Why did it take so long for L.A., the undisputed best taco city in these United States, to get its own craft molino (mill)? One that nixtamalizes nothing but ethically sourced, heirloom corn from Mexico? Even Bushwick, Brooklyn, got a great one of its own in 2022.
Fátima Júarez, the chef and proud Chilanga behind Molino Komal, which opens today at Mercado La Paloma in the Historic South Central neighborhood, suspects it has to do with how difficult it is to open a permitted restaurant in Los Angeles, especially when you are an immigrant.
“My husband, Conrado [Rivera], and I tiled every single tile by hand,” Júarez tells L.A. TACO, while she prepares for the debut of her tortillería and antojitos shop that has been years in the making. “Gilberto [Cetina], of Holbox next door, donated the hood for our kitchen—it truly has been a community effort to open Komal. It’s been a real chinga.”