[dropcap size=big]T[/dropcap]he Villalobos family has been making fried quesadillas since the 90s. Rosa, the matriarch, was inspired by a woman who used to sell them at a swapmeet where Dr. Maya Angelou Community High in South Central currently resides.
The vendor folded fresh masa filled with cheese before frying them. However, Rosa’s innovation was slicing each quesadilla open and filling it with guisos, like spicy rajas con queso, chicken mole, chicharrón, chorizo con papa, or tinga de pollo or res. These are recipes she learned from her Jaliscience mother. The guiso-stuffed quesadillas that followed are the ultimate expression of eating comida casera.
The crunch of the fried masa combined with oozing cheese, potent guisos, and salsa make this a special taquería. Rosa’s quesadillas don’t strictly come from a specific region in Mexico, but one she developed here in L. A where cultural food innovations are plentiful. Though, you can find similar quesadillas in Zapopan, Jalisco like at Quesadillas El Roger.
At Antojitos La Cosa Nuestra, each quesadilla features a crunchy shell of masa housing a river of melted cheese, customized with guisos al gusto. The chorizo con papa (an L.A. TACO favorite) casts a powerful spell of nostalgia, creating images of comfort and home. For the mole, the shredded chicken is kept separate to prevent it from drying out. Instead, the mole is poured over like a sauce. The chicharrón is soft and chewy in red salsa, infusing a porkiness to the quesadilla. The tinga tastes like the one you’ve had at a quince, softly sweet with tomatoes and a hint of heat and smoke from the chipotles. The beef version of tinga is one of Rosa’s specialties, ropy strands of beef flavored with tomatoes and chipotle. Tinga de res is one of the most popular guisos.