Spot Check! Brisket Pupusas in NELA, A ‘Western Mole Smashburger’ in DTLA, and a ‘Pancake Brunch Cart’ in the SGV
11:43 AM PDT on April 4, 2023

Hamburguetza, a Oaxaca-accented Wagyu smashburgers concept, is now open within Pablito's World in Chinatown. Options include the Cochinita Pibil Burger, the Chile Relleno Burger, Western Mole burger, birria grilled cheese, and a Peruvian burger with huancaina sauce and fried plantains. Fried green beans, Inka cola, beer-battered onion rings, fresh-cut G Fries with chorizo sauce, nacho cheese, and pickled onions. All the Wagyu beef patties are smashed using a tortilla press. 686 N. Spring St. Los Angeles, CA 90012


A Huevo Que Si, a fun-focused, extremely Instagrammable Mexican breakfast and brunch spot, is now open in South El Monte. The restaurant features a tableside cart on wheels for bananas foster pancakes, orange creamsicle cocktails, birria ramen topped with hardboiled eggs, a mural of Homer Simpson in his tighty whities, trompe-l'œil lattes, egg-topped breakfast burgers, burritos, and chilaquiles, generously garnished Bloody Marys, pancake-topped drinks, tomahawk steak-and-eggs, and miniature Ferris wheels where ramekins of food enjoy the view from up top on your table. Aaaaaaaaa huevo! 1721 Durfee Ave. South El Monte, CA 91733

Check out Gab's Pupusas in Glassell Park, which operates out of Greenroom Billiards. The menu includes Salvadoran, Mexican, and various breakfast classics, such as combo plates with plantains, asada, chorizo, refried beans, and "messy eggs." You'll also find fried chicken and waffles, strawberry cheesecake waffles, pan con pollo, pupusas with twelve-hour braised brisket or shrimp-and-cheese, tacos on freshly made corn tortillas, and a unique taco-pupusa hybrid called "tacusas," naturally. Online orders for pickup and delivery are available. Mon-Sat, 9 am-4 pm, 3458 N. San Fernando Rd. Los Angeles, CA 90065

Deaf Jam- Deaf Night Out, a club night for the deaf and hearing impaired, will be held in Covina at City Grill on April 26th, featuring hip-hop, Top 40 and Reggaeton. 147 E. College St. Covina, CA 91723

Con Todo Morocho is now open and popping up around Downtown and Bellflower while touting its tacos al pastor. The stand also sells mulitas, quesadillas, vampiros, burritos, with meats including charcoal-grilled asada, chorizo, and buche, as well as papas rellenas. It is also available to cater your taquizas.

L.A. Birria's pizza with Oaxacan cheese, short rib birria de res, smoked mozzarella, guajillo salsa, and pickled onions is now an available menu option at Italian chain North Italia through April 10—locations in Torrance, Santa Monica, and El Segundo.

Taqueria La Única is now open in Santa Barbara from the forces behind Los Agaves, Flor de Maíz, and Santo Mezcal. The menu at this dedicated taqueria includes cheese-encased tacos costras and tacos volcanes with lengua, picanha, sirloin, pollo adobada, and more, as well as tacos de labio, cachete, tripas, al pastor de trompo, and suadero. Other options include tortas and burros campechanas, alambres, birria de res with bone marrow with claims of raising the dead, and both a plancha section for carnivores and a veggie section for plant-based pastor and birria. Also, there's beer! 3771 State St. Santa Barbara, CA 93105

The Local Moco is now open in Koreatown, offering a takeout-only menu of Hawaiian eats, including traditional beef patty or chili-topped loco moco, Kalua pork plates, and rice with longanisa patties. Sun.-Tues. 4574 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90004




Chinese food don David R. Chan brings our attention to the newly opened Kingdom Dim Sum in Hollywood, which serves fish shu mai, crab har gow, sticky rice shrimp balls, deep-fried meat pies, baked pineapple custard buns, BBQ pork rice, and spicy chicken buns, among the many choices. 5445 Hollywood Blvd. Suite B, Los Angeles CA 90027 (via David R. Chanon Instagram)








- Please support Lando's Kitchen, a street vendor in Bellflower who was the victim of an assault outside of the Royal Room bar that included at least one racial epithet and a few hands thrown.
- Find Cholo Jesus' Last Supper at Catch One in Arlington Heights this Saturday while raising funds for No Us Without You. There will be mezcal, beer, funk, West Coast hip-hop, and oldies, with a suggested $8 donation at the door.
- Atwater omakase experience F&Bar now has a Hollywood location offering a $160 two-hour, 16 course food and drink-pairing experience now accepting bookings.
- Pico-Robertson's kosher pizza restaurant, Pizza Mark, has a new menu, which includes tortilla pizza, cheese bourekas, mac-and-cheese pizza, pasta arrabiata, Israeli salad, falafel, and onion rings.
- Downtown's Le Petit Paris is offering $2 oysters at happy hour, every day but Saturday from 5-7pm. Which is great, because it happens to not be Saturday today.
- Culver City's Tacos El Morenazo now has a dedicated L.A.-made salsa for mariscos for sale for $10.
- El Machete 1924 has a new style of its great bottled salsas for sale: Tangy Tamarindo, which is made with red jalapenos, chiles habaneros, apple cider, Cali garlic, and Thai tamarindo among its ingredients.
- Spaghetti Cumbia will appear at Downtown's Mezcalero on Saturday for a cover-less night of music and mezcal.
- Anaheim's Layali El Sham is offering a Ramadan special through April 22 featuring charcoal-grilled kebabs with a selection of appetizers for $27.99.
- OC readers would also be behooved to check out Big Ben's Beef Jerky, a family-run business appearing in Farmers' Markets, events, and breweries.
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