Taqueria La Colmena is a two-year-old taqueria in Santa Barbara on Milpas street. The small dining room has a counter and a &nbsp;handful of tables and is run by really nice people who bring a bit of Mexico City to Santa Barbara. Excellent tacos of all types with fresh tortillas are served, along with house-made…

Taco of the Day: Taco de Canasta de Chicharrón ~ Taqueria La Colmena, Santa Barbara

linkDestination

caption

credit

creditUrl

lightboxSrc

originalHeight

originalWidth

srcset

height

width

core/image

core/paragraph

<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

Taco Members Only

Sobuneh and Tacos 1986 Are Making Breakfast Tacos Together For Only 6 Days Next Week

<p><span class="OYPEnA font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none">Janette Villafana is an award-winning bilingual multimedia journalist. Her heart lies in community-based reporting, and her work is highly centered on showcasing and uplifting community voices, with a significant focus on the Latino community. She developed her beat at L.A. TACO, covering street vending communities in Los Angeles. Past work has been featured on NBC, LAist, Latino Rebels, and more. She is currently featured at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington in an exhibit titled “¡De última hora! Latinas Report Breaking News.”</span></p>


Janette Villafana

a man and woman hold passports they created outside a food truck

Food

South Central Is Going Old School to Revive Its Economy: Coupons

Get These Smoked Guinness Chili Burgers For One Day Only In Boyle Heights

2 tacos on flour tortillas spilling oput beans, steak, and onions next to cups of red and green salsa at el ruso

Tacos

El Ruso Brings Sonoran Burritos and Tacos to a Studio City Brick-and-Mortar Next Week

<p>Karina Soriano is a Los Angeles-based journalist who covers the crossroads of music, food, art, and social issues. She spotlights the everyday people who really keep L.A. moving. Usually, while stuck in traffic, looking for a good place to eat.</p>


Karina Soriano

L.A. Taco Guides

The Seven Best Tacos in Lynwood, Ranked

<div>
<div dir="auto">
<p dir="ltr">Jake Hook is a local food historian in Los Angeles. They run the Diner Preservation Society, dedicated to highlighting the city&#8217;s traditional food culture. Follow him on Instagram at @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/dinertheory/">DinerTheory</a>.</p>
</div>
<div class="yj6qo ajU"></div>
</div>
<div></div>


Jake Hook

After 34 Years, Hollywood’s Iconic Cactus Taquería #1 Is Being Forced to Close This Sunday

Explore

Footer - NEW

Legal Footer

Main - NEW

Mobile

Neighborhoods

Top Guides

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

L.A. TACO is paid for by readers, not billionaires. 7,800 Angelenos keep this newsroom independent. Memberships start at $5.95/month.

This one's for members.

No advertiser paid for this. No hedge fund owns us. Investigations take records requests, lawyers, and reporters on the ground for months at a time, and 7,800 members are the only reason we can do them. Memberships start at $5.95/month.

This investigation took months.

We're paid for by readers, not billionaires. 7,800 Angelenos keep this newsroom independent, and members read everything. Memberships start at $5.95/month.

Keep reading L.A. TACO.

Free registration

Please register for L.A. TACO to Vote 

Register to continue

We don't take endorsements and nobody pays us to cover local politics. Create a free account to keep reading, and we'll send you the next voter guide before you need it.

Free to Read, just share your email 

Every place on this list was visited by someone on our staff. Create a free account to read all of it. No payment, no catch.

The rest of this guide is free. We just need an email.

Create a free account and keep reading. No payment, no catch. We're reader-funded, and this is how we get to know who we're writing for.

Read this one on us.

Celebrating the Taco Lifestyle in Los Angeles, CA

L.A. TACO

<p>Lexis-Olivier Ray is an award-winning staff investigative reporter for L.A. TACO known for holding powerful people in Los Angeles accountable and his reporting on Los Angeles culture. As well as an artist and filmmaker. In 2022, the Society of Professional Journalists&#8217; Los Angeles chapter named Ray one of their &#8220;distinguished journalists.&#8221; In 2023, Ray won a second place Anthem Award in their Health Innovation category for a texting service geared towards the unhoused community and service providers that he launched in 2021 with L.A. TACO and Subtext. Ray was a 2020 USC Center For Health Journalism (CHJ) Data Fellow. As well as a 2022 CHJ Impact Fellow. As a freelancer, Ray has contributed to the L.A. Times, Men&#8217;s Health Magazine, KCET and SFGATE.</p>


Lexis-Olivier Ray

The Whole ‘Hood Knows He’s Innocent. Will He Finally Be Freed After 20 Years In Prison?

<p><span style="font-weight: 400">Blending her time in the kitchen as a line cook with her passion for storytelling, Lauren Bethke writes about community, inclusivity and the city she loves the most—Los Angeles.</span></p>


a woman sits outside wearing a black long sleeve outfit

Lauren Bethke

a woman dressed as a clown pulls a ribbon from her vagina as a bit

Party Pics

This Clown Sex Party Creampied 12 Brave Souls in DTLA (for Charity)

<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>
<div></div>
<div>IG: <a id="m_-8957504711371111195plusReplyChip-0" class="gmail_plusreply"></a>@ivan_ehlers</div>


Ivan Ehlers

Comix

Sunday Taquitos #32: Total Recall

Aisha Wallace-Palomares

a drawing of a federal immigration agent behind caution tape

What to Do If a Federal Immigration Agency Kills Your Loved One

L.A.’s Best Arepas Find a Permanent Home In Mar Vista

<p>Joey Scott is an investigative journalist and documentary photographer whose work has been featured in Wired, The Guardian, and Los Angeles Public Press. He covers policing, protests, surveillance, and prisons.</p>


Joey Scott

Altadena Residents Haunted By Flock Cameras Installed After Deadly Fire

L.A. TACO STAFF

post

<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

Chicharrón de Res OG Taco at Tacos Royale.

I Found the New Best Carne Asada Taco in L.A, And It’s in a Parking Lot In Silver Lake