Menudo is one of L.A.’s most polarizing traditional Mexican dishes. When menudo comes up in conversation, people will always pit menudo and pozole against each other as if two bad bitches couldn’t exist in the same universe.
Everyone we asked for a recommendation had a story to go with it: nights of partying and needing that hot, fatty broth to bring them back to life; memories of parents making it for the holidays; family traditions that had gone on for years. There’s always a memory tied to menudo.
The rich, fatty, earthy, savory, slightly spicy broth stays with you, whether you’re hungover or not, especially on a Sunday morning. Menudo is a meal you can look forward to on New Year's morning, confetti still on the floor, with the feeling that, if nothing else, the new year will find us starting fed.
The B.Y.O.P. (Bring Your Own Pot) concept is so romantic. Menudo is meant to be shared at home with a big group, everyone relaxing, recovering, and enjoying each other’s company. So it makes perfect sense that people would bring their own giant pot to the tortillería and take it home to share.
This is the feeling menudo gives: the grano, the flavor in the broth, the meat. It's such comfort food, and like many dishes in L.A. and around the world (cue that '90s song) that connect to a family origin or carry a deep connection, they have history on top of that.