[CLOSED] Ribtown BBQ

🇺🇸 UNITED STATES
📍 2125 W. Jefferson Blvd., Jefferson Park, South Los Angeles
🅿️ Trailer is in a parking lot with spots for customers
🥤 No Alcohol

EDITOR'S NOTE: This business has closed permanently. An updated version of this article (21 March 2025) is available as part of the Free Friday Favorites section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/ribtown-bbq-los-angeles-closed

The opening hours of Ribtown BBQ say 12:00 noon on Google Maps, but people start wandering up to the window closer to 11:30 to see when orders can be placed. Barbecue obviously takes a while to prepare, and the smokers behind this small trailer have been sending plumes and the delicious smell of pork into the Jefferson Park lot they live in and its surrounding areas.

On Friday and Saturday only, people who live or work nearby come to this lot to swap Los Angeles barbecue stories, their long-gone favorites, and order from this husband and wife duo. They specialize in spareribs and the charred tips that have long been seen as the throwaway cuts of proper pork barbecue in many places.

As has often happened in the history of the United States, what some people have decided to throw away as waste has been turned into something incredibly delicious by those of lesser means. Rib tips have become a staple in the lexicon of some places like Chicago, where barbecue traditions migrated from the south and twisted in their own directions.

At Ribtown, the proprietor and pitmaster is from Los Angeles and has family that came from Texas, but he would not name any of these places as a style. In the spirit of California and the city of Los Angeles, this can be considered truly local barbecue, born from everywhere that folks have lived before coming. Purity is often demanded from people and their barbecue, but none of that is necessary here.

Despite being former cast-offs, rib tips are not easy to cook. They are generally thinner and can dry out easily, but since the cuts all have different sizes and thicknesses, a pitmaster has to constantly move them around and turn them over. If you have the means, the best order here is to make sure you get some of both; those lovely, grisly and fatty tips, and part of a rack of spareribs.

Some pieces here have dried out a bit while most are fantastic. Gnawing off slightly charred juicy bits from its small bones is a pleasure, you will start to wonder why the rib-tip plate ($14, below) is so much less expensive than the other cuts. As you lick the slightly sweet sauce from your fingers and dig into the serviceable sides, life is pretty good.

The pile of meat in any order is enough to make the styrofoam container bulge, but these rib tips are enough for two since you also get two sides and white bread with any combo. Try the collard greens and house beans, both of which have plenty of pulled pork and its smoky flavor in them. The beans also contain bits of the beef hot links.

For a wider sampling of what is smoking behind the trailer, they offer a combo plate ($24, below) which contains one of those hot links, two big spareribs, and two pieces of chicken. The links are snappy and offer good variety to orders here, but the chicken might be the one to skip if you only have so much room. As expected, the ribs are the star here, and you will be picking those bones clean down to the very last bit.

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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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[CLOSED] SukaSukaSaya

🇮🇩 INDONESIA
📍 3087 W. Pico Blvd., Harvard Heights, Central Los Angeles
🅿️ Very small parking lot
🥤 No Alcohol

EDITOR'S NOTE: This restaurant has permanently closed.

In Indonesia, if you heard the three words that make up the sing-song name of one of Los Angeles's newest restaurants, it could roughly translate to "just the way I like it." This seems to be the mentality of the new owners, who focus their menu around the famous Indomie packaged ramen that comes from the country, creating dishes just the way they would want to eat them.

Certainly everyone reading this must have attempted to create their own versions of hearty and delicious soups at home based on their favorite packaged ramen, maybe sautéing some vegetables, boiling an egg, and even adding meat to join the dried noodles and delectable powdered MSG packets. But chefs that were willing to start a restaurant based on their own creations warranted an immediate visit when they recently opened just south of Koreatown.

A few influences seem to be included from that nearby neighborhood, with bulgogi making an appearance in at least one dish and Korean ramyeon available for substitution with Indomie. Certainly this is not traditional Indonesian food, but that is not the goal of the proprietors, who have created a variety of rice and noodle dishes as well as many types of drinks.

Appetizers seem to use Japanese inspirations, with edamame, gyoza, tempura, and katsu among a range of options. Some of these show up stuffed into burritos with Indomie as well. Everything arrives by friendly robot (above), including drinks like lemonade ($4.50, below) infused with lychee or passion fruit.

If you want to add bulgogi to your noodle bowls, feel free, but it seems that the main reason to come here is to experience what they can do with Indomie. And to be clear, people who have no space in their heart already carved out for Indomie might not see the fun in a menu that concentrates on the product. If your cabinets at home are full of packets, head here immediately.

A good place to start is the seemingly simple bakmie sakaw Jakarta ($12.47, above and below), a fully loaded bowl of dry ramen, served with ground chicken, chicken and vegetable gyoza, a hard-boiled egg, greens and crispy bits. Stir everything together and dig to the bottom, making sure to pull the meat's juices up into your noodles. It is surprisingly tasty and comforting.

Since the bakmie sakaw is delicious but has no heat, eat it first when you pair the dish with Indomie goreng SukaSuka original ($11, above), which uses the spicy mi goreng ramen and adds plenty more chili. Corned beef is one of the options for protein (their term), and seems like a no-brainer. It comes with a side of very spicy sauce, but this seems better for the bakmie sakaw or maybe a burrito.

Speaking of which, the opportunity to eat a burrito stuffed with delicious Indomie absolutely could not be passed up. While you should not pass on this opportunity either with a chicken katsu ramen burrito ($8.90, below), it will become clear quite quickly that Indomie is better in its more natural state, straight from the packet or in creations like those above. But it does feel good that Los Angeles is no longer a city where it is impossible to find a burrito stuffed with the best packaged ramen in the world.

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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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[CLOSED] ...donde Angie?

🇪🇨 ECUADOR

📍 14828 Valley Blvd., La Puente, San Gabriel Valley

🅿️ Small parking lot for customers.

💲 Cash or Zelle Only.

🥤 Bottled Beer Available.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The La Puente restaurant permanently closed, but the business is now operating out of the proprietor's home in Buena Park. Please check their Instagram page for more information.

An updated version of this article (20 February 2026) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/donde-angie-ecuadorian-los-angeles

Back in the beginning of February, a flagpole was constructed just outside a new restaurant on busy Valley Blvd. The bright, tri-color flag of Ecuador is probably the best advertisement in a town starved for Ecuadorian food, especially since the recent closing of Silver Lake's El Caserio. Inside is now the only true restaurant featuring the food of the country in Greater Los Angeles, although a terrific home chef and some vendors exist elsewhere.

Be careful as you slow down and turn into the small parking lot, for the 18 wheelers of City of Industry (which completely surrounds the restaurant starting with the train tracks across the street) will most likely be right on your rear bumper. The location is an interesting choice, but eventually the owners want the restaurant to be a community hub for Ecuadorians coming from different parts of town. On weekends, they are already getting good turnout for Ecuadorian league football, with fans of Guayaquil rivals Emelec and Barcelona SC showing up in the strongest numbers.

For now there is still no menu, and especially on weekdays there are just a few items available daily which they are happy to tell you all about if you are new. Weekends see more dishes like the delicious bowl of caldo de bola available on Sundays. Bring cash or have your Zelle account ready, as those are the two forms of payment available for now.

Probably available daily is the Guayaquil and coastal favorite encebollado de pescado (below), usually made with a type of whitefish but here full of meaty slices of tuna. The name alludes to the cooking of the stew with plenty of onions, which fill the flavors of the broth and are used raw for topping as well. As customary, the encebollado is served with a cup of freshly toasted chifles, thinly sliced plantain chips, and plenty of limes to squeeze into the soup.

You can also ask for a small side of white rice if desired to further fortify your stew, dipping the grains in the broth is somehow very pleasing. There is yuca in the mix as well, but it is not overloaded as you see in some bowls, the fish makes up the bulk of the offering.

On the Thursday afternoon of this visit, another main course available was seco de pollo (below), a stewed chicken dish served with a drumstick. The gravy or stew can look like this without being very saucy and can even sometimes read more like a soup, or somewhere in between. Of course everyone has a different recipe but there is always naranjilla fruit and a traditional fermented corn drink called chicha, which today is often substituted with beer, especially outside of Ecuador.

The dish is always served with particularly Ecuadorian rice, tinted yellow by annatto powder, and full of oils and butter. It is flavorful enough to enjoy on its own, but even better with the garlic, onions, and variety of herbs and spices in the gravy.

Another dish you can try daily is the bolón de verde (below), available in both cheese and pork versions. These large balls are made of mashed green plantains and the ingredients of your choosing, here shown in pork but sometimes seen with chicharrón or chorizo if you are at a place known for making a variety of them.

There might be no more typical breakfast in coastal regions than combining a bolón de verde with a fried egg and a fresh cup of coffee. The deep fried ball satisfies the cravings for something greasy in the morning and provides enough calories for a hard day's work.

Returning on the weekend for their specials and also the communal atmosphere is looked forward to and any reports will of course be updated here and announced on Twitter and Instagram.

🇪🇨🇪🇨🇪🇨

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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El Aguachileexpress LA

MÉXICO 🇲🇽
(SONORA)

📍 15406 S. Washington Avenue (back alley), Compton, South Los Angeles

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (10 December 2025) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:
https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/el-aguachileexpress-la

If you have ever walked up and down Atlantic Avenue in Compton exploring the dozens of trucks, sidewalk vendors, and other entrepreneurial endeavors between Compton and Alondra Blvds, you may have also noticed a few home-based operations that have popped up in the surrounding neighborhood. On weekends, a large hand-drawn sign proclaims "BARBACOA" just west of the line of food trucks on Rose Street. Tables and chairs at other homes have been set up without signage, but the gates are open if your curiosity (or nose) leads you that way and the smiling groups at these tables show a lot of promise.

Across the street from the very south end of East Rancho Dominguez Park, if you look through an empty dirt lot lined with graffiti, you may also notice on Saturdays and Sundays a raised garage door facing the alley with plenty going on in front of it. Cars are stopped and slowly navigating around each other in the slim alley, but behind them a small counter and one solitary table shows a business that has been operating since 2017 and made a name for itself with fresh aguachiles, ceviches, and micheladas all made estilo Sonora.

Surrounded by maritime-themed decor that makes the small garage very pleasant to hang around, a plaque sits at the counter that was given to them by the Mexican consulate. This proclaims them as winners of the ceviche contest of 2021, a good hint as to what to order on your visits if you come for the first time.

They serve two ceviche styles each weekend, which they call "regular" and "tropical." Each is available heaped on a tostada for eating in house, as a big $75 tray for takeout, and on top of their very popular micheladas (above and below). Do not worry about bringing your own tallboys to the alley, as they have you covered with everything necessary. A cup is lined with their house chamoy (which is available on its own to purchase), the drink is mixed, and a smaller cup is overlaid with the ceviche of your choice on top of a bed of salsa flavored Tostitos.

Ceviche regular on top of michelada.

These micheladas are the reason to come to El Aguachileexpress LA for sure, despite a business name which may claim otherwise. There is just one table, but everyone that comes here is always in a real good mood and more than happy to share. The east-facing garage is getting shade just about the time the door goes up, and coming here is a good decision whether it is with or without la cruda.

If you want to try both ceviches, order a side plate of the ceviche tropical (below), more barely lime-kissed fresh shrimp this time covered with mango and a mango puree along with the dark savory "juices" that usually make a marinero.

Whether it was the wrong time of season or not, unfortunately this very ripe mango was a tad too sweet compared to the tart and crisp mango bits that are usually added to ceviches. All in all it was not even close to being un-delicious though, and was of course completely devoured along with the generous stack of tostadas it came with.

While most people here are grabbing trays for takeout, the move as discussed is to pull up with a michelada and enjoy the scene. Music is on, faces are full of smiles as customers linger to chat and laugh with the proprietors, and ceviche is always the most amazing right after it is prepared. After a time or two more it might be time for that aguachile, which is warned to be very spicy.

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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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[CLOSED] N Café

🇯🇵 JAPAN

📍 16814 S. Vermont Avenue, Gardena, South Bay

 

UPDATE: This location has permanently closed. An updated version of this article (05 June 2025) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/n-cafe-gardena-japanese 

If you were zipping down this section of Vermont Avenue in Gardena and did not know any better, N Café might look like the type of place you would expect to serve boba or cold press juices at first glance. Besides its name, only a simple, colorful leaf is up on the sign. Explore further and a fast casual Japanese American restaurant presents itself, the culmination of the career of its chef, who spent over two decades in the now closed upscale Chaya restaurants in Beverly Hills and Venice.

Settling into one of the tables at the small cafe might also fool you into thinking that N has been around for a long time, it seems very comfortable in its skin and feels very established. But the restaurant came to life at the beginning of summer 2020, a couple months after the restaurant industry was forced into its current life form.

If you sit here a couple times and watch the comings and goings, you see many Gardena locals coming in to pick up bentos for lunch. This was always going to be the focus of N Café, but it seems extra prescient for the times when takeout is so vital. They rotate between a few options and there is always a daily bento offered as well as a fish bento that sometimes changes. If you come here five days straight you could probably pick a new one for each meal.

The fish bento ($14.99, above) during a recent outing was a meaty salmon with teriyaki sauce, the fish is cooked more aggressively than normal and refreshingly tough in a good way. Every great value bento comes with a delicious bowl of miso soup, prime grade rice, and a variety of extras that on this day included a delicious sour pickled plum, a potato croquette with tonkatsu sauce, and some extremely crunchy assorted pickles.

You will soon come to realize that all of the foods here are comfort foods, the bento falls into this category but some of the other options even more so. Four choices for their curry are available and offer the ultimate comfort, obviously homemade and lacking that strong sweetness from typical Japanese curries that are mass-produced.

A good starter option for those that enjoy meat is the ground beef keema curry ($13.99, above), which like the rest is served with sides of fresh and grilled vegetables, a small green salad, potato salad, and their beautiful white rice. A small container of pickles should not be forgotten for its ability to add zip and crunch to any bite.

To further the comfort of any meal here, try some of their wafu (和風, Japanese-style) pastas, which may or may not use the Italian pasta they reference in the title. The mentai butter spaghetti ($15.99, above) uses linguini but absolutely no one will care when they take their first bite of this delicious calamari pasta with the namesake spicy cod roe.

The dish is creamy from butter but not too much so, its pasta cooked a while longer than al dente just as most Japanese seem to prefer. Finely chopped up oba leaf and thin slices of nori both blanket the top and round out the dish, which could not really get any better. The garlic bread is photogenic but probably the bites you will not take if finishing everything on the table is going to be a struggle.

The restaurant also serves a very tasty angus cheeseburger and spicy fried chicken sandwich ($11.99, above) which are served with their crisp garlic truffle fries. In the latter, a nicely fried chicken patty is itself sandwiched with both tartar sauce and a slightly spicy sriracha mayonnaise. The mayo was tasty enough to ask for more with the fries instead of the ketchup packets that arrived with the sandwich.

After such a successful first couple meals here, future visits will likely include more curry and bento options, but it is big plates of Japanese mushroom spaghetti, a penne bolognese, and carbonara that are actually looked forward to the most. And definitely more of the mentai butter spaghetti, all served in satisfyingly heaping portions that would be frowned upon in an Italian restaurant.

🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵

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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[CLOSED] Mariscos Tocho

MÉXICO 🇲🇽
(SONORA)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Permanently Closed. An updated version of this article (11 April 2025) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/mariscos-tocho-sonoran-mexican-los-angeles

📍11267 S. Alameda Street, Watts, South Los Angeles

Rocky Point, the nickname of Puerto Peñasco on Sonora's Gulf of California coast, is only a bit more than an hour's drive from the Arizona state line. But like most of the rest of Sonora's coast, is largely overlooked by the other states that surround this body of water like Baja and Sinaloa, especially by residents of Los Angeles. All the way from this tourist favorite town down through Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, and Colima, mariscos have a lot in common and quite a bit of regional diversity.

A small trailer in an industrial Watts lot used mostly for the storage of unused 18 wheelers is the first of its kind to offer estilo Rocky Point, and since opening over five years ago has been a neighborhood favorite and drawn crowds from well outside of Watts. Groups of men who have been working since long before you woke up and others nursing headaches from a long night come here with their own beverages and order big plates of what cures them best at this Friday through Sunday spot.

If you have visited Puerto Peñasco and sat down at popular locals-focused restaurants like Mariscos Las Plebes, you will recognize the offerings at Mariscos Tocho, with cheesy seafood and/or manta ray tacos, deep dark and chunky sauced-up ceviches, and all the more pan-coastal cocteles, botanas, and other ceviches that can be found just about anywhere.

Sonoran food is not completely unfamiliar to Angelenos, but is usually spoken about in the form of Hermosillo's hot dogs or grilled meats and flour tortillas. There is one Sonoran mariscos truck that has ruled Santa Ana for a while and more recently expanded into a permanent space, but for the most part the seafood of this state is more of a mystery as most Sonorenses who have made their home in the United States are in Arizona.

Unfortunately the manta ray tacos have not been available for some time, but there are plenty of options for those not in the mood for ceviche. The chef has devised a way to combine the beauty of Sonora's meat and seafood in his Taco Tocho ($4, above left and below), a cheesy taco stuffed with both carne asada and shrimp. If you are looking for a place for some surf and turf, Sonora makes the most sense since they do both so expertly.

Buried within the taco is the trailer's beloved salsa negra, a chunky affair of charred dry chilies, brown sugar, and some type of delicious MSG. Every single order of tacos, ceviches, burritos, and anything else requiring salsa comes with more of this and a creamy garlic-laden mayo salsa that are divine when combined. This namesake trio of beef, shrimp, and cheese can also be ordered on a plate of fries (papas Tocho loco), which was always in front of at least one group on recent visits.

The taco de pescado estilo Rocky Point ($4, above) will not be on many best-of lists in Los Angeles, but it is still a strong option, especially when both sauces are dumped on top. A generous filet of fried fish is topped with a fat hunk of avocado and plenty of fresh and crisp vegetables.

What many people travel far for, and what is hard to not order even if you come to the trailer quite often is an order of the house special tostada negra ($13, below). This is a ceviche made with big pieces of shrimp and octopus and drenched with the salsa negra.

Do not be ashamed to add more of this and the creamy salsa, because this is one of the reasons people come to the truck. Everything is so fresh and obviously never frozen, the quality is a huge step above even the above average mariscos spots in the city.

"Regular" tostadas might be slightly less food but still are massive and come with plenty of extra for scooping. The tostada de ceviche de pescado ($7, below) is a simple preparation that lets the immaculate fish speak for itself. This also comes in a shrimp version, and you can get tostadas with cooked shrimp as well.

🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽

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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[CLOSED] Nadima's Sushi & Mongolian Express

🇲🇳 MONGOLIA
📍 23211 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, South Bay

EDITOR'S NOTE: This location has permanently closed. An updated version of this article (27 February 2025) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/nadimas-sushi-and-mongolian-express-closed

It takes a bit of sleuthing to find more than just a run-of-the-mill sushi takeout in this new-ish shopping center, not just because you have to first locate it around the corner from the lot and facing busy Hawthorne Blvd., but because from the outside it makes no other claims. As you walk in, the owner will hand you a paper menu with only options from the sushi counter.

But a glance over the counter shows trays of Mongolian food available for catering (unique holiday ideas for your gatherings!), and one laminated sheet tucked halfway under the register has a few options available daily. Grab this sheet and see if anything catches your fancy, but come without a tight schedule as these are all made to order and take a while.

If you want to eat in, it is possible although the entire restaurant has the feel of a hallway, with one counter and three chairs available to sit. The doors are open and the cool breezes of Torrance find their way through the place though, so it all feels very comfortable in the end. The enjoyable part of doing this is that the familiar smells of Mongolian cuisine, which are not apparent when entering, start to fill the space as the noodles are made and oils and meat fats are cooked.

This experience is the best explanation for $20 prices which may seem high to some customers, as it reveals the truly homemade nature of every Mongolian item and the labor that goes into them. The noodles and dumpling skins are made to order, combined with vegetables and meats, and presented at peak freshness.

One of those familiar smells was thought to be lamb, which permeates everyone and everything if you have ever spent any time in Mongolia. This must have been for a catering order because the country's dumplings called buuz ($20, above) are filled with ground beef. Often these are bite-size, but the versions here are plump, their juices falling out if not bitten into strategically.

The proprietor must have had people commenting on the subtle tastes of Mongolian food in the past, as she loads up each order with packets of soy sauce and Sriracha and calls the food a bit plain. While this can be the interpretation, there is still a lot of flavor to be enjoyed in the dumpling's meaty interior and juices, and the medium-thickness wrapper is supremely chewy and enjoyable.

Both the dumplings and the tsuivan ($20, above) are served with a side of baitsaanii salat, a simple salad of cabbage and carrots that is very mildly fermented. Vegetables do not play much of a roll in the diets of Mongolians, who live through much more winter than summer. The biggest difference between these noodles and other stir-fried dishes you may have tried is the lovely, springy noodles that have been made and cut right in front of your eyes.

While some items have been covered on the menu and are no longer available, other options include khushuur, fried dough with ground beef and/or potatoes inside, and guriltai shol, an intensely warming beef soup that also uses freshly knifed noodles. No matter what your order do not forget to eat your orange slices, a very typical dessert when eating in Mongolia.

🇲🇳🇲🇳🇲🇳

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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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[CLOSED] Tacos Al Vapor La Morena

MÉXICO 🇲🇽
(COLIMA)

EDITOR'S NOTE: This business has permanently closed. An updated version of this article (15 February 2025) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/tacos-al-vapor-la-morena-closed

The tiny state of Colima, halfway down the Pacific coast of México and basically a notch cut from the much more familiar (for Los Angeles, at least) Jalisco, has a small representation in southern California that is mostly focused on ceviches and cocteles. These quick window walk-up mariscos joints in South Central and Boyle Heights serve concoctions slightly different from their neighboring states, and always make sure to include "Colima" in their names.

Even though this last fact is not quite true here, a large "Estilo Tecomán Colima" is emblazoned on the truck's road-facing side just to let everyone know. Permanently stationed in front of an AutoZone on Central Avenue, they also focus on land-based meats and a style of cooking them with steam. Typically, the different meats found above the neck of a cow are popular ingredients for tacos al vapor, all long-steamed overnight in villages and enjoyed early in the morning by vendors with still-steaming metal pots.

Here in the northwest corner of Florence-Firestone, Tacos La Morena arrives at its location early in the morning with cuts of cabeza, lavio, and cachete. While often "cabeza" refers to cheeks at taqueros around town, the word means head and technically can be one of many parts or a mixture. Lavio is an alternate spelling of labio, meaning lips, and cachete is the actual cheek itself.

Come in the first few hours of opening and you may run into people from Tecomán or surrounding towns in Colima, filling up on tacos al vapor before a day of work. "Me hicieron recordad a mi rancho Tecomán Colima" one happy customer exclaims in his review, the flavors reminding him of his city.

No matter what meat you choose, tacos al vapor ($2 each, above and below) are the type that should not be expected super quickly, after ordering all the tortillas are pressed from masa and grilled fresh. This of course always makes such a difference, especially when the fillings are of such quality. The slow cooked meats like cabeza (above) are added to each tortilla and handed to a customer without any garnishment.

The rest you do yourself at a salsa bar of sorts, onions and cilantro, radishes and limes, and a selection of salsas are all ready to go in a cooler. They do a great job loading up each tortilla and for two bucks it is really a steal. The mixed meat cabeza is largely maciza but still quite fatty from all the good bits. Load these with some of their excellent green, red, or habanero salsas, or a combination. The proprietor may warn you about the heat in the latter if you do not appear to be Straight Outta Colima, but it is not all that bad.

A few hints on both sides of the truck might also lead to orders of tacos de birria de res ($2 each, above), which unlocks a small and completely free cup of consomé (below). Both the tacos and consomé are top notch, even if birria de res is probably not really a thing in Tecomán, the third largest city in Colima.

The bright red broth is full of meatiness if not actual meat, and its oily stains cover everything it comes into contact with. On a cold morning it is better than coffee.

One small cup is almost not enough, so larger cups ("basos" on their menu, above) are available for the full birria soup experience, loaded with plenty of meat and tendon. The small size is 16 ounces and $8, double that goes in a large for $12.

Another visit seemed almost mandatory after seeing so many customers with plates of tacos dorados de birria ($2.50, below), which seemed to be the go-to order once morning had finished. While probably not really a thing in Colima, this most Los Angeles of tacos is extremely well done here. Beef birria and the steamed beef head meats for tacos al vapor seem made for each other upon reflection.

Fresh tortillas are still made for these hard tacos, which definitely comes through in each crunchy bite. They are perfectly crispy on their exteriors, wrapping the juicy birria and a good helping of cheese. This comes oozing out the ends when served and the whole creation tastes even better than it looks.

Throw in their earthy red and green salsas for these tacos if you want, and a healthy squeeze of lime to cut through the richness. When each customer has their own plate of these, a row of bobbing heads makes it look like there is some good live music. But it is the tacos that create the melody here on Central Avenue.

📍 5858 S. Central Avenue, Florence-Firestone, South 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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[CLOSED] Mile End Café

CANADA 🇨🇦

EDITOR'S NOTE: This restaurant has closed permanently. An updated version of this article (12 February 2025) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/mile-end-cafe-montreal-closed-los-angeles

While most of the breakfast food consumed in this building over the past decade plus at now-shuttered Lulu's was most likely enjoyed well after noon, the new tenants have still constructed a menu that is very breakfast-forward. The first page is full of egg dishes, avocado toast, and much more importantly: Montréal bagel sandwiches. These bagels; smaller, more dense, and usually charred a little more than their thick New York City rivals, are shipped in weekly direct from St-Viateur, the Godfather of Montréal-style bagels.

The original St-Viateur is of course right in the heart of Mile End, a now hip and gentrified neighborhood in Montréal that has historically been home to much of the city's Jewish population. This brand new establishment takes Mile End as its name, as many restaurants around the world have, and brings another entry into the fold for formidable bagels in Los Angeles.

Luckily Mile End Café does not stick out like a sore thumb in its new neighborhood like Courage Bagels does in Virgil Village. This section of Miracle Mile and greater Fairfax have long been home to a thriving Jewish community and many similar businesses. The price of a meal here falls in line with most everything around it.

A Montréal bagel ($4.50, above) is available in plain, poppy seed, sesame, and everything. Add-ons like cream cheese (75 cents) and prosciutto ($5) join the likes of eggs, bacon, Montréal smoked meat, and salmon to be stuffed in between the halves. You can also select from a decent list of crafted sandwich choices.

While the rest of the menu is mostly Italian, with sandwiches, pastas, salads and even Roman pinsa available, there are a few other flashes of Montréal that are fun to enjoy here. First and foremost, it is wonderful to have a simple and pure version of poutine ($10, above) now in Los Angeles. Most chefs who offer the dish go over the top with extra ingredients and portion size, but here the focus is where it should be: squeeky cheese curds and a thin savory gravy.

The style is similar to the chicken chain St-Hubert, where your friends in Montréal will take you when visiting and in the mood for poutine. The fries are crisp and thin and never upstage the other two ingredients, layered nicely in between the potatoes as well. The amount is also more proper, by the time you finish you are not forcing in cold fries and gravy as is often the case at a restaurant that makes a giant flashy portion.

What probably will not fly in a city that would fight to the death to defend its Langer's pastrami is the Montréal smoked meat sandwich ($17, above). What it will succeed in though is bringing a comforting smile to the face of a transplanted Quebecer, the smoked meat may not be as fresh but is just like back home since like the bagels it is imported.

The thin slices of salted, cured brisket are full of spice (more peppercorn and garlic than less sugar) and slathered with yellow mustard unless you ask for it without. The rye bread is just ok unfortunately, a better loaf would definitely let this sandwich take off higher. The meat can also be added to the poutine, or better yet with bagels. That will certainly be the move on future visits.

📍 7149 Beverly Blvd., Fairfax, Central Los Angeles

🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

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!

VENMO: @JAREDCOHEE

CASH APP: $JaredCohee

PAYPAL: (no account necessary, use link)