LA&#8217;s Friends of Friends Music celebrated the release of Tomas Barfod&#8217;s &#8220;Salton Sea&#8221; EP on May 4th, 2012 at the Echoplex in Echo Park. Suzannae Kraft, Salva, Groundislava, Shlohmo and Tomas Barfod played to a house of bass addicts that hung on every drop. It made us wonder why FoF doesn&#8217;t have a regular club…

Friends of Friends “Salton Sea Release Party” Recap by Carlos Gonzales

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<p>Professional punk and Editor-In-Chief for James Beard Award-winning L.A. TACO. Associate Producer for JBA-winning Las Crónicas Del Taco. Former restaurant scout for Jonathan Gold. Co-author of &#8220;Oaxaca: Home Cooking From the Heart of Mexico (2019, Abrams) and &#8220;Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling&#8221; (2023, Abrams).</p>


Javier Cabral

Brandon and Carolina Conaway pose with dough around Brandon's head.

Food

NELA Couple Behind Sourdough Pizza Pop-Up with Cult Following Opens Brick & Mortar In Eagle Rock

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Duck carnitas taco on kernel of truth organic's blue corn tortilla. Photo by Memo Torres for L.A. TACO.

How to Crawl Through Eagle Rock’s Best Tacos and Dispensaries

<p class="p1">An award-winning journalist covering ICE and immigration raids. Host of the Daily Memo. ‘Where Memo Torres Eats’ on Apple Maps. Seen on Netflix, occasionally on KCRW. 3rd-gen landscaper. Proud son of an immigrant. Golden Bear.</p>


Memo Torres

Straight From Lebanon’s Streets, These Juicy Sandwiches Are Reviving Eagle Rock Plaza’s Lonely Corner Strip Mall

<p>One of L.A. TACO&#8217;s co-founders, Hadley Tomicki is a writer and editor on food, travel, and culture whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, UrbanDaddy, High Times, and many other places.</p>


Hadley Tomicki

What To Eat This Weekend: An ‘Adobada Pizza,’ Eid Mubarak Mocktails, Jerk Chicken, and a New Ukrainian Smokehouse

<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/watman_/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andrew Watman</a> is an Independent Food &amp; Drink Writer covering the most indulgent bites LA has to offer. Getting to know the people behind the food in this city has made this LA transplant feel right at home on the West Coast. He also writes about the latest innovations in kitchen technology. Find Andrew at the newest boba spot in town, slurping on ramen or coming up with a new way to refine a martini.</p>


Andrew Watman

The Seven Best Poke Places In Los Angeles

<p>Melissa Mora Hidalgo was born in Montebello and grew up in the L.A./O.C. borderlands of East Whittier and La Habra. She holds a Ph. D. in Literature from UC San Diego and is the author of Mozlandia: Morrissey Fans in the Borderlands (Headpress UK, 2016).</p>


Melissa Mora Hidalgo

Photo by Melissa Mora Hidalgo for L.A. TACO.

Drink

Still Got It: These Eight Breweries Have Been Open For More Than a Decade and Helped Put Greater L.A. On the Craft Beer Map

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Investigations Newsletter: When Social Media Breaks the News of Your Friend’s Murder

<p><span style="font-size: large"><strong>Dr. Gabriel Buelna</strong> holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Claremont Graduate University and serves as a faculty member in the Chicana/o Studies Department at California State University, Northridge. He is the founder and principal attorney of The Buelna Law Firm, A.P.C., based in South Pasadena, where he focuses on Family and Criminal Law. In addition to his academic and legal work, Dr. Buelna serves as an elected Trustee for the Los Angeles Community College District.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: large">Dr. Buelna is <strong>fully bilingual in English and Spanish</strong>, allowing him to effectively serve and advocate for diverse communities across Los Angeles. He can be reached at <strong><a href="mailto:gabriel@buelnalaw.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gabriel@buelnalaw.com</a></strong>. Follow him on TikTok <strong>@TacosAndLaw</strong> or visit <a href="http://www.buelnalaw.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.buelnalaw.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1750964813950000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1Njv5I6LbOH4Mhu0M6otpZ">www.buelnalaw.com</a>.</span></p>
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Gabriel Buelna

<p style="text-align: left"><span style="font-weight: 400">Enrique M. Buelna is a faculty member in the History Department at Cabrillo College. He specializes in Chicano history with an emphasis on class, race, labor, radical activism, civil rights, immigration, culture, and identity. He is the author of Chicano Communists and the Struggle for Social Justice (2019). Dr. Buelna earned his doctorate in history from the University of California, Irvine, and holds an M.A. in Public Administration from the University of Washington, Seattle.  </span></p>


Enrique M. Buelna

Opinion

Final Notice: Democrats Must Abolish ICE If They Win Tomorrow

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<div>Frank Shyong is a freelance journalist who writes the Lunch Box newsletter on Substack, which publishes original reported essays on food, diaspora, and history. He was a reporter and columnist for the <em>L.A. Times</em> for more than 12 years, covering the San Gabriel Valley, AAPI communities, and life in Los Angeles.</div>
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Frank Shyong

Politics

SGV Organizers Step Up to Stop Data Centers By Running Against the Politicians Who Failed Them

<div>Ivan Ehlers is an Ecuadorian-American cartoonist and writer. He is a regular contributor to <i>The New Yorker</i>, <i>MAD Magazine</i> and the <i>Los Angeles Times</i>.</div>
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<div>IG: <a id="m_-8957504711371111195plusReplyChip-0" class="gmail_plusreply"></a>@ivan_ehlers</div>


Ivan Ehlers

Sunday Taquitos #36: The End Is Near

<p>3rd-generation Angeleno Mike Sonksen, aka Mike the PoeT, is a poet, professor, journalist, historian and tour guide. Sonksen’s read poetry at over 100 academic institutions, appeared on radio and television and hosted at the Getty Center. His latest books are <em>Traces, Places, Faces</em> and <em>Poets of My City: A Collective Effervescence</em>. Sonksen was recently appointed the Long Beach Design District&#8217;s first Poet-in-Residence.</p>


Mike Sonksen

"Protect the Water, Revoke the Permits!" rally

Books

Vanguards of Language: Obi Kaufmann, Saul Williams, and the Power of Poetry

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A Stunning Iranian Bakery From a Former Spago and Lucques Pastry Chef

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Eagle Rock

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Headlines: Threatened Bellflower Mural With Snoop, Kobe, and Other L.A. Icons Gets Over 7,000 Signatures of Support