Tacos Los Gordos

(Pictured Right: Tacos de Asada, Adobada, Cabeza and Suadero!)

12633 Lakewood Blvd, Downey, CA 90242
(562) 622-2400
Orange Bang for everyone!

A grand opening that turned out to be a grand opening!

I've been driving through the area where this new restaurant is located lately. Heavy construction on the streets would slow me down, allowing me time to notice this little place growing from the ground up. With signs promising "Tijuana Style" tacos, I was more than anxious to see what they would offer. In short, we were not disappointed, and look forward to many more visits. Read on to see what made it so fantastic.

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Meat

There is a great variety available for the meats, raging from the typical asada, to a suadero meat, which is not unlike a beef version of carnitas (fried pork), to buche, better known as pork stomach -- yes, stomach. Try it sometime with carnitas!

The asada was soft and very tender, like a good slow cooked steak. Initially I considered it to be plain, though. However as I continued through the taco, I found myself wanting another bite again and again. Slowly addictive in nature, I was pleasantly surprised with what seemed to be a plain meat from the get-go.

The cabeza was forgettable, in short. Not very good, and pretty fatty. The meat is hard to create, so they get the 'A for effort', but execution was lacking.

The suadero is a meat that's not commonly served, but very glad it's an option here. The chefs know what they're doing. A beef version of carnitas, it was salty, but not too salty, and flavorful and meaty. I found this meat an even better follow-up to the asada, and was pleasantly surprised. Truly something special here.

The adobada, however, was what took the cake! The meat was juicy, chunky, sweet and flavorful, cooked as it should be on the spit with its pineapple on top (see picture below), and each taco order cut freshly, not gathered from a metal bin holding meat cooked earlier in the day. I stop short of saying this is the best adobada, only because I've had the best, but that awaits another review...

Asada: 8.5/10

Cabeza: 5/10

Suadero: 9/10

Adobada: 9.5/10

Score: 8/10, which is a shame, only because the overall score was brought down by the cabeza, but that's the way this game is played...

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Tortilla

The review is split here, only because of a curious happening. The asada tacos, as well as the mulas and quesadillas at the restaurant all get fresh, hand-made tortillas, made at time of order. Everything else gets tortillas FROM A BAG, however its hard to tell if they were made here earlier, or store bought. Regardless, the discrimination in this tortilla choice is heart breaking, since the hand made ones are nice, thin and sturdy, as any tacos 'estilo Tijuana' should have.

Score: 8/10, for the great tortillas, and the mysterious bagged fellows....

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Toppings

This is what makes the taco live up to its promise! Toppings consist of red salsa and a spat of guacamole sauce. Both were good, fresh, and complimented the taco perfectly. Authentic as you can get! Simple, delicious, and gets the job done.

Score: 10/10, just like south of the border

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"After-effects"

None to speak of. Tacos were not overly greasy, nor were they fatty. All the meats were lean, which caused little to no discomfort later on. Very pleasant after-taste.

Score: 10/10

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Bottom line, the tacos had a lot to live up to, given that tacos from south of the border are typically hard to duplicate anywhere else, for whatever reason. To be able to not only pride yourself on the style of taco from Baja Mexico, but to make it delicious is impressive, particularly more so since this restaurant is in the urban jungle. I can't say enough of how tasty the tacos were, and the fact that of all the places I've reviewed, this is the one I'm most anxious to return to.

Bonus Points: (+2) For having all-you-can-drink Orange Bang, Jamaica and soda! Any places that serves Orange Bang nowadays charges per refill...
Price: $1.75 / taco, $1.49 for all you can drink beverages 
Wait time: 0-5 minutes
Distance (from downtown): 20-25 minutes outside of rush hour

Total Score: 38/40

What I would order next time: Two and two of suadero and adobado, with an Orange Bang on the side!!!

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(UPDATED) Mango Mango!

(Pictured Left: Tacos de Asada with rice, beans and pico de gallo)

Somewhere in Ensenada....
South of the Border for this one!

An overdue review, but a good one.

On my quest to solve the mystery of the best tacos, we need sometimes look further than our own backyard. This review takes us to Ensenada in Baja California, Mexico, the motherland for the tacos! We only had a couple of hours, and while we would've loved to explore all of the taco carts and hole in the wall spots the town has to offer in the "real" parts of the city, we were limited on time and so figured we might as well try out one of the tourist spots since that's where you would probably eat anyway!

Refusing to settle for Papas and Beer (c'mon Mr. Pappas, we go for the beer, not the tacos or the Pappas), we encountered a restaurant right across the street which was just as loud as Papa's, but not because of the music but the people in and around it. From drunk folk hanging out the 2nd floor windows to the break dancers out in front, something was inviting of Mango Mango amidst all of the tourist traps. In we settled, and two buckets of beer and a healthy helping of meat and tortillas later, we left happy 'Manguitos'!

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Meat

The meat was plain and simple -- asada. Juicy, marinated and tender, the meat showed no signs of loss of quality for being from Baja. No fat to be found on them and chopped into thick cubes that gave you something to definitely chew on with every bite. Not the absolute best asada ever, but damn close!

Asada: 9.5/10

Score: 9.5/10, just to leave room to find the 'perfect' asada just yet...

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Tortilla

Tortillas were excellent, being as homestyle and fresh as possible. These tortillas were thick on the corn ingredients as is very visible from the rough edges all the way around, and the rigidness of the disc which exemplifies lack of flour or lard fillers. This is as authentic and original as it gets, and while it might not be for everyone, they were the perfect match for the meat.

Score: 8.5/10, for yet another tortilla that suffers from falling apart too easily.

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Toppings

None to speak of here! They were served with tasty sides of rice, beans and pico de gallo, but none of them really shined, with any of the three being average at best. Would've gone much better with a side of guacamole, which was being made table-side, but we neglected to get any. Maybe next time...

Score: 7/10. Just like in class when a 70% is a C, so the 7 is average here.

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"After-effects"

None really to speak of, which is remarkable for exposing the stomach to potential perils of different sources of meat and grains. Amazingly we adjusted quite nicely and felt no ill effects.

Score: 10/10, for leaving us with no regrets for eating in a tourist trap in Mexico, of all places!

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Bottom line, the tacos were something quite unexpected since we went in with low hopes for the unassuming Mango Mango. Definitely worth the visit again for getting some good food when in Ensenada that you can count on, but only to be passed up in order to try some of the small taco carts which roam the city. I'll definitely eat at a smaller place next time, instead of getting toasted and sneaking a 6 pack of Sol down at the local Starbucks.

Bonus Points: (+1) For serving beer not by the single, but in buckets of 10!
Negative Points: (-3) For only having one type of meat to offer (Explanation below)
Price: $6.75 / 3 tacos (if I recall correctly), $30 for bucket of 10 beers, XX or Sol
Wait time: 15-25 minutes
Distance (from downtown): In the heart of it, across from Papa's and Beer

Total Score: 33/40

What I would order next time: Two plates of tacos with a side of guacamole and a bucket of Sol! (And hopefully some variations on meats)

Update: Thinking further on the review, it seems I overlooked a couple of things, and may not have been entirely clear. For one, while the tacos were very solid for just being asada tacos, and damn good at that, but it seems that the review may be too high for a taco that was so 'plain'.

There was nothing wrong with the taco itself, but it sure could have benefited from more and having more effort as far as toppings were concerned, since there really were none. Further, it does seem somewhat unfair to rate this higher or equal to other restaurants, when these were just solid, but nothing truly special or out of the ordinary. For that reason, I'm updating the final review to reflect a (-3) on overall points for the lack of variety and choice. Perhaps their menu should be expanded to offer more. This does not, however, take away from the asada itself being a 9.5, so if you're happy with JUST the asada, you'll have no qualms. Otherwise, there really should be more!

El Parian

(Pictured Right: Tacos de Asada, Carnitas and Birria with bowl of chips)

1528 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 386-7361

Open 8a-10p daily
Downtown Tacos!

I got it on good word that I needed to try the tacos here, so I rushed over on my lunch hour to try out the tacos where you can see both Diego Rivera prints and George Washington in Masonic regalia on the walls.

Significantly easier than I thought it would be to find, this place is a perfect example of a hole-in-the-wall. From the street, it doesn't even look like its open. Parking is plenty in the rear though, as it shares a lot with the adjoining businesses. The lunch time crowd was pretty diverse, ranging from locals to what appeared to be an office gathering from nearby USC. The main thing you'll notice is that the kitchen is right at the front door -- no missing out on any of the good stuff!

Friendly staff waited on us, and promptly brought out chips and salsa. Salsa was good, and chips were typical of what you would get with cheese nachos. The salsa was just a little spicy, but very tasty. Jarritos are on the menu! I went for piña this time around.

There are only three meats on the menu here - asada, carnitas and birria. We each got one taco of each meat and dove in from there!

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Meat

The thing you'll notice straight away is the sheer amount of meat on the tacos. There was easily enough meat on each one for two tacos, which should be taken into consideration. These tacos are good-sized tacos as well, bigger than what you'll normally find, so unless you're feeling particularly starved, you will be good with either 2 or 3 tacos total.

First meat up was the asada, which was pretty good. It was extremely tender which is a sign of excellent cooking, however it suffered from a lack of flavor. Not that it was terrible by any means, but it certainly wasn't something to write home about. Slightly above average though, really.

Next were the carnitas, and oh mannnn was I in hog heaven (haha)! Super-tender, they melted with each bite, which is hard to do for such a stringy meat. My only suggestion, which is very slight, is that I wouldn't mind if the meat had been just a little less salty. If not for that, they would have been absolutely perfect, and rivaled anything I've tasted in Mexico. For those that prefer their carnitas saltier than the typical, this may be your spot to go, but in my opinion, they could've done with slightly less.

Last was the birria, and here I was conflicted and ultimately disappointed. My first bite left me quite puzzled, as the meat was just lacking flavor. As in, there was nothing to it. It was very noticeable that this meat lacks the salsa which is typically served with birria. For the uninitiated, birria is goat meat, and man...it was soft, which is a GREAT sign of cooking the meat well, but I just found nothing in the taco that did it for me. By the second bite, I stopped eating the taco and left it on my plate. I felt as though I were eating meat just to eat at that point. Perhaps with the salsa the birria would have been better, but for now, I just saw no point in eating this particular taco.

Asada: 8/10
Carnitas: 9/10
Birria: 6/10

Score: 7.5/10, which after consideration, is really just about right.

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Tortilla

Tortillas were pretty damn good, actually. Hand made as well (why can't more places do this), they were heavy on the corn, which is much more authentic to the traditional style. Downside to this though, was that they fell apart easily, which happens to be a pet peeve of mine. They also double-bagged the tacos (2 tortillas to each taco), which made them thicker, and lends itself perfectly to forming 2 tacos out of 1. If you don't split the taco, there's so much meat in there that its bound to fall apart and get messy.

Score: 8.5/10, for falling apart too easily =(

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Toppings

The topping here was a welcome change of pace, with "pico de gallo", which is diced tomatoes, onion, salt, pepper and cilantro, and depending on the recipe, will incorporate some sort of spice or jalapeño. Here, it was a good complement, although I would've liked to have had more put on each taco, as the pico was pretty tasty. The one knock I had against it was that it didn't taste very fresh or cool, which leads me to believe that large batches are made early in the morning and sit in the kitchen instead of a fridge, allowing it to warm up, which sucks for salsa. Ask for extra if you care for a good amount of salsa on the taco. We ended up dumping some of the chip salsa on the tacos to make up for lack of pico de gallo.

Score: 7/10

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"After-effects"

I went away pretty pleasantly satisfied, but due to the large amount of meat in each taco, I felt a bit bloated, but only because of the amount I ate. I wasn't expecting that much in each taco, so after ordering 3, I felt fine, just slightly heavy from the mass of food sitting in my stomach.

Score: 9/10, just as a personal experience to remember next time to only eat 2.

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Bottom line, is that perhaps I shouldn't have listened to the hype as much, because that may be what's leading me to undervalue the tacos here. Granted, I'm not dissatisfied, but I also can't help the feeling inside of me that the tacos could have been much better with a few slight changes, or that maybe I caught it at a wrong time. I was a bit annoyed that I found myself constantly reaching over for more and more napkins, quickly making a mess on my plate. Either way, I'll emphasize that they were NOT bad, but only that I was expecting a bit more. From now on, no more buying into hype -- it only taints my experience which I'm trying to make as completely objective as possible for anyone else reading.

Bonus Points: (+1) For having every flavor of Jarritos available to order!
Price: $2.75 / taco, $1.75 for bottle of Jarritos
Wait time: 10-15 minutes
Distance (from downtown): 5-10 minutes by street from anywhere in downtown, depending on traffic

Total Score: 32/40

What I would order next time: One and one of asada and carnitas, with EXTRA pico de gallo!


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Super Tacos Culiacan

(Pictured Left: Taco de Cabeza along with a bottle of Jarritos of the Toronja, or grapefruit, flavor)

8505 Rosecrans Ave, Paramount, CA 90723
562-531-7088

9a-9p, except Sundays which are 9a-7p
Our first review!

The journey begins in the city of Paramount, just West of the intersection for the 605 and 105 freeways.

This humble hole-in-the-wall with friendly and bilingual staff is located in a shopping center on the corner of the intersection. Parking is CRAMPED and difficult to say the least. It wasn't hard though finding the restaurant coming from the highway.

The entire "venue" has seating for about 12 people, and you'll be greeted by the staff who will take your order before you are seated. The menu covers standard fare such as tacos, burritos, and tamales which we were told are definitely worth having. Perhaps next time...

There were no 'carnitas' available at this location, and the chicken was not on the menu today, so we instead added 'cabeza' to the order to judge.

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Meat

We were pleasantly surprised in all of the meats in that they were very lean with only trace amounts of fat to be found anywhere, which is always a great sign on a taco (the less grizzle, the better). It's impossible to get all of the fat off the meat due to the manner that taco meats are prepared, so the fact that they were not greasy or fatty was certainly a highlight.

The al pastor/adobada lacked flavor. It wasn't terrible by any means, but certainly nothing to order again. In what seemed to be their attempt to have a subtle taste to the meat, it left me wanting more. At the same time, being disappointed by the al pastor/adobada which was underwhelming made me that much more pleased with the the asada. This meat tasted just like freshly cooked steak at a barbeque. The asada was tender, flavorful, and reminded me of so many summers past, relaxing in a backyard somewhere while getting meat cooked on the spot with family. Definitely a winner.

The take-home from this place though was certainly the 'cabeza'. If done wrong, cabeza can come out fatty and salty. Whoever crafted this fine meat, however, knew what they were doing. The flavor was just right; In this case, subtlety working out in its favor, as proper cabeza should. The texture was perfection, with every additional bite letting more meat melt once it hits your tongue. If you are a fan, this is THE place to head! I dare say it was the best taco on our plate overall.

Al Pastor: 5/10
Asada: 9/10
Cabeza: 10/10

Score: 8/10, both for the chicken being off the menu at the time we went, and the drastically disappointing al pastor, especially when compared to the other excellent meats.

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Tortilla

Most places will use store-bought tortillas, which are noticeably older and lower quality than hand-made. Here, they made no bones about their tortillas being fresh and hand-made, which were the main reason we waited a few minutes for our food even with only one other person in the restaurant.

The tortillas had zero trace of grease or lard on them, so we appreciated that greatly. They were doughy enough to have substance, and without falling into pieces at the mere sight of the meat. After eating so many tacos, when you have them somewhere where 'oil' is not a main ingredient, its as welcome a reprieve as you'll get.

Score: 9/10. They were just about as good as it gets, although not quite "perfect".

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Toppings

These were simple and expected, consisting of diced onions and cilantro. Not being a fan of the red/green sauces that are normally used, I was very pleased with their offering. I would have no qualms recommending these sauces to others who typically disdain the sauces as well, since these were nowhere near being overwhelming, and did their job -- they added some kick to the food without killing all of the flavor.

The green sauce was especially pleasing, since it added flavor to each bite instead of scorching your mouth. The red was a bit too salty, although still tasty. They also used the sauces appropriately, with the different flavors on different types of meat. This is the sign of a cook that cares about the food they're providing and its taste, not one that rushes out plates to fill another order. There was also the "sides" cart in the seating area which had sliced radishes, pickled onion strings and carrots, which I was told were quite tasty.

Score: 9/10

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"After-effects"

VERY happy that I went home being satisfied without the feeling of food swelling in my stomach, or the hot sauce eating away at my linings. I did feel a slight bit of heartburn and could even go for a Tums right now, but this nothing out of the ordinary as eating anywhere where food is served with some spice to it. In general, reviews on after-effects should be scored highly. This section will only ever outline strange occurrences....

Score: 9/10, if only because I wouldn't turn down a Pepcid AC at this point, but don't need to go out of my way for one.

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Bottom line, this place makes a great taco. The fact that its lined by other stores such as a check cashing store, donuts and a nail salon only adds to the stereotype of it being one of the many excellent, hidden taco spots in LA. The wait wasn't long or terrible by any stretch of the imagination, and was that much more satisfying when we saw our tortillas being made on request. Being a tiny place though, there is no accessible restroom for the clientele. Surrounding area is so-so, but not dangerous in any sense. For what it's worth, it also received an 'A' on the city's health department ratings.

Bonus Points: (+1) For having sodas in bottles imported from Mexico, including all flavors of Jarritos to accompany your meal!
Price: $1.50 / taco, $1.50 for bottle of Jarritos
Wait time: 10-15 minutes
Distance (from downtown): 20-30 minutes by freeway, depending on traffic

Total Score: 36/40

We will eat here again!


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Ground Rules!!!

Welcome to the search!

In my quest to solve the mystery of the best taco in LA, we'll need to establish the ground rules on how to fairly judge the tacos. Its far too difficult to label a taco as merely being "high quality" just because its complex or has a great presentation; Many of the best tacos I've had are formed in the simplest manner, so go figure. I'll be using several factors to rate the qualities of the food on a scale from 1-10, with 10 being the highest.

• Meat
  
• Tortilla
  
• Toppings
  
• "After-Effects"
  

I'll also add a section with anything that stood out, or was otherwise notable about the tacos in a section which I'll refer to as "After Thoughts". Here are the base metrics:

Meat
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Based on taste, texture and amount, this is the core of the taco. Without a good meat to build on, what's the point? Whenever possible, I'll try to rate different types of meat from the staples of taco selections (asada, al pastor, carnitas and chicken). No deductions for not having a particular meat available.

Tortilla
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Whether hard or soft, they'll all be judged equally! Too often this is overlooked, but when you're biting into food that's based on being wrapped in the round flat-bread, you can't come away too satisfied if the grease is dripping off your fingers.

Toppings
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Not every taco is built equally, and I won't be wowed by something with 10 things piled on top of it. This is all about the combination of toppings, and how effectively they're used. Kudos for originality, but it will come down to how well it complements the meat.

After-effects
=========
We've all been there. A late night taco that SEEMS like a good idea at the time, only to pay for it later. There's nothing that annoys me more than finding something tasty, only to know that it's health content may not be something I would want to come anywhere near. I'll be subjecting my stomach to some of the most questionable stuff you can imagine, just to spare anyone else the potential havok on your linings.

Things that will not fall into ratings, but can be discussed:

-Presentation (It's a taco for crying out loud! Who cares!?!)
-Distance (Columbus sailed across an ocean for new spices. I'll drive across a county line or two if necessary).
-Wait time (We have no problem waiting 30 minutes for a gourmet meal; 15 minutes in the taco line is fine by me)
-Location (Some of the best can be found in the shadiest areas. While not a deal-breaker by any means, I'll give out fair warning as best I can, if the location so merits).
-Pricing (I've eaten a good share of tacos that are believe it or not, over-priced. While this can be a consideration, a dollar amount does not a good taco make).
-Side Options (Some places have great tacos which are served with mediocre rice, beans, beer or otherwise. It's a shame to have something satisfy so well, only to be let down by his companions. Again, not a deal-breaker, but worth noting).

I'll be posting my reviews on-site as well, so I hope to snap a couple of pics as well as the GPS location so that those reading reviews on your mobile can find these places easily. I'll visit at least one new place every week, starting with my personal favorites. Feel free to send in suggestions as well for places to visit (mendoza.eduardo@gmail.com). No biases here though -- I'm a man on a mission!

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