In which L.A. TACO's Hadley Tomicki fills you in on the most exciting new restaurants, pop-ups, and food events cracking in and around Los Angeles.
DOWNTOWN
Damian will welcome Bacanora on Monday evening, the lauded, wood-fired Sonoran restaurant from 2024 James Beard Award-winning Phoenix chef Rene Andrade, this Monday evening. On Damian's Downtown patio, Bacanora will prepare some of its signatures, which include flame-grilled caramelo tostadas, pollo asado, and carne asada, along with elote and frijoles con queso, offered alongside Damian's menu in a family-style format. While Bacanora grills on the patio, guests will be soothed and spirited by L.A.'s great DJ Que Madre. What's not to love?
HISTORIC SOUTH-CENTRAL
Soriana, a Halal restaurant specializing in Saudi and Yemeni food, has a new wing devoted to crispy fried chicken within its South Central address. Soriana's Fried Chicken has a tight menu of original, medium, and spicy tenders and sliders, available a la carte or as combos, served with crinkle fries. A garlic dipping sauce is available on the side.
512 E. Washington Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90015
ECHO PARK
L.A.'s famed Peruvian chef Ricardo Zarate has just opened his own Echo Park ceviche house, The Hummingbird, a little over 15 years to the day since debuting his first concept, Mo-Chica, at Mercado La Paloma, when the Lima native was still working as a sushi chef at Wabi Sabi in Venice.
Zarate's menu merges Peruvian, Mexican, and Japanese influences. There's a section for Nikkei handrolls, such as one with tuna, spicy rocoto truffle, and avocado, and another with beets, wasabi jalapeño, and natto. There's also a vegan King trumpet mushroom ceviche, plus Hokkaido scallop aguachile with aji amarillo ash, and a yellowtail ceviche tostada.
Hot dishes include risotto de mariscos with Caledonian blue prawns and Hokkaido scallops, octopus with aji amarillo hummus, and a cancha corn salsa served with flatbread.
In addition, expect Japanese rice horchata, a selection of non-alcoholic wines, beers, cocktails, and three hemp-infused spritzes made with legal Delta-9, such as the sativa watermelon-cucumber spritzer.
1600 N. Alvarado St. Los Angeles, CA 90026
SAN FERNANDO
San Fernando's Krazy Korner has rebranded as No Sabo Cafe. While keeping its sopes, tortas, and enchiladas, the new concept comes with some new dishes such as birria egg rolls with consomé, tacos dorados de papas with handmade tortillas, freshly pressed huaraches, made-to-order gorditas, huevos con nopales, French toast, Homeboy Industries' pastries, churro croissants, and smash burgers with chorizo patties.
901 San Fernando Rd. San Fernando, CA 91340
SAN GABRIEL/SAWTELLE
Yama Sushi Marketplace, which has been selling high-grade, sushi-bar-quality sashimi and sushi, along with Japanese snacks and gifts, for over 40 years in San Gabriel and West L.A. for nearly two years, has been going crazy for SPAM musubi. Yesterday was 8/08, National SPAM Musubi Day, for the Hawaiian area code 808.
Through August, Yama is offering "808 Platters," a $49 party platter loaded with three types of SPAM. There's SPAM musubi marinated in SWA sauce and paired with a tamago egg, a SPAM spicy tuna musubi, and a SPAM Cali musubi with creamy crab, egg, and SPAM. Available to go from both locations.
911 W. Las Tunas Dr. San Gabriel, CA 91776; 11709 National Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90064
LONG BEACH
James Beard award-nominated O.G. Long Beach Roman restaurant La Parolaccia Osteria Italiana has incredible sandwiches served on wood-fired focaccia, and not enough people know this. Just look at this beautiful image of the bresaola with stracciatella or the top image of the mortadella. The only issue is they're not on the menu or consistently offered. Stefano Procaccini, who runs the Bluff Heights institution with his son, Michael, tells L.A. TACO they're served "I only make them when I feel like eating one myself." Fortunately, despite that beautifully Italian answer, La Parolaccia says they'll serve them this Sunday. And we wouldn't ever keep you in the dark about such significant developments in mortadella. Don't forget to ask about their fresh pasta, which they have also just started selling to take home.
2945 E. Broadway Long Beach, CA 90803
