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Javier Cabral

Professional punk and Editor-In-Chief for James Beard Award-winning L.A. TACO. Associate Producer for JBA-winning Las Crónicas Del Taco. Former restaurant scout for Jonathan Gold. Co-author of “Oaxaca: Home Cooking From the Heart of Mexico (2019, Abrams) and “Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling” (2023, Abrams).

I Was High at Noma When Rene Redzepi Told Me He Was Opening In L.A.

I couldn’t process that the scoop of a lifetime before he publicized it was hitting my ears, as an L.A.-raised food-obsessed person, and I was trying my best to “play it cool.” While we can focus on the optics of opening a pop-up fine dining restaurant during an I.C.E. siege that will be inaccessible to too many, Noma’s arrival in Los Angeles is a monumental event, as it’s not just any fine dining restaurant—it’s the fine dining restaurant that redefined culinary innovation globally, raising foraging and hyper-local ingredients to an art form. 

Maravilla Housing Project Residents Fearful After Receiving Notice That Their Citizen Status Could Be Shared With DHS

The notice emphasizes that "there is currently no new data-sharing policy between HUD and DHS in effect at this time,” and that the Memorandum of Understanding between the two federal agencies “does not specifically state how HUD and DHS will collaborate.”

A Ride-Along with Union Del Barrio, L.A.’s Leading Community Patrol Against ICE

Ron Gochez and Union del Barrio have eyes all over the city. Armed with only megaphones, social media, and an army of tireless and loyal volunteers, their grassroots organizing is outsmarting ICE and protecting L.A.’s streets against deportations.

June 23, 2025

No Cops, No Chaos: Long Beach’s Peaceful Protests vs. L.A.’s Police-Fueled Clashes

Like my favorite Basque band, Eskorbuto, famously proclaimed in their political anthem: “Mucha Policia, Poca Diversion.” The logic is straightforward: No police, no violence; too many police, too much chaos.

June 18, 2025

L.A.’s DIY Underground Hardcore Scene Raises $10K For L.A.’s Undocumented Families Affected by ICE

"We're in crisis mode," says Victor Campos, the Director of Mosh for Youth. "Immigrants build our communities, and they thrive with immigrants. If we look at who's being taken by the raids, it's hard-working Latinos. They're going to Home Depots, to swap meets, to places of business, and taking our people away. Families are left broken and shattered by these raids, so it's our responsibility as individuals with platforms to do something about it."

June 17, 2025

Sheriff’s Department Says Little Girl Seen In Viral Video Was Taken Into ‘Protective Custody’ by DCFS, Not ICE

L.A. TACO has confirmed that the viral video posted today by Union Del Barrio showing a little girl crying in the backseat of a truck has to do with a warrant for a murder investigation.

June 16, 2025

BREAKING: ICE Confirmed Abductions at Taco Truck in East L.A.

"They snatch you like a dog. The streets ain't safe, that's all I gotta say," says the Jason Devora after witnessing it all and still in shock about it.

June 12, 2025

Activist Standing In Front Of ICE SUV Knocked Down During Mass Immigration Raid in DTLA

On a live interview with ABC, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell just confirmed that he received a call from the FBI requesting assistance from LAPD officers to protect their heavily armed federal agents after they feared for their safety seeing the crowd of around a hundred protesters: "We would do that, [protect] for everyone, including the FBI."

June 6, 2025

L.A.’s Hidden Matcha Master: Masanori Den Shirakata, the Low-Key Legend Only Insiders Know

Masanori Den Shirakata represents the third generation of tea merchants, carrying forward a tradition that began when his grandfather first recognized the potential of Shizuoka, Japan, as a top-tier tea-producing region.

June 5, 2025