Spot Check: Colombian Desgranados In Echo Park, Mexican Wine Festival At Mírate, and Perverted Waffles in DTLA
Plus, a party highlighting pan-African cuisine, a new Taiwanese cookbook by an awarded local from the San Gabriel Valley, and a Little Saigon food festival that starts tonight! Welcome back to Spot Check!
This 24-Year-Old Latina Mortician Beautifies the Dead and Influences the Living
Growing up in Arleta with a first-generation family from El Salvador, Berrios admits that her family only embraced her career choice two years ago, after she started to win awards like “Young Funeral Director of the Year.” The 24-year-old works as the licenced funeral director and embalmer at Hollywood Forever cemetery. As a young person born in peak Generation Z, she's documented her deathcare journey on TikTok and has accrued more than 43K followers on the platform.
Meet ‘Carnitas Rogelio,’ The Family-Run Stand With The Best Michoacán-Style Carnitas O.C. Has to Offer
Michoacán-raised Rogelio Gonzalez slices the cuerito (the pig skin) in a checkered pattern to ensure a light crunch in each bite and utilizes every part of the pig, from the feet to the liver and intestines, which he binds together in a braid.
‘The Office’ Star Rainn Wilson Brought Jerk Chicken Tacos to the Picket Lines Outside of Paramount Studios
In three hours, D's Tipsy Tacos and her team passed out “roughly 100 plates” of tacos, burritos, rice, beans, nachos, and quesadillas to striking screenwriters and actors.
Five Common Plants to Avoid When Creating Your Green Spaces in L.A.
Almost every time I visit a property with landscaping issues, the problem starts with bad design: the wrong plants in the wrong place. Here's advice from a third-generation L.A. landscaper and noted taco expert.
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Womanizer-Killing Demons and Pulque: A Look Into Horror Nights’ Popular Latino-Inspired Maze
What does it take to bring a culturally accurate "haunted house" to L.A.’s best Halloween attraction at Universal Studios? Hint: Diego Luna, Danny Trejo, and a morbid curiosity for the macabre side of Latin America’s pre-colonizer history.
L.A. TACO Reporter Featured In Smithsonian Museum Exhibit Highlighting The Work of Latina Journalists Throughout History
The exhibit chronicles the historic work of Latina journalists while highlighting their groundbreaking work in advocating for Spanish-speaking communities. L.A. TACO's own Janette Villafana joined two other journalists, Victoria Leandra and Bianca Graulau, who were chosen to represent Latina journalists in the exhibit's "future" section.
Spot Check! Acoustic Punk and Tacos In Compton, Chilaquiles With A Money-Back Guarantee, and Smoked Brisket Banh Mi
If these chilaquiles are not the best you've ever tasted in the U.S., you get 100% your money back. Plus more in our weekly column dedicated to highlighting new restaurants and events worth hitting up!
Our Birriamania Event Is Back, And You Have One Day Left For a Discount
We are hosting our 2nd annual BirriaMania! On September 30th at Santa Anita Park! This event will be all ages and every ticket goes towards supporting our tiny independent newsroom. Come try L.A.'s best birrieros, both beef and chivo versions will be available, of course.
One of L.A.’s Oldest Mexican Restaurants, Olvera Street’s La Golondrina Café, Faces Eviction
The future of Olvera Street as a tourist destination has been in jeopardy since the pandemic, with reduced foot traffic and tens of thousands of back rent owed by concerned tenants there, who have all reported lower sales from both restaurants and merchandise.
The Five Best Tacos In Santa Monica
Santa Monica may surprise you with its wealth of Mexican menus and tempting tacos, from Oaxacan-style tasajo tacos on house-nixtamalized handmade corn tortillas to albacore tacos with yuzu, here's how to find Mexcellence in West L.A.'s touristy seaside city.
The 14 Best Carnitas Tacos in Los Angeles
Los Angeles County is a porker's paradise. We scoured every corner to bring you the most melt-in-your-mouth, sticky, slow-cooked carnitas all over. These are some of the best cazuela players in Los Angeles, including a handful that make handmade corn tortillas, too.
News
Riot Cops Descend As Hundreds of Punks Light a [Prop] Cop Car on Fire At Hollywood Skate Show
L.A.'s notorious Dead City was the only band that performed at the event, kicking their set off at 7:13 p.m. It would not last long before police appeared.
Cable T.V. Users in L.A. Caught In Dispute Over Disney-Owned Stations
The standoff between Charter Communications and the Walt Disney Co. that has left millions of Spectrum cable subscribers without access to ABC7, ESPN channels, FX, and National Geographic, along with other channels appears nowhere close to resolution.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass Claims ‘Touching Fentanyl Could Kill You,’ All Toxicology Experts Disagree
Jody Armour, a University of Southern California (USC) law professor, called Mayor Bass’ claim that you can die from touching fentanyl “a dangerous lie.” Armour and medical experts say that misleading the public about fentanyl overdose can cause first responders and bystanders to back off in situations when someone is actually overdosing from fentanyl.
Nearly Two Thirds of L.A.’s $1.3 Billion in COVID Relief Funds Went to Cops and Firefighters, Zero Went to Building Housing
Instead of spending on policing, local governments could have used the federal funds to acquire land for future development of affordable housing, provide financial assistance to homeowners or provide loans to affordable housing developers, according to the Treasury Department.
Guides
The 13 Best Tacos Along L.A. Metro’s 33 Bus Line, From Santa Monica to Downtown
Is this the best bus line to hit all of LA’s classic tacos?
The 13 Best Pupusas In Los Angeles, By An L.A. Salvi
Nearly half a million Salvadorans reside within L.A. County. This article is for the diaspora by the diaspora; a list curated with a lot of intention and thoughtfulness and a current snapshot of some notable places across the ever-changing food landscape here in L.A. as of 2023.
The Ten Best Restaurants in Bixby Knolls (Long Beach)
From moules frites to passion fruit curd-speckled kouign amann, here are the 10 must-try restaurants in Bixby Knolls, the low-key Long Beach neighborhood that's quickly becoming a dining destination to rival its neighbors.
Spot Check! Corundas Michoacanas, Chapín Festival, and Bar CDMX in DTLA Now Open
A new bar below Seven Grand in Downtown L.A. has Spanish-language video games like Donkey Kong and mezcal palomas on draft, where to find garnachas just like in Guatemala, plus how to get free Beyoncè tickets with 'Lemonade' cupcakes, and more in this week's Spot Check!
Neighborhoods
Border X Asked To Pay Almost $100,000 In Rent In ‘3 Day Or Quit’ Notice From Landlord, Beer Thug Taking Over
Last week, Border X Los Angeles posted an update on Instagram stating that they were closed due to a "legal situation with an illegal tenant." Edgar Preciado, the founder of Beer Thug Brewing Co. and only other tenant in the shared brewery has provided a statement addressing the situation.
Legendary L.A. Graffiti Icon TEMPT ONE Dies At 54
TEMPT ONE was an iconic graffiti artist whose hand styles first harmonized the precision of Chinese calligraphic lines with the boldness of classic serif Los Angeles "cholo" letters. L.A. TACO has confirmed that he has passed away at the age of 54 after fighting ALS for 20 years.
Spot Check! Gochujang Sourdough, Cher’s Gelato, Beef Belly Bulgogi Inari, and Ribeye Steak Hummus In Gardena
There's also a place for East Coast chopped cheese sandwiches, plus Nutella quesadillas, and Sonic the Hedgehog ice cream with a side of shawarma.
Blue Beetle Beat Barbie, But It Still Doesn’t Fix Hollywood’s Latino Representation Problem
Despite the success of Blue Beetle, Latinos remain the most underrepresented group in films.
