1325 Santa Monica Blvd. @ 14th St. ~ Santa Monica The Room SM is hard-to-find, a perfect accompaniment to the speakeasy chills that it gives you upon entering this underground, beat-heavy lounge in the parking lot of a sports bar-cum live music stage. SM could stand for the abundance of black leather and red velvet…

The Room SM ~ Santa Monica

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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.

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Lauren Bethke

A glass display containing loaves of bread in a deli

Food

L.A.’s 12 Best Old-School Italian Delis

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.

Lexis-Olivier Ray

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.”

Janette Villafana

East Hollywood

The 10 Best Meat Markets and Carnicerías in Los Angeles

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.

Hadley Tomicki

Taco Members Only

Weekend Eats: Chicago-Style Hot Dogs and Wild Pita Sandwiches For CHIRLA

The singer of LA ska band Chencha Berrinches throws his hands up at the crowd onstage at Levitt Pavilion

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L.A. TACO STAFF

Laura is a desmadrosa, a product of East Los, an educator, and a hood establishment connoisseur.

Laura Tejeda

The 34 Best ‘Hood Burgers In Los Angeles

An avocado sliced in half and filled with burrata cheese and tiny, yellow noodes-like nylon sev, with green and orange dots of sauce, and an edible pansy on top

Bite This: Modern Indian Restaurant’s ‘Avocado Burrata Chaat’ Links the Obsessions of California and India’s Streets

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Lizbeth Solorzano is a graduate student pursuing a Master&#8217;s in Specialized Journalism. As a native to Los Angeles, she loves writing stories about arts, culture, and local news. Growing up bilingual, she loved learning about different cultures and stories around L.A.

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Lizbeth Solorzano

News

Scoop: City of L.A. Facing Over 120 Claims For Damages Related To Anti-ICE Protests Amid Financial Crisis

Izzy Ramirez is a Los Angeles-based staff reporter with L.A. TACO, documenting immigration enforcement and state power as it unfolds on the ground. Their work centers real-time alerts and long-term public archiving throughout the Southern California region.

Izzy Ramirez

Erwin Recinos is a seasoned visual artist with an eye for capturing life as a working commuter aboard public transportation in and around Los Angeles. For 20 years now, Recinos has been documenting the urban landscape, street culture, and Hispanic communities of Los Angeles utilizing his daily routine and the city of Los Angeles as an inspiration. Recinos also works with popular food and event websites such as LATACO.com and Eater LA to capture the cuisine and culture that is so important to the city of Los Angeles and across Southern California.

Erwin Recinos

Daily Memo: ICE Returns to Downtown LA ISAP Office, Increases Raids in the Inland Empire

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The left three panels of Sandy Rodriguez's "Book 13" map at The Huntington

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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).

Javier Cabral

Tacos

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Santa Monica

A watercolor painting by Ricardo Barragan, of a King Taco sign reading We Specialize In King Taco Beef & Pork Soft Tacos and Burritos