MEXICAN CUISINE IN LA: CELEBRATING ALL YEAR LONG
By Steve Coulter
For dineLA.com
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When it comes to food, the name Salisbury probably conjures images of frozen hamburger steaks smothered in brown gravy — unless you’re from LA. Here it’s synonymous with the authentic tamales, enchiladas and nachos El Cholo restaurant has been serving for the past 85 years.
“My great-grandparents founded El Cholo in 1923, and it’s been passed down through the generations since then,” said Blair Salisbury, who opened an independently operated El Cholo in Pasadena eight years ago.
These days Salisbury is opening his second El Cholo in Santa Clarita, and has created the budding Dona Rosa taqueria chain. Although the menu is similar to mass-market restaurants like Rubio’s, Dona Rosa offers something the competition doesn’t — fresh tortillas from an onsite bakery.
To see the basic ingredients for Salisbury’s success, start with the traditional Mexican dishes still being served at the original El Cholo restaurant on Western Avenue. Some of their most commanding comidas include the gooey Sonora-style enchiladas, light and tangy chicken tostadita, and a simply perfect quesadilla with handmade flour tortillas.
Of course, no El Cholo dining experience would be complete without a chilly margarita to wash it all down. While all five locations offer a variety of specialty cocktails, the Pasadena store boasts more than 200 kinds of tequila alone. “We make our own margarita mix from scratch, so we try to be careful about creating the right balance between sweet and sour,” Salisbury said.
Another popular Mexican watering hole is El Carmen on West Third Street. Only a stone’s throw from The Grove and the Farmers Market at Third and Fairfax, this dark and cozy cantina looks like the offspring of kitschy-cool El Coyote on Beverly Boulevard. Visit El Carmen for the watermelon, pineapple or cactus margaritas, but soak up all that Sauza with flavorful, deep-fried flautas.
If you prefer authentic south-of-the-border fare to “eating the worm,” Guelaguetza serves exceptional Oaxacan cuisine at four locations around LA. Praise has been heaped on their tamales, but it’s the chicken smothered in decadent black mole sauce that keeps the crowds coming back.
Sometimes the best Mexican food is the kind you eat with your hands, and LA boasts just about every kind of taco and burrito known to man. Don’t believe me? Head over to Oki-Dog and dig into one of their infamous chili cheese dog burritos.
Should you survive that right of passage, head east and sample the deep-fried, Baja-style fish tacos that put Silverlake’s El Siete Mares on the map. While there, stop in at nearby Malo and dip a chewy chip into their dreamy creamy habenero salsa, or try a funky ground beef and pickle taco from this hipster hang. Then head west to Sky’s Gourmet Tacos where the specialties of the house include shrimp tacos in “sassy sauce,” carnitas burritos and to-die-for tortas.
From there make your way to the South Bay where the surf meets the salsa at popular rooftop patios like El Gringo in Hermosa Beach and El Tarasco in Manhattan Beach. Here you’ll sip bottled beer side-by-side with tattooed surf punks as you watch the sun set on another perfect Mexican meal — whether it’s May 5th or December 31st.
El Carmen, 8138 W. Third St., Los Angeles, 323.852.1552
El Cholo Restaurant, 1121 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles, 323.734.2773
El Cholo Restaurant, 958 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, 626.441.4353
El Coyote, 7312 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, 323.939.2255
El Gringo, 2620 Hermosa Ave., Hermosa Beach, 310.376.1381
El Siete Mares, 3131 W Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, 323.665.0865
El Tarasco, 316 Rosecrans Ave., Manhattan Beach, 310.545.4241
Dona Rosa Bakery & Taqueria, 577 S. Arroyo Pkwy, Pasadena, 626.449.2999
Guelaguetza, 3337 1/2 W. 8th St., Los Angeles, 213.427.0601
Malo Cantina, 4326 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, 323.664.1011
Oki-Dog, 5056 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, 323.938.4369
Sky’s Tacos, 5408 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, 323.932.6253
