La Cevicheria

 

I came back to LA for about 3 days in February, mostly to buy and bring back stuff I needed for the new cafe I was opening. It was all Walmart, Target and Trader Joe's and a few quick family visits.

I didn't have time to check out the new places people are buzzing about. Cortez was on my list and also Tacos Punta Cabras.

Luckily, my friend Justin, insisted that we catch up over ceviche. I had tried to go there many times as the Taco Maven and it was freakish how they were always unexpectedly closed (power out, kitchen flood, somebody's bday) every time I tried.

 

Well. I finally made it there and I really enjoyed the soup. The taco was fine, but I'm living in Baja now and have become spoiled. A good taco, a fresh taco, a clean taco, but nothing to write home about or get an endorphin rush from.

But the soup. OMG Magee. That was insane. There are several options for broth flavor and I forget which one we actually had but I could have eaten 3 bowls of it. There it is pictured above in all it's rich broth and seafood glory. Lots of garlic too. Hello CRACK.

It's a very kid friendly place too with simple burritos, quesadillas etc. I enjoyed the ceviche, but it was the SOUP SOPA CALDO etc. that really floated my boat.

I come back in April for 4 days, two of them in Ojai celebrating my mother's 70th birthday, but I will find a way to squeeze in a few more tacos OR ELSE.

ox

Greetings from the Taco Maven!

Hello Fellow Taco Lovers,

Just a quick hello from TM, still living down in Baja and eating tacos in the tiny town of Todos Santos. Haven't tried too many new tacos in the last few months, hence the lack of blogging.

One of the reasons I haven't tried too many new tacos is because I got a rare opportunity to open a restaurant down in Baja. A taco stand? Not quite. I couldn't even begin to compete with the authenticity down here and so I opened a tiny Bistro for healthy creative food. The kind local Americans have trouble finding when they want something more than a fish taco!

Our salad Nicoise is very popular.

 

I did do a fun taco special with a crispy ground turkey gringo taco. Iceberg lettuce and everything.

Check out our menu at www.bistromagico.com

:) ox the Taco Maven

 

El Borrego Viudo, Taqueria in Mexico City

Mexico City is an AMAZING taco city.

The master of all Latin Food bloggers, Bill Esparza, has a BLOG full of info about eating there.

I tend to stick to the trendy areas of La Condesa and La Roma. Super hip.

I was taken by a couple of awesome taco superfreaks to a DRIVE-IN taco spot.



It was crazy delicious and crazy fun. If you visit, you must put this place on your list. Maybe taxis go there too, I don't really know.

Baja Taco Roundup!

I have been down in Baja now for almost a month. I have some fun work down here and I'm getting a chance to perform in a play about the end of the world and sing songs in Spanish.

It feels weird to not be on top of the LA Taco Scene but I know there a tons of people who are on that so my allegiance is always to the taco, not the city I happen to be eating the taco in.

If I were in LA. I'd have already tried the amazing tacos at Handsome Roasters that everyone is talking about. Read about them HERE and then go try them for me. Pretty please.

Chef Wesley Avila's Taco Pop Up Locations
Wednesdays 5 to 8 pm at Handsome Coffee Roasters
Breakfast Tacos, Fridays starting at 9 am at Handsome Coffee Roasters
Breakfast and lunch, Saturdays at Dulce Pop Espresso Bar, 9 am to 2 pm.
twitter.com/wes_avila

Meanwhile, down at the tip of the Baja Peninsula, I am eating some solid tacos. Nothing revolutionary, this is simple peasant food, but SOLID.

As always you can follow my Baja Adventures at www.bajahouse.blogspot.com

CHILAKOS - Todos Santos, BCS - You can't miss this place. They have been there FOREVER and are a few blocks past Hotel California. Crispy grilled carne asada and a great chicken torta. Nice people. Prices stay low. Sit on the street and watch the people go by.

 

TACOS SINALOENSE - Todos Santos, BCS - Around the back side of town is a paved road meant for trucks only. It's a bypass so big trucks don't have to disturb tourists or stop for a million stop signs. Some VERY good eating up there. People love Compa Chava for it's ceviche, but the best fish and shrimp tacos are at this place. Clean, friendly, excellent roasted house salsa and chipotle cream plus all the other fixins. Their batter is perfectly flavored, perfectly crispy and perfectly light. How do they do it????

 

 

TODOS TACOS - Todos Santos, BCS - These nice gals took over the little wooden plywood house that used to be Tres Hermanos. The old man who ran that place is not doing well but these Guisados tacos are very tasty. They might be the only Guisados tacos in the whole town. Very humble, simple but incredibly flavorful. They are on the side street near the Banomex Bank. (I think...) If not that side street than the next one over. It's a small town, you will see them!

 

San Diego Tacos

lamb head, lamb heads, roly poly lamb heads.

San Diego is it's own special taco mecca. Perhaps because of it's proximity to the border.

It's too big an area to tackle in one outing, but I did eat some fun tacos while vacationing in Coronado for a few days.

I finally made it to Aqui es Texcoco. Bill Esparza told me about it and it's been on my list for a while. The guys there are pretty hilarious and the tacos were declicious. They specialize in lamb barbacoa aka bbq lamb (borrego en espanol.) You can have it all sorts of ways. They even make a middle eastern pita bread taco with dill-yogurt sauce.

Def. worth a visit.

On the way there I totally got lost because another place opened, prob trying to ride Texcoco's coatails. The are called Asi es Jalisco. They have birria, but the goat variety. Once I realized I was lost, I felt bad not ordering anything so I got some rolled tacos. They were a little too oily and too chewy but I liked the filling. Who knows, maybe their birria is the bomb.

Coronado doesn't really have too many good choices for Mexican. American is the way to go there with gourmet hot dogs and several vintage diners. But I did stumble on some edible tacos at Clayton's Mexican To Go.

It's just a little window next to the diner of the same name, but they have tons of choices for tacos and burritos and I really enjoyed the shrimp and the ground beef. The tortillas had a nice consistency and never got soggy.

Top of my list for next time is a WAY trendy place called The Carnitas Snack Shack. It's just over the bridge from Coronado in North Park on University Blvd. DANG that place looks good but I just couldn't bust a move over there as I was stressed getting ready to drive down the Baja Peninsula again. But check out this pic from their website! Sheesh.