Hollywood ~ CA OZOMATLI Ben Harper These are TACO&#8217;s friends from Artel with a disturbing war-scarred tableaux of surrealist theater This Pro-War voice was shouted down, here he is skulking away&#8230;

Anti-War March ~ March 17th, 2007 ~ Hollywood

linkDestination

core/image

core/paragraph

core/more

One of L.A. TACO&#8217;s co-founders, Hadley Tomicki is a writer and editor on food, travel, and culture whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, UrbanDaddy, High Times, and many other places.

Hadley Tomicki

Featured

The Eight Best Sex Shops In Los Angeles

L.A. TACO STAFF

L.A. Taco Guides

The 24 Best Tamales, From East L.A. to Long Beach

Blending her time in the kitchen as a line cook with her passion for storytelling, Lauren Bethke writes about community, inclusivity and the city she loves the most—Los Angeles.

a woman sits outside wearing a black long sleeve outfit

Lauren Bethke

Food

Your Favorite Jumbo’s Clown Room Dancer’s Favorite Meal

Nya Manneh is a 22-year-old Master&#8217;s student from Minnesota studying at the University of Southern California. She is passionate about writing stories that highlight underrepresented voices and meeting new people from all walks of life.

Nya Manneh

A woman poses in front of the Hollywood sign, but is blurry

Film

With Film Production Down, Is the Sun Setting on the Hollywood Dream?

Janette Villafana is an award-winning bilingual multimedia journalist. Her heart lies in community-based reporting, and her work is highly centered on showcasing and uplifting community voices, with a significant focus on the Latino community. She developed her beat at L.A. TACO, covering street vending communities in Los Angeles. Past work has been featured on NBC, LAist, Latino Rebels, and more. She is currently featured at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington in an exhibit titled “¡De última hora! Latinas Report Breaking News.”

Janette Villafana

A family member of street vendor organizer Emma De Paz holds up a poster with his grandmother's photo. The words "Come back soon" and "We Miss You" are written across the poster.

Street Vending

Unbroken Spirit: How a Detained Street Vendor Is Now Aiding Detainees From ICE Facility

Lexis-Olivier Ray is an award-winning staff investigative reporter for L.A. TACO known for holding powerful people in Los Angeles accountable and his reporting on Los Angeles culture. As well as an artist and filmmaker. In 2022, the Society of Professional Journalists&#8217; Los Angeles chapter named Ray one of their &#8220;distinguished journalists.&#8221; In 2023, Ray won a second place Anthem Award in their Health Innovation category for a texting service geared towards the unhoused community and service providers that he launched in 2021 with L.A. TACO and Subtext. Ray was a 2020 USC Center For Health Journalism (CHJ) Data Fellow. As well as a 2022 CHJ Impact Fellow. As a freelancer, Ray has contributed to the L.A. Times, Men&#8217;s Health Magazine, KCET and SFGATE.

Lexis-Olivier Ray

East Hollywood

The 10 Best Meat Markets and Carnicerías in Los Angeles

Explore

Footer - NEW

Legal Footer

Main - NEW

Mobile

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

This is member's only content.

Members get unlimited access to all of our stories, along with incredible perks like free tacos, invites to our events, access to our mobile app, and much more!

Become a Member of L.A. TACO

Free registration

Please register for L.A. TACO to Vote 

Register to continue

L.A. TACO

Weekend Eats: You Can Now Eat These Egyptian Tacos Every Day In Lincoln Heights

Memo Torres is the Director of Engagement and multimedia journalist for the James Beard award-winning L.A. Taco. He is also the host of the Daily Memo and writes for Apple Maps’ ‘Where Memo Torres Eats in L.A.’ You can see him on Netflix&#8217;s Taco Chronicles and Pressure Cooker.  You can hear him on KCRW’s ‘Good Food’ occasionally. He was a finalist for the Ruben Salazar Award for Latino journalists and a former third-generation landscaper.

Memo Torres

Izzy Ramirez is a Los Angeles-based staff reporter with L.A. TACO, documenting immigration enforcement and state power as it unfolds on the ground. Their work centers real-time alerts and long-term public archiving throughout the Southern California region.

Izzy Ramirez

Erwin Recinos is a seasoned visual artist with an eye for capturing life as a working commuter aboard public transportation in and around Los Angeles. For 20 years now, Recinos has been documenting the urban landscape, street culture, and Hispanic communities of Los Angeles utilizing his daily routine and the city of Los Angeles as an inspiration. Recinos also works with popular food and event websites such as LATACO.com and Eater LA to capture the cuisine and culture that is so important to the city of Los Angeles and across Southern California.

Erwin Recinos

DAILY MEMO

Daily Memo: California Is Installing ICE AI Surveillance Tools As Trump Goes After Your Civil and Constitutional Rights

a collage of seven business professionals

News

Why Did Anaheim City Council Vote to Install Nearly $1M-Worth of License Plate Surveillance?

Taco Madness

Final Round of TACO MADNESS Voting Is Now Open! Meet the Last Two Taquerías Left

Daily Memo: ICE Unveils Plan To Detain Children In “Toxic” Louisiana Military Site

Michelle Zacarias is a Los Angeles-based journalist and two-time cancer survivor. As a 2023-25 UC Berkeley California Local News Fellow, she covered politics, immigration, civic engagement, and health inequity. Michelle is the host of The Latino Newsletter Podcast, where she brings bold, necessary conversations to life through the Latino perspective. Michelle&#8217;s reporting has been featured in the Los Angeles Times (De Los), Prism, Truthout, Teen Vogue, CALÓ News, City Bureau, LA Public Press, and more. In 2025, Michelle was awarded First Place at the LA Press Club SoCal Journalism Awards for “Race and Society” reporting.

Michelle Zacarias

Fátima Rodriguez-Ortiz sits outside in front of some green plants.

USC Graduate Student at Center of Arturo Flores Sexual Assault Scandal Speaks Out

post

Hollywood

Lynn Q. Yu is a food and culture writer based out of Los Angeles. You can find her on social media @lynnqyu.