La Taquiza No. 2

On Memorial Day my neighbor, Carlos and I decided to grab lunch at La Taquiza No 2. No 1 is in South Gate by Downey. For a change No 2 is more popular than No 1 but that’s just because it’s near USC where students can grab good, cheap Mexican food. By the way, they're starting their delivery service soon. I figured I could grab good Mexican food and check out my church’s new DT service location.

La Taquiza is home of the Mulitas. Mulitas is basically like a sandwich but with corn tortillas instead of bread. I found out after I check into Foursquare (if it’s your first visit there, you get a free mulita…a good reason to check in first and not when you’re finishing your meal)…even though it says it on the building. I’m really bad with foreign words…I have a tendency to read only what I know, and tacos are what I know and that’s what we ordered. They have a pretty extensive menu.

You order at the counter, and they call out the items when they’re done.

As you wait, you can mosey over to the salsa/toppings bar and grab some marinated vegetables and salsas. No limes, only lemons.

The chips and guacamole were the first to come out. Their guacamole could use more salt but I was pleased that it had enough lemon juice. Chips are slightly greasy—nothing special.

Then the carne asada, al pastor and pollo tacos came out.

The carne asada was dry. It was probably the worst one out of all the tacos we ate.

The al pastor was good—flavorful and not dry. This was my 2nd favorite taco.

The pollo was our favorite. It was juicy and had a nice smoky flavor to it. The next time I’m coming here, I’m just going to get pollo , well maybe the al pastor too.

The chorizo was interesting. The texture was a bit crunchy. Carlos hated it. I wasn’t expecting to look like this…

The short ribs…well let’s just say the Koreans can do Mexican but Mexican’t do Koreans.

Our last taco, the Ensenada fish was ok. They battered heavily but the filet was soft and meaty.

Carlos and I were stuffed but how could we refuse free food? We went with pollo for the mulita. It was pretty tasty but it’s just like a quesadilla…

Yum!

The next time I’m here, I’m going to get an al pastor taco and a pollo mulita.

Address: 3009 S Figueroa St, LA, CA 90007
Phone#: (213) 741-9795
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The Flying Pig

The Flying Pig is one of my new favorite food trucks. Joe and James, the chefs, are formerly trained at the Le Cordon Bleu. I’m finally trying to familiarize myself with ze names of chefs, owners, etc. One would think it comes easy for me since I have to know writers, directors, actors, agents, etc for my job, but it’s overwhelming to remember everyone’s damn names. The Flying Pig is not a new food truck; there are too many trucks to stalk.

The marinated cucumbers and onions and the sauce made the braised pork belly buns delicious!

The beef slider was my favorite. I think it’s all about marinated cucumbers and sauce.

On the other hand, the grilled beef short rib soft taco didn’t do it for me. The sauce was bit saucy and just didn’t go well.

Their smoked chicken soft taco is the best chicken taco that I’ve had out of the gourmet food trucks. I liked the napa slaw and green curry that came with it.

The crunchy tofu bun was ok.

I hope they have their pig fries the next time I stalk them…which will be very soon!

Stalk em here!
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Minty's Silverlake Fish Taco Crawl

It didn’t take long for me to decide to go on the Minty’s Silverlake Fish Crawl last Sunday since I live nearby, and she only had five taco stands on her list…now if she had seven taco stands…To ensure that I could finish the crawl, I biked it. Most of the taco stands were not more than a mile a part.

The Best Fish Taco in Ensenada was our first stop. I go here when I’m indecisive since they only offer fish or shrimp taco. I am allergic to shrimp. The kitchen is right in front of you with two deep fryers.

Their drinks list is a short list as well. The horchata too sweet for me, and they use brown rice. I prefer their jimica –sweet but it’s not like drinking a sugar cane. Here’s a picture of their toppings bar.

There’s indoor seating but when it’s warm the patio is the place to be. If they just serve margarita it would be like you’re in Ensenada, Mexico.

I am told traditional fish tacos from Ensenada are deep-fried topped with cabbage and salsa on a corn tortilla. Their fish taco is ok. I can’t really complain since it’s only a buck. Shrimp tacos are two bucks.

Ricky’s Fish Tacos was our next spot. Ricky’s is located at Sunset Junction in the “cactus” garden. My first time at Ricky’s was a nightmare. I vouched not to go again…but then since it was on Minty’s list…WOW, what an improvement! Orders are processed much faster since they give you a number when you ordered now; it also helped that he had two helpers. They had two propanes this time so there was no mixing of the shrimp with the fish. The only thing that was missing was the lime. Oh you have to follow Ricky on Twitter to know his hours.

The drink stand is a new thing too. They offered two aqua frescas..

One was some kind of passion fruit…

The other was some kind of orange fresca…

I went with the Passion fruit and it beat the jimaca.

The fish taco tasted much better this time around. It’s amazing how your mood affects the taste of the food...their fish taco was the most expensive - $2.50 but so worth it!

Tacos Delta was our 3rd stop.

There’s an outdoor patio in the back.

There fish taco came with lettuce instead of cabbage. It cost $2.25.

It was too battered for me –like a Van de Kamp’s fish stick.

Our fourth stop was El 7 Mares.



Out of the five stops, this was the only one that has a parking lot.

Their fish taco was the lightest one out of the fried ones. I was surprised that it costs $2.29. I used to live across the street in '98, and I think it used to cost a buck? But then again, the studio cost $400 at the time and it now costs $900/month?

Las Glorias Del Buen Corner was the finale. Their fish tacos are grilled instead of fried like the others. The wait was the longest –yeah, longer than Ricky’s. Fish taco costs $2.25.





I had ordered a fish taco…but instead they gave me a shrimp taco. I took a bite on the verge of swallowing it until I saw the shrimp! Ah!!!!! I just started spitting everything out of my mouth and made a mad dash to outside where I would I rinse my mouth. I don’t know why I didn’t noticed the shrimp earlier…I took several pictures of it too…I guess the orange onxy through me off …

I felt terrible for the poor fella who sat in front of me and had to witness my meal coming out…hmm…yum. Needless to say I didn’t like their fish taco... What a way to end the fish crawl!

So here’s my vote of the best fish taco stands in order:

1) Ricky’s Fish Tacos
4006 Santa Monica Blvdl, LA, CA 90029
Stalk here

2)Best Fish Tacos in Ensenada
Hillhurst Ave, LA, CA 90027
(323) 466-5552

3) El 7 Mares
3131 W Sunset Blvd, LA, CA 90026
(323) 665-0865

4) Tacos Delta
3806 W Sunset Blvd, LA, CA 90026
(323) 664-2848

5) Las Glorias Del Buen Corner
620 Silver Lake Blvd, LA, CA 90026
(213) 484-9090

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LA FuXion

What make LA FuXion unique from the other KBBQ food trucks are their tuna tostados. They are addicting. The sauce is not spicy but sweet. I almost want to say there’s mango in the sauce? They're a little bit on the pricy side--$3 for one tuna tostado, so best to do the combo meal: 2 tostados, 1 side and a drink for $8.

For the sides, definitely do not order their Asian sweet potato fries. Like it says on the menu, the fries are “Asian,” and that means they’re not fried and crispy, but fried and soggy.

I’ve only had their short rib tacos, and they’re not bad. It just makes sense when the cooks are Korean. But you really come to LA FuXion for their tuna tostados.

Service was off last Friday. For some reason three other people, who ordered cooked food after me, got their food before I got my raw food...

On Friday, April 23rd they will have a permanent location in the evening at 4430 W. Pico Blvd., LA, CA 90019 so for now…

Stalk ‘em here!
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Plancha: A Taco Joint

Returning to the office last week from a long….doctor’s visit, I checked out Plancha: A Taco Joint. I read that the owner used to work at Poquito Mas as an cashier. It’s in a strip mall and parking space is scarce, but in the evening it should be fine since most of the businesses close around 6. Set up is like Poquito Mas, Chipotle, etc –counter service, no table service. I went for their 3 for $5 street tacos and tried each meat: grilled steak, chicken and al pastor.

I’m not going to order the grilled steak again as it was very dry. The al pastor was not bad, but my favorite was the chicken.

The chicken was shredded and seasoned just right. I also ordered the fresh fish taco. This taco is perfect for those watching their carb intake. Instead of corn tortillas, the grilled tilapia is wrapped in butter lettuce served with guacamole and chipotle cream sauce.

However, it was disappointing…the taco lacked flavor. I think they should marinate the tilapia with lemon and black pepper. Their chips aren’t bad. I thought it was interesting that they used a lot of red onion in their salsa…

I’ll be back for their chicken taco!

Address: 8250 West 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90048
Phone#; (323) 951-9911
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