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

You’re Not Too Strong, Smart, or Pretty to Be Raped: A Survivor’s No-BS Guide to Ending Gender-Based Violence 

"We must acknowledge that [society] works by promoting perpetual war against girls, women, and femmes," writer and survivor Myriam Gurba says. "Your job is to decide which side of the war you’re on and commit to that fight."

March 31, 2026

The Second Death of Cesar Chavez: Investigating Generational Fraud

"Chavez had been elevated as a symbol of moral clarity. But now it has become clear that he carried a dark and destructive side, one that left many victims still suffering from those actions."

Sunday Taquitos #21: Trump’s Other Gas Problem

Sunday Taquitos! Art by Ivan Ehlers.

March 29, 2026

All Elite Wrestling Lets Its Wrestlers Speak Freely – And The Fans (And Business) Are Responding

“Fuck ICE” chants, speaking up against the genocide in Gaza, a deathmatch with glass, barbed wire, and an exploding table. Welcome to the AEW.

March 28, 2026

L.A. TACO’s Protest Survival Guide

Here is a guide of protest essentials for new and seasoned protestors, including a breakdown of important rights to remember.

March 27, 2026
See all posts