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).
Bésame Mucho 2023 Proved It’s Officially the Best Latino Music Festival Right Now
The ticket price of Bésame Mucho may be worth it alone for the amusing, overwhelmingly positive people-watching experience, especially seeing multiple generations of Latinos dancing to the same live music many of us grew up listening to at family parties.
Who Keeps Whitewashing Boyle Heights’ Anti-Gentrification Mural?
“We’re not going to let the gentrification of Boyle Heights go under the radar," says Viva Padilla, the founder of the anti-gentrification collective who collaborated with local artist Sergio Robleto to create the Posada-inspired art. They both have their suspicions of who is responsible for it.
Gusto Bread Expands Its Sourdough Panadería in Long Beach, Roasting Its Own Coffee and Making Hoja Santa-Matcha Lattes
Café Cuate will sell Oaxacan coffee from importers based in Mexico, a conscious decision by Enciso and Salatino to keep the money in Mexico, where the coffee is grown. There will also be an atole latte made with their house-ground nixtamal and a 'Xicano' instead of an 'Americano' drink, shaken with piloncillo.
Three of the Most Venerated Names in California Punk Played an O.C. Punk Festival This Weekend
Punk in the Park in Orange County is southern California's most exciting punk festival since Warped Tour.
Head to Los Feliz to Try Colonche, Mexico’s Refreshing Fermented Cactus Fruit Beverage That Almost Went Extinct
It’s a lightly alcoholic pre-conquest beverage of Indigenous origin, made from fermenting "tuna" cactus fruit that grows on nopales. The flavor is extremely refreshing, semi-sweet, tropical-leaning, and tangy at first. But it finishes dry.
A Protest Demanding An End to Israel’s Bombing of Gaza Brings Tens of Thousands to March Through Downtown L.A.
An estimated 50,000 people of all age ranges and backgrounds supported the peaceful demonstration, which called for a ceasefire and the end of Israel's occupation of Palestine. The energy was palpable and many who have been active in Palestine's struggle say it was the biggest turnout they've seen in Los Angeles so far.
Bellflower’s New Sonoran Taquería Has Everything, Rivaling L.A.’s Best
The shop's paper-thin flour tortillas are made just for them by a local tortillería, specifically with lard, because that’s how it’s supposed to be if you’re eating tacos in Sonora. They also use Prime-grade beef and have the crispiest tripitas in SELA. The brothers who own it are from Obregón, Sonora.
The Seven Best Tacos Along Metro’s K Line, From Crenshaw to Inglewood
The K Line is Metro's newest light rail line that cruises through the heart of Black Los Angeles, from Nipsey Square to Leimert Park. The taco scene along this route is all about hustle, featuring some of the cities must under-the-radar community gems like a historic L.A. taquería with a killer red salsa, lightly crunchy "enchilada tacos," and so much more. Next stop: flavor.
The Eight Best Punk Bars and Venues in Los Angeles
This may be the last generation of beautifully grimy punk bars and venues in a city that is overdeveloping all of these counterculture community spaces into the post-gentrification abyss. Go and support by buying drinks at all these places to make sure they stick around for the next generation.