This is volume one of our new guide to the best vegan and vegetarian tacos in Los Angeles.
“How can you be vegetarian if you’re Mexican,” was the second most common question I received in elementary school, only after, “if you were on a deserted island, would you eat…” (the answer is no).
I was born and raised vegetarian into a family of four generations of vegetarians and I’m a proud child of Mexican immigrants. In my home, these two identities never came into conflict. The food on my table was always completely vegetarian and authentically Mexican—it was made by Mexicans, after all. Outside of my home, the little vegetarian options my family had were far from our high desert home, reserved for L.A. and Orange County, and the dishes rarely if ever resembled the food of our culture.
Before the social media boom of the last decade, plant-based dining was rare. One of the best ripples of this boom has been the growth of plant-based diets and dining. In the last decade my family and I have watched as our options have grown.
Since 2010, many of my friends and peers have transitioned to plant based diets, and because of my background, I have become the go-to veggie guru among them. Now, I’ve used my veg-edge credibility to put together a list of some of my favorite plant-based tacos, starting with East L.A. County, to deliver my fellow veg-heads from the evil of terrible tacos. We’ll check out a couple of vegan menus, then shed some light on a meat-centric L.A. TACO favorite that vegetarians and even vegans can hack.
1. Masataco - Whittier - 14103 Lambert Rd, 90605 - (90% Vegan w/ meat options)