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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).

L.A.’s Most Eccentric Bartender Just Swam 21 Miles From Catalina to L.A. This Is What Was Going Through His Mind

L.A. TACO caught up with Matthew Biancaniello to share what the hell was going through his mind, being in salty water for nearly a day, nearly naked because he is team-no-wetsuit, and both the mental and physical challenges he overcame to do it all.

October 24, 2025

Mexican Farmers Shut Down Highways In National Strike, Demanding Better Prices For Their Produce

The dramatic actions—showing farmers at times dumping their limes and avocados—are a direct challenge to president Claudia Sheinbaum's administration, demanding an end to NAFTA flexibilities and other policies that farmers say are destroying their livelihoods.

October 17, 2025

Why Are My Favorite Punk Bands Playing a Trump Supporter’s Festival? Why I’m Boycotting ‘Punk in the Park’

The 'Punk in the Park' ethical dilemma: When punk's anti-establishment spirit funds a Trump supporter amid a Trump-sponsored ICE siege of Los Angeles and terrorizing of immigrant Brown communities.

October 5, 2025

Tostadas Over Tasting Menus: Holbox Is North America’s Only 50 Best List Spot Found In a Food Court

Amid ICE's terrorizing abductions in L.A.'s Brown-skinned communities, Holbox's #42 spot on North America’s 50 Best Restaurants is a monumental win for its formerly undocumented owner, chef Gilberto Cetina. His celebrated mariscos bar's affordable heirloom-corn tostadas under $20 now rival $100+ tasting menus, spotlighting immigrant grit and cultural resilience against erasure.

October 2, 2025

You All Drank 45 Gallons of Our L.A. TACO Beer In Five Hours

Our first-ever beer collaboration with ISM Brewing was a huge success, as was our three-way food collaboration with Sonoratown and ISM.

September 29, 2025

OaxaCalifornia Resists Through Mezcal: L.A.’s Zapoteco Leaders Turn Rare Agaves Into Acts of Defiant Joy

No mass-market mezcales here; instead, small-batch agave masterpieces from maestros who've guarded ancestral recipes across generations, sipped alongside tlayudas and live danzón to remind everyone that resistance sometimes tastes like nuanced earth and wild honey.

September 19, 2025

What Counting U.S. Gun Shops And Mexican Taquerías Tells Us About the World Today

A stunning data visualization pits two national obsessions against each other.

September 5, 2025

Try This Unforgettable Hatch Chile Taco In NELA’s ‘American Heritage Cooking’ Restaurant

Despite the controversy of Dunsmoor when it first opened, It’s a variety of a taco that is hard to find in L.A.: An actual Southwest-style taco that deserves some respect, especially during Hatch chile season. If not for the taste of the taco itself that represents New Mexico, then for all the people who make up that state, including the 23 federally recognized tribes that have taken care of that land—and planted green chiles—for thousands of years.  

August 29, 2025

Letter From the Editor: ¡Si Se Pudo! We Just Hit 5,000 Members

This milestone is a triumph for L.A. TACO, a testament to the power of community and the belief in our scrappy, taco-fueled mission to keep Los Angeles informed and connected. But we're not in the clear yet.

August 18, 2025

Chefs In Mexico City Organize a ‘Eat What You Want, Pay What You Can’ Day. Is L.A. Down to Do This?

“Policy will change, hopefully, because of this,” Norma Listman, co-founder of this movement and chef of Masala y Maíz, told L.A. TACO. “It’s a small gesture with a big impact: an act of radical hospitality and trust that people respond to,” added her husband and co-founder, Saqib Keval.

August 14, 2025