaten with beef or chicken.

As you may have guessed from the mention earlier, barbacoa plays an important roll at Gish Bac. On weekends you can try the style the chef used to cook in Tlacolula's market; barbacoa blanca named not for the finished product's color but rather the fact that the lamb is not rubbed with adobo or other colorful marinades and uses salt and a simple garlic and oregano paste.

On weekends and any other day you can enjoy the barbacoa enchilada, goat marinaded with chile guajillo. This can be as a full plate or two tacos de barbacoa ($15.45, above) which also comes with a bowl of consomé. If you come on Tuesdays, the price for the two tacos is reduced to $10. The large corn tortillas are full of barbacoa, wrapped like burritos, and much more filling than they might appear in a photo. Squeeze in plenty of lime juice to cut the richness and splash in some of their tasty green salsa that comes with the pre-meal chips if that suits you.

There are a couple dishes that might be seen on the menus of more "general" Mexican restaurants, like costillas de puerco en salsa verde ($14.45, above). If you are in the mood for one of these, it is with great confidence that you know the kitchen will knock it out of the park with their supreme skill.

They have a few nice homemade aguas frescas for $4, but go for the horchata oaxaqueña ($5, below), an upgrade that tops the drink with walnuts, canteloupe, and nieve de tuna. This last ingredient is a wildly popular ice sorbet made with cactus pear. Agua de chilacayota is also available when that gourd is in season.

📍 4163 W. Washington Blvd., Arlington Heights, Central Los Angeles

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Eat the World Los Angeles is and always has been free. It is a hobby born of passion and never solicits money or free food from restaurants. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better please tell your friends about us and if you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World Los Angeles is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

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Banh Mi Ba Lẹ

🇻🇳 VIETNAM

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (08 March 2024) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/banh-mi-ba-le

When trying to learn more about the roots, origins, and family relations of Ba Le and their history, a confusing web stretches from the west coast to Chicago and back. The original stateside location seems to have been San Jose in 1982, while the "official" online presence now seems to be in the Windy City. This of course may or may not be related to the famous Ba Le that was operating in Saigon in the 70's before many lives were altered and forced to leave.

No matter what the real history is, there are two related branches here in Greater Los Angeles and used to be one in Reseda as far back as 1984.

The Westminster location is an unassuming little shop, with a modest sign outside and the neon from Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots advertised in the window. Inside, a larger custom neon sign has been above the counter for as long as can be remembered with the name Banh Mi Ba Le.

 

Both locations make everything on site, most importantly the small baguettes that make the heart of each of their banh mi sandwiches which you can smell and see fresh racks of in the back. If you peruse the refrigerators while you wait, you will also realize that you can buy just about everything that goes into the sandwiches here to make them on your own. The pate, the cuts of meat, even the mayonnaise.

You can take photos of all the different sandwiches but before eating they all kind of look the same so the ones shown here might be any one of their different options. Regardless of the sandwich you choose, it will come on their fantastic bread, always cooked spot on. It has a magical crisp exterior that will blanket crumbs below anywhere you eat, while most of it is as soft as a cloud.

Their house special banh mi dac biet ($4.60) might be the best bet at least to start, a combination of all the best offerings. The cold cuts are stacked on top of a bed of pate and a perfect ratio of vegetables to make every bite just right. The mayonnaise they make has a shot of garlic in it, and a very fine and fatty layer of Vietnamese bacon rounds it all out. Ask for it spicy for a few more slices of jalapeño.

Dac biet bite-away view.

Besides the ingredients mentioned earlier, the fridges are also full of cha lua still wrapped in banana leaves and ready to carry home, plenty of interesting drinks, and desserts like com ruou (below) which is glutinous rice that is made into balls that almost look like lychee and swim in a sweetened low ABV rice wine.

While a sandwich is always the focus and always very satisfying, it is easy to take home a lot more here on each visit.

📍 9152 Bolsa Avenue, Westminster, Orange County

 

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I COULD USE YOUR HELP

Eat the World Los Angeles is and always has been free. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better and you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World Los Angeles is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

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Jitlada

Photo courtesy of Jitlada.com

🇹🇭 THAILAND

📍 5233 Sunset Blvd., Thai Town, Central Los Angeles

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (05 January 2024) is available as part of the Free Friday Favorites section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/jitlada-restaurant

I can still remember the first time I read Dana Goodyear's profile of Jonathan Gold in the New Yorker at the end of 2009. By the last few paragraphs of the uplifting article, I had to read about Jitlada and its owner Jazz with a vision blurred by my own tears. With such strong feelings towards entrepreneurs from all over the world in New York City, it was easy to feel so much for Los Angeles through his heart and stomach. Up until that day, I had been harboring ill will towards L.A. based on stereotypes and brief interactions years before, but these stories and this great man made something click and probably started a series of events that would eventually lead to living in Los Angeles a decade later.

This beautiful part of Los Angeles had always been there, championed by people like Jonathan Gold. It was me that had changed and now could be open enough to realize my mistake. It took six years before I would finally meet Jazz in 2015, but when I did she welcomed me and my Thai partner into Jitlada as if she had known us since she moved to town.

And besides some of the best cooking of your life, that is the magic of Jitlada, a Thai restaurant in East Hollywood that specializes in the fiery favorites of Southern Thailand.

While not necessarily a southern dish, yum pak boong grob (above) is a salad of fried water morning glory that is done better nowhere else. The dish becomes essential as other spicy plates and bowls start to surround you. The deep-fried vegetable is crispy and covered in a sauce that is sour, and a bit sweet.

One must try for any southern Thai meal is gang lueng pla (above), a sour yellow fish curry that is unlike all the other tastes in your life up until this point. The sourness hits you right away, while the chili peppers take a little bit of time to settle into each part of your mouth. Eat this with ample portions of rice and if you ordered it spicy (as it should be), take your time.

 

For more tastes you can only get in the south, try one of a few dishes that include sator, a small green bean that is usually translated as "stinky." This pad sator (below) is a stir fry including squid and ground pork, and if possible ratchets up the heat levels even more.

On that first visit to Jitlada back in 2015 there was one simple mistake made between our table and the kitchen, and that was either Jazz accidentally telling the chef, her late brother Tui, that the dishes should be made at their highest level, or him hearing this despite her warnings. I do not mind high spice levels, and even enjoy the struggle that is sometimes involved when eating foods beyond my high capacity. I do it happily on every visit to Thailand.

My partner's limit is a few levels down from mine, so we put in a request for nothing that would kill her. What arrived was far different though, full of heat that hit us both like a brick wall. With the two previous dishes, the kua kling (below) was the last straw.

This dish of dry roasted curry paste with ground pork was off the charts. In the past I have fought through spicy foods to climb to what I have always considered a sort of plateau, a place that once reached everything seemed to level out and become easier. It never came.

So on the way to getting to that plateau, the lights went out. But I could not think of a better meal or place to experience it! And don't worry, you can have a long conversation about your limits and come up with a plan to make the food to your taste. That being said, this is certainly not a place to eat if you do not enjoy spicy foods, for the versions that are toned down too much do not do justice to the original concepts.

Another dish to help with your interior heat levels is pad pak boong (above), sauteed water morning glory in oyster sauce. It may have started out off the menu, but the special Jazz burger (below) is now advertised throughout the restaurant and common knowledge for regular customers. Basically, it is a grilled meat patty that contains everything wonderful about the restaurant, served without any bun.

If you make it this far, sit back and relax, enjoy the place and its atmosphere. Jazz will have no doubt come to you by now if you have not struck up a conversation already. Read some of the praise all over the walls and on the tables. There is a lot of love within these walls, both from the people that welcome you in and from those that keep returning and love it right back.

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I COULD USE YOUR HELP

Eat the World Los Angeles is and always has been free. It is a hobby born of passion and never solicits money or free food from restaurants. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better please tell your friends about us and if you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World Los Angeles is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

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La Casita Mexicana

🇲🇽 MÉXICO

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (06 December 2023) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/la-casita-mexicana

📍4030 E. Gage Avenue, Bell, Southeast Los Angeles

 

Gage Avenue in Bell seems like a street for royalty. Famous La Casita chefs Jaime Martin del Campo and Ramiro Arvizu have set up shop many years back just two blocks away from the Azteca Boxing Club, training home to champions like Julio Cesar Chavez and Hector "Macho" Camacho. If all of these names are not enough to impress, you can still be prepared for a very memorable meal.

The colorful walls also serve as the backdrop for an art gallery. These themes of color and eclecticism are constant from the front door to every nook in the space and on every surface, but in a way that is friendly instead of over the top.

Even the pre-meal tortilla chips are special, covered in mole.

Any first visit to La Casita Mexicana must be for the chiles en nogada ($21.45, below), the famous stuffed poblano pepper traditionally eaten in and around September during the celebration of Mexican Independence. The green color of the chile, the white from the walnut-based cream sauce, and the red from pomegranate seeds make the three colors of the Mexican flag.

Inside of this beautiful presentation is picadillo, a sweet and savory mixture of ground beef, fruit, raisins, and spices. The version here inspired trying many chiles en nogada on the next trip to Mexico City, but none of them or any in other places have ever come close to the perfection of the one at La Casita.

The menu is full of pan-regional Mexican cooking, all of which is done elegantly and deliciously. Judging by the constant waves of families coming here to dine, it is suspected that everything is just as delicious, and many follow-up visits are necessary.

Before or after your meal, poke through the aisles next door at the attached La Tiendita [UPDATE: The store has been replaced with more tables] and maybe pick up some sweets to take home or some reading materials by the chefs.

Ceviche de pescado estilo Nayarit ($17.95)

Enchiladas de pollo en crema chipotle ($18.45)

Cecina de res tradicional ($21.95)

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I COULD USE YOUR HELP

Eat the World Los Angeles is and always has been free. It is a hobby born of passion and never solicits money or free food from restaurants. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better please tell your friends about us and if you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World Los Angeles is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

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In-N-Out Burger

USA 🇺🇸
(CALIFORNIA)

 

Replica of original 1948 location in Baldwin Park.

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (05 December 2023) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/in-n-out-burger

For those that grow up in the west, and especially California, In-N-Out Burger is important but an afterthought. You either go or you do not, you love it or do not give it much thought. There are other burger chains, burger stands, there are other burgers.

But a type of magic is happening at In-N-Out Burger that is timeless, and it should at least be sampled by everyone so the debate is entered with proper knowledge. That's right, it is for the research. There are plenty of off-menu "hidden" items, but from experience the double cheeseburger is all that's necessary.

They are not as ubiquitous as other chains, and perhaps this is part of their beauty, making them that much less accessible in the daily lives of many. If you are going to make the point to visit though, why not start right at the source in Baldwin Park? While the original 1948 hut that started it all has long been demolished by the creation of the 10, a replica has been built just north of the freeway.

The working restaurant is just on the other side of the 10, grab your food and bring it here to eat in the car. The parking lot is open only from 11:00-14:00 Thursday through Sunday, so time it right so you can get out, turn on the black and white filter on your phone, and learn some of the history of In-N-Out Burger.

📍 13850 Francisquito Avenue, Baldwin Park, San Gabriel Valley (and many others)

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I COULD USE YOUR HELP

Eat the World Los Angeles is and always has been free. It is a hobby born of passion and never solicits money or free food from restaurants. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better please tell your friends about us and if you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World Los Angeles is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

Thank you!

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Brodard Restaurant

🇻🇳 VIETNAM

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (30 November 2023) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/brodard-restaurant

As you drive from Garden Grove to Fountain Valley, even many of the street signs are in Vietnamese, giving you some sense of what the area is all about. Restaurants, although plentiful, are only a small portion of all the Vietnamese-owned businesses in the area.

The Brodard "empire" is shifting and since late 2017 this new outpost is the home of their famous nem nuong operation. (Be careful as the old location up in Garden Grove switched to a vegetarian restaurant and seems to have closed now.)

Before getting to those famous rolls, try the Saigon style spring rolls or bì cuốn (above), which have shredded pork, pork skin, and toasted rice powder inside with fresh vegetables.

The nem nuớng cuốn (below) are the star of the show of course and should not be passed up, grilled pork spring rolls wrapped with vegetables and served with their house special sauce.

An interior view of the bì cuốn.

Also very tasty are the bánh khọt tôm (below), crispy rice cakes filled with shrimp, mung bean, scallions, and turmeric. These are eaten with greens and lime chili fish sauce.

📍 16105 Brookhurst Street, Fountain Valley, Orange County

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I COULD USE YOUR HELP

Eat the World Los Angeles is and always has been free. It is a hobby born of passion and never solicits money or free food from restaurants. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better please tell your friends about us and if you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World Los Angeles is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

Thank you!

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Chichén Itzá

MÉXICO 🇲🇽
(YUCATÁN)

📍 3655 S. Grand Avenue, South Central, South Los Angeles

(Inside Mercado La Paloma)

 

COVID-19 UPDATE: Mercado La Paloma has reopened for indoor dining and there is still an outdoor dining area for those that prefer (August 2021).

UPDATE DEC 2020: This article has been updated with current prices and a few more dishes, as well as some new photos.

UPDATE AUG 2021: This article has been updated with two more dishes from a recent visit.

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (29 November 2023) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/chichen-itza

For now over 20 years Mercado La Paloma, a stones throw east of the 110, has been a successful response to the needs of the surrounding community. During its formation, nearby residents wanted a market similar to the ones they left behind in their countries of birth. If your interests are in the food court, Chichén Itzá is possibly the most unique stall (along with its younger sibling Holbox), attracting hungry patrons from the south of México since its opening in 2001.

 

Others began to follow a few years after that, curious to find out about these foods. As the name might suggest, the food here is yucateca, from the state of Yucatán. They of course have cochinita pibil, but other foods on their menu should not be skipped. The taste of traditional foods is realized through a combination of importing ingredients and making others from scratch every day. Meats are still cooked over a wood burning grill as you would find in Yucatán, part of their secret.

The base of the salbutes ($8.45, above) are puffy deep-fried tortillas, topped with tomato and avocado. This antojito is common in Yucatán and surrounding regions including Belize. They can be made to order with your choice of shredded beef or pork, but the standard offering here is shredded turkey combined with pickled red onions, used in many dishes in the state.

 

Cochinita pibil sometimes gets the English translation of pulled pork, and this does not exactly do it a disservice, but also does not get to the spirit of the famous yucateco dish. Shown here as an order of two tacos de cochinita pibil ($6.95, below), the achiote-marinated shredded pork is topped once again with pickled red onions and really does not cry out for salsa unless you see fit.

All of the tortillas they are serving with orders of tacos or as sides are always made here fresh and should be unwrapped and enjoyed as soon as possible. To further enjoy the state's signature dish, grab a full order of cochinita pibil ($13.95, below) from the platos fuertes section of the menu.

 

As with the tacos, a nice blanket of pickled red onions will keep the shredded pork warm. A generous portion of white rice and black beans accompanies the plate, as well as three fresh and delicious tortillas. As ever, their famous habanero salsa comes with every order and can be drizzled over everything as desired. It is spicy and magnificent, but their foods almost wish to be eaten on their own as well. Thankfully there are three tortillas and you can keep changing your mind.

 

Another great dish to try here that will bring back memories of trips to the wonderful food and cultural city of Mérida is sopa de lima ($6.45, below). This soup uses shredded turkey in a rich turkey broth, as well as the namesake lima agria, an especially bittersweet lime found in Yucatán.

 

Fried strips of tortilla come standard with the soup, making it a staunch rival of the more common sopa de tortilla. These will of course be packaged on the side, making the soup travel well if you need to get it home.

For a few years now the owners have been running a Yucatecan seafood stand in the same market called Holbox. If for no other reason, the highly acclaimed menu of that stand should tip you off that a tostada de ceviche ($7.45, below) is probably going to be pretty good here.

 

The order comes with a side of avocado salsa which can be skipped or not, but the amount of fish that goes onto one tostada could be described as mountainous. Obviously, it is as fresh as can be.

Tacos de poc chuc ($6.95 for 2)

Tamal colado ($5.95)

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