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L.A. TACO

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 &#8220;Oaxaca: Home Cooking From the Heart of Mexico (2019, Abrams) and &#8220;Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling&#8221; (2023, Abrams).

Javier Cabral

Bell Gardens

One of the ‘Best Paellas in the World’ is Hiding In a Mariscos Restaurant In a Bell Gardens Strip Mall

L.A. TACO STAFF

Featured

‘You’re Going to Take One to the Chest,’ a Sheriff’s Deputy Threatens L.A. Rapper Sitting In Car

Mike Sonksen aka Mike the PoeT is a 3rd-generation Los Angeles native. Poet, professor, journalist, historian and tour-guide, his latest book &#8220;Letters to My City&#8221; was just published by Writ Large Press. He teaches at Woodbury University.

Mike Sonksen

Books

The 27 Best Books About Los Angeles In 2022

One of L.A. TACO&#8217;s co-founders, Hadley Tomicki is a writer and editor on food, travel, and culture whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, UrbanDaddy, High Times, and many other places.

Hadley Tomicki

Food

Seven Busy L.A. Restaurants To Visit When Everyone Else Leaves L.A. For the Holidays

Lexis-Olivier Ray is an award-winning staff investigative reporter for L.A. TACO known for holding powerful people in Los Angeles accountable and his reporting on Los Angeles culture. As well as an artist and filmmaker. In 2022, the Society of Professional Journalists&#8217; Los Angeles chapter named Ray one of their &#8220;distinguished journalists.&#8221; In 2023, Ray won a second place Anthem Award in their Health Innovation category for a texting service geared towards the unhoused community and service providers that he launched in 2021 with L.A. TACO and Subtext. Ray was a 2020 USC Center For Health Journalism (CHJ) Data Fellow. As well as a 2022 CHJ Impact Fellow. As a freelancer, Ray has contributed to the L.A. Times, Men&#8217;s Health Magazine, KCET and SFGATE.

Lexis-Olivier Ray

Headlines: You Have Until New Year’s Eve To Stock Up On Flavored Swishers and Backwoods Before Flavored Tobacco Ban Goes Into Effect

These Were L.A. TACO’s Own Favorite L.A. Tacos of 2022

These Were L.A. TACO’s Favorite L.A. TACO Stories of 2022

Victoria Valenzuela is an investigative journalist based in California covering criminal justice, social inequalities, and race. She is currently an assistant publisher with ScheerPost, a fellow with the Law and Justice Journalism Project, intern with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and a graduate student at the University of Southern California.

Victoria Valenzuela

History

California’s Lost History of Lynching Latinos in L.A. More Than 100 Years Ago

News

Headlines: Daughter of Taquero Running for Kevin de León’s CD14 Council Seat, Makes Her Boyle Heights Carnitas Restaurant a Recall Center

Santa Ana Shuts Down Street Vendors Before Christmas, Mayor Says, ‘We Cannot Allow Unsafe Food Conditions to Endanger Public Health’