Skip to Content
Food

Poncho’s Tlayudas Makes Its Public Food-Scene Debut Sunday at Smorgasburg

[dropcap size=big]C[/dropcap]hef Alfonso "Poncho" Martinez of Poncho's Tlayudas is the featured newcomer at the Smorgasburg LA food-fest this Sunday in downtown Los Angeles. The appearance marks a food-scene debut for Poncho's Tlayudas and its team.

If you haven't had a chance to make it on an inspired Friday night to Poncho's in South-Central, this is your chance to taste the pop-up's Oaxacan tlayudas and Martinez's revelatory recipe for indigenous Oaxacan moronga or morcilla blood sausage.

"I'm here getting ready now," Martinez tells L.A. Taco. "The usual ... tlayudas, moronga, chorizo, tasajo."

Poncho's was founded by Martinez and his partner Odilia Romero, and takes place only on Friday nights in the backyard of a binational indigenous rights organization for Oaxaqueños in Los Angeles known as FIOB. An excerpt from our feature earlier this year:

Food binds everything that happens at the FIOB on South Main. Odilia and Poncho explain that with the constant activity, Oaxaqueños began bringing their best dishes to share at gatherings. Food sovereignty, after all, is a central pillar of the work. “You know how it is, everyone brings food, and wants to be the best,” Poncho tells me.

And with practice in the speedy kitchens of Los Angeles, Poncho, a musician at heart, realized he held that enviable knack that Oaxacans tend to have for magically making good food. One day Odilia’s parents decided they’d teach Poncho how to make moronga the way they made it back in Zoogocho.

Poncho's is a relative newcomer and an L.A. Taco favorite, you'll see!

Blood sausage with a tlayuda mixta at Poncho's Tlayudas. Photo by Daniel Hernandez for L.A. TACO.

The event runs from 10 am to 4 pm. Read more in our weekly events column GTFO LA!, and read Ode to Oaxacan L.A.

RELATED: Ode to Oaxacan L.A. ~ Friday Nights at Poncho's Tlayudas

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

Sunday Taquitos #26: Obnoxious Experienced

Sunday Taquitos! Art by Pulitzer Prize Finalist Ivan Ehlers.

May 10, 2026

Weekend Eats: Sinaloan Hot Dogs Vs. Sonoran Dogos? You Can Have Them Both In L.A.

Plus Chinese-Jamaican cooking in Hollywood, a new torta ahogada specialist, and chef Daniel Patterson's return to fine-dining on Melrose.

May 8, 2026

L.A. TACO Neighborhood Guides: The Fairfax District

Fairfax has Tyler the Creator's preppy emporium, breakfast burritos with smoked potatoes, a Guns N' Roses museum, legendary 3 a.m. pastrami, and one of L.A.'s last remaining newsstands. Plus a neighborhood history by artist Adam Villacin.

Daily Memo: A Push for ‘Quieter’ Immigration Raids and An Increasing Use of Force at Detention Centers

We are also exactly a month away from June 6th, when the Border Patrol arrived in Los Angeles and began the raids that terrorized so many around the country.

Here’s Every Single Death Linked to Immigration Enforcement Since Trump’s Raids Began in 2025

We hope this register offers a moment to remember the names and stories of the victims. For each one, we’ve included the backstory we were able to gather alongside the official account from government agencies.

From Florida to SoCal: The Vietnamese Creator Spotlighting Hidden Gem Restaurants for Millions

Moving to California felt healing—and almost like entering "a new country," says Soy Nguyen. For the first time, she saw Vietnamese and Asian cultures openly embraced, a stark contrast to Florida.

May 5, 2026
See all posts