Razo Bakhtamian didn’t set out to make the best lobster tacos in Los Angeles.
It just sort of happened.
Only a year ago, the Armenian-born chef was running his family's trio of fine-dining restaurants in his hometown of Kostrama, Russia, working as their head chef. Then came the flight to Mexico City, the border crossing on foot, and the ensuing six months of detention in Nogales, Arizona, and Jacksonville, Florida.
Today, you’ll find Razo beneath a square tent next to a weed dispensary in North Hollywood, preparing fish, lobster, and shrimp tacos that would be recognizable to the cult of the Baja-style seafood taco, but delightfully unbound to traditional recipes and techniques.