Bizarra Capital, Whittier & Ricardo Diaz

Nopales Salad

Chef Ricardo Diaz is one of my favorite taco peeps. Not only is he a great cook, chef, etc., he is humble and seems very interested in doing affordable food for the people.

All 4 of his LA Mexi Food places are affordable and fresh.

For my birthday in June, I talked some friends into driving East for a delicious night of fun. Ricardo took over an old Sizzler and has turned it into a house of food, fun and Tequila.

Fabulously fresh Ceviche

Everyone was very impressed with the food. The service was great too.

Also in June, I made of point of finally getting to Cook's Tortas. I think they only have one taco, but the tortas are so amazing it takes you about 20 min. just to figure out which one to have.

Cook's Torta's

Check out our video of the night and also do yourself a favor and visit all of his restaurants! Whatever he is up to, Ricardo is a man of the TACO. ox



TACOTECA

COLONIA TACOS

COOK'S TORTAS

BIZARRA CAPITAL

Bäco Mercat and Jose Centeno. A Baco IS a Taco.

I am a huge fan of the Lazy Ox in Dowtown, Los Angeles. When I read an article about a sandwich that the chef had invented at his new restaurant, I had to go.

Chef Joseph Centeno is a genius in my book. And yeah, he's handsome too!

The 'Baco' is a cross between a Pita and a Taco. Centeno makes his own pita-style bread, lays it flat, fills the middle with impossibly fantastic ingredients: pork belly, fava beans, oxtail, meatballs and then folds it in half like a taco.

GENIUS I tells ya.

The menu is filled with other fabulous items such as beet/burrata salad with grapefruit, grilled okra, flatbread pizza and bazole soup (served hot or cold) which is sort of like Pho. Delicious.

The bar doles out specialty cocktails made from their own fruit/vinegar/sugar concoctions such as Persimmon, Blood Orange and Chile Lime. They also have an excellent and affordable beer and wine selection.

The dessert menu includes an amazing open-face cannoli and a semifreddo tiramisu-like bowl of chocolate-dusted heaven.

My favorite drink was the Nacho Vidal (tequila, campari and chile-lime infusion.) They named it after a porn star (go on, google him) who happened to be sitting at the bar the night they invented it.

Best of all, the service is supreme. Some of the nicest young adults in town labor to make your experience memorable and likely to be repeated. We love you Travis!

On Tuesday nights they currently have a 'spaghetti and meatball' night. After eating there on a Saturday, I rushed back on Tuesday and I was not disappointed. Perfectly cooked spaghetti with oval shaped balls of meat and a tangy but not too sweet tomato sauce. Comes with a Ceasar Salad and dessert.

Fabulous! Thank you Joseph. Keep up the good work.

PS. Mercat means 'market' in Catalonia. Baco means several things (a lunar crater, the Celtic God of the Boar, 'ay man' in Spanish) but for this use, I believe it may just be made up.

Don't worry about how to spell it or pronounce it (rhymes with taco?) Just go eat one.

Baco Mercat
408 S. Main St.
Los Angeles
www.bacomercat.com