La Isla Bonita (4th & Rose) Taco Truck - Venice, CA.

Ask any real Venice Beach denizen, and he or she has likely never set foot on Muscle Beach. But a certain taco truck on Rose Ave.? Oh, yes, they know what the truck you’re talking about. It’s called La Isla Bonita, but nobody knows that. What’s better known is the two-dollar ceviche tostada — a thin, flat, crisp of corn tortilla covered with a half-inch layer of chopped onion, tomato, cilantro and appealing fish, plus, two slices of bright green California avocado (don’t forget to take advantage of the slice of lime). Sure, the tacos are fine, but it’s the ceviche that forms the crowd — an odd mix of surfers, old hippies, entire Mexican families, the Venice bums, and a pack of slender women clad in yoga pants. If it’s lunchtime and not Thursday, rest assured that one of the coveted parking spaces on Rose Ave. between Third and Fourth St. will be occupied with this “Mariscos” truck, which boasts an ocean mural on its rear. The man inside answers to “Antonio” or “Tony.” You answer to “Ceviche!” when Tony calls the orders out. Do like any local would, and wash it down with a Mexican Coke.- by Lien Ta for trazzler.com

- photos from greattacohunt & erinakamura

Guisados

Guisado is the Spanish word for “stew” or “braise,” and name and form are one and the same here, the menu eschewing grilled meats for long-simmered fillings.

Each taco starts as a ball of fresh masa. Pressed, then cooked on a flattop long enough to achieve ample pockmarks of char, these tortillas are ideal building blocks.

Of Guisados’ namesakes, we were partial to both the chicken tinga and mole (all tacos are $2.50), the former getting a smoky kick from the addition of chipotle to the cabbage, onion and chorizo with which the bird is stewed.

Topping the mole-filled tacos was a dry salsa made of the same mixture of chilies and seeds that gives the sauce its famously deep flavor. The crunch, heat and savor of the scattered pepitas, sesame seeds and crushed peppers provided textural dimension to the soft chicken and velvety sauce.

If the choices are overwhelming and you’re unable to decide between the calabacitas (squash stew) and chicharrones en salsa? Opt for the sampler of six mini-tacos (pictured; $6.50) instead.

Guisados, 2100 Cesar Chavez Blvd., Boyle Heights; 323-264-7201 or twitter.com/guisados

Where Mexican and Chinese food get together.  Wow, Mexican and Chinese; how’d they ever think of that?   Oh wait, Kogi is Mexican and Korean.  Nevermind, totally different.

http://www.donchowtacos.com/

Oh, I’ll still try it.  But somebody, please, stop with the fucking trucks already.

jasonz:

Kogi

An upscale taqueria from the family behind next-door’s long-running Leonardo’s nightclub, bedecked with dangling candelabras and aged leather-and-wood seating, with grub like Camarones a la Diabla o Rancheros (shrimp in a spicy chili sauce or sauteed w/ bell peppers and onions) and Enchiladas Suizas (stuffed w/ chicken and topped w/ homemade tomatillo sauce). In addition, they’ve also got a slew of ($1 on Wednesday!) “interesting” tacos (creamed corn w/ roasted poblanos, seasoned pork w/ pineapple chunks, etc),

Candela Taco Bar and Lounge

831 S La Brea; Mid-Wilshire.

323.936.0533

www.CandelaTacoBar.com

6.12.09
Mexico Restaurante y Barra / 8512 Santa Monica Blvd. / West Hollywood, CA 90069 / 310-289-0088 /

Two things inspired Larry Nicola (Nic’s Martini Lounge, pictured above) to open his newest restaurant: A large, pink neon “Mexico” sign he found at a local antique shop 15 years ago and a wood-burning oven left over from the West Hollywood space’s former tenant, Bienvenudo. Both are what make the month-old Mexico Restaurante y Barra a stand-out.

As an Italian restaurant, the space was hidden and intimate. Now it’s completely changed, with gleaming white chairs; bright red, pink and turquoise walls; twinkling lights strung across the patio; and that blazing “Mexico” sign. You can’t miss it.

Thankfully, Nicola kept the wood-burning oven. The chefs make good use of it, whether it’s to add a smoky flavor to black beans, to roast meats or to caramelize tomatoes for salsa. The chile rellenos ($14)—Anaheim peppers oozing Oaxacan cheese and spinach—get a nice char, and taquitos come stuffed with succulent wood-fired duck ($9). Away from the oven, there’s a perfectly cooked skirt steak carne asada ($16) or a cool verdolaga (purslane) salad with chunks of tomato and silky avocado ($10).

It wouldn’t be a Nicola restaurant without creative cocktails, and margaritas with muddled raspberry and cilantro, tamarind and pineapple, or chile, lime and cucumber go down way too easily

Hostess - Christina’s top 3:

Classic “Carnitas Style” Pork with sautéed verdolaga and tomatillos
Wood Fired Duck Taquitos
Grilled Mexican Shrimp with chipotle dip