Explore

Footer - NEW

Legal Footer

Main - NEW

Mobile

Neighborhoods

Top Guides

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

L.A. TACO is paid for by readers, not billionaires. 7,800 Angelenos keep this newsroom independent. Memberships start at $5.95/month.

This one's for members.

No advertiser paid for this. No hedge fund owns us. Investigations take records requests, lawyers, and reporters on the ground for months at a time, and 7,800 members are the only reason we can do them. Memberships start at $5.95/month.

This investigation took months.

We're paid for by readers, not billionaires. 7,800 Angelenos keep this newsroom independent, and members read everything. Memberships start at $5.95/month.

Keep reading L.A. TACO.

Free registration

Please register for L.A. TACO to Vote 

Register to continue

We don't take endorsements and nobody pays us to cover local politics. Create a free account to keep reading, and we'll send you the next voter guide before you need it.

Free to Read, just share your email 

Every place on this list was visited by someone on our staff. Create a free account to read all of it. No payment, no catch.

The rest of this guide is free. We just need an email.

Create a free account and keep reading. No payment, no catch. We're reader-funded, and this is how we get to know who we're writing for.

Read this one on us.

Celebrating the Taco Lifestyle in Los Angeles, CA

L.A. TACO

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

News

Video: Guy in a Prius Caught Swiping Succulents from a Sidewalk in Highland Park

Multimedia journalist covering everything under the sun. 562 born and raised. News editor for Talon Marks.

Daniel Suarez

La Azteca Tortillería’s Chile Relleno Burrito Is a Serious Contender for the GOAT of Los Angeles

Cesar Hernandez is Lynwood&#8217;s second best export behind Weird Al, and a writer and podcaster. Illustration by Tommy Gallegos.

Cesar Hernandez

Tacos

Eating the Most Delicious Street Food in SELA and East Los with L.A.’s Most Talented Mexican American Redhead, Mapped

Erwin Recinos is a seasoned visual artist with an eye for capturing life as a working commuter aboard public transportation in and around Los Angeles. For 20 years now, Recinos has been documenting the urban landscape, street culture, and Hispanic communities of Los Angeles utilizing his daily routine and the city of Los Angeles as an inspiration. Recinos also works with popular food and event websites such as LATACO.com and Eater LA to capture the cuisine and culture that is so important to the city of Los Angeles and across Southern California.

Erwin Recinos

Photo Essay

An L.A. Street Photographer Turned a Former Youth Detention Center Into an Art Gallery. These Were Our Favorite Photos

The L.A. Craze birria-inspired burger from A's BBQ.

Food

L.A.’s First ‘Birria Smashburger’ Takes a Full Day To Make and Comes With a Vial of Bone Marrow Consomé

Angela Burgos is an Ecuadorian-American writer and researcher from East Hollywood. She enjoys writing both fiction and non-fiction pieces that highlight the complexities of the people of Los Angeles.

Angela Burgos

Community

A Latina Third Grade Teacher Has Started an Open Air Market to Create Space for Her Lennox Community in the Midst of SoFi’s Gentrification Effects

Nikolai Garcia is Assistant Editor for Dryland, a literary arts journal that was born in South Central Los Angeles. His first poetry chapbook, Nuclear Shadows of Palm Trees, was published by DSTL Arts.

Nikolai Garcia

Poetry

‘Under the Lights of a Taco Truck,’ A Poem to Celebrate Jonathan Gold’s 61st Birthday

Kamren Curiel is a fourth-generation Chicana born in East L.A. and raised in South San Gabriel. She&#8217;s written for the L.A.Times, Latina, LAist, KCET, Huffington Post, and was the L.A. Editor for Remezcla.com.

Kamren Curiel

From Zacatecas to El Sereno, Meet the 97-Year-Old Honey Man Who Is Quite Possibly L.A.’s Oldest Beekeeper

Janette Villafana is an award-winning bilingual multimedia journalist. Her heart lies in community-based reporting, and her work is highly centered on showcasing and uplifting community voices, with a significant focus on the Latino community. She developed her beat at L.A. TACO, covering street vending communities in Los Angeles. Past work has been featured on NBC, LAist, Latino Rebels, and more. She is currently featured at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington in an exhibit titled “¡De última hora! Latinas Report Breaking News.”

Janette Villafana

Featured

L.A.’s First ‘Legal’ Street Food Vending Tamal Cart Will Cost Around $7,500. Here’s a First Look at the Revolutionary Design

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

A taco covered in salsas, guacamole, and pickled onions from Villa's Tacos

Your Highland Park Taco Crawl: An Award-Winning ‘Seven-Layer Taco,’ Salsa Borracha, and Buttery Cabeza