[dropcap size=big]T[/dropcap]he long road to the presidency (and vice presidency) is paved with tlayudas, mole, and chiles rellenos. There is only one Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles that both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris feasted on before arriving at the White House: Guelaguetza.
During their respective campaign tours before the California primary elections last year, both offices reached out to the Lopez family to try food authentic to both Los Angeles and Oaxaca. The James Beard Award-winning restaurant that has been a bonafide eating destination in Koreatown and a valuable resource for L.A.’s OaxaCalifornia community since 1994 obliged.
“Our doors are always open to all,” Guelaguetza’s co-owner Fernando Lopez tells L.A. Taco when asked how it all happened. “We welcomed them with open arms.”
When it came time to order food for the table, Lopez shares that both parties insisted on being served “something [the Lopez] family might order.” That was the cue for the kitchen to send out all the family-style favorites that Guelaguetza is celebrated for: their “Festival de Moles’ sampler, quesillo fundido with their house-made Oaxacan-style chorizo, a “Botana Oaxaqueña” platter with cecina (adobo-rubbed thin-cut pork), tasajo (salted thin-cut beef), vegetarian tlayudas, and Oaxacan-style chiles rellenos that are stuffed with a sweet shredded chicken picadillo instead of cheese.