There’s always room for one more regional-style taco in Southern California’s vast taco universe, especially if it’s as succulent and satisfying as El Lechoncito O.C.
Just when you thought you had experienced all the possible toppings that can go on meat and tortillas, Israel Mejía and Alan Sanz, the co-founders of this taquiza-only concept, are here to unlock a new level of taco-porkiness with their chicharrón-topped suckling pig tacos.
As proven by El Lechoncito O.C.’s origin story, tacos bequeath tacos. The idea to bring a regional taco variation not yet seen in Southern California came to Mejía and Sanz while eating tacos at Northgate’s Mercado in Costa Mesa.
“The thought hit us after eating: ‘Why don’t we do tacos like El Lechoncito de Oro here?’ They’re talking about Oaxaca’s legendary street food stands—and one of the only ones in a city of tlayudas—specializing in melt-in-your-mouth roast pork, in a rolled-up taco topped with a crispy piece of crispy pig skin, served on steamed tortillas. Anyone who’s ever had that legendary taco will likely (and vaguely) recollect eating an ungodly amount of them late at night while stumbling back to their lodging; it's scary how easy it is to eat half a dozen of them in five minutes because they are so delicious.
When El Lenchoncito O.C.'s taco was still just an idea, they worked together at Maizano, a modern Mexican restaurant inside Northgate’s Mercado. Mejía was the general manager, and Sanz was the executive chef. Before that, Mejia worked for five years at Enrique Olvera’s Cosme restaurant in New York, while Sanz was at Gracias Madre in West Hollywood. Mejía left Maizano to pursue El Lechoncito full-time while Sanz was still the chef there.
Together, the two are some of the proudest chilangos, both born and raised in Mexico City, and you can taste their lifetime of taco culture expertise with your first bite of El Lechoncito O.C.