World famous Bandini is back with another Top Ten Tacos list, including a straight to the (almost) top hot-shot debut. How many of these wonderful tacos have you been tried? 1. El Parian (three months at #1) 1528 Pico Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90036 2. Tacos La Fonda Vineland and Van Owen, SF Valley 3.…

Top Ten Tacos ~ September 2006

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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

Demonstrators with Jewish Voices for Peace inside Adam Schiff's office in Burbank. Photo by Lexis-Olivier Ray for L.A. TACO.

Protests

Jewish Activists Storm Lobby of Schiff’s Future Office In Burbank, Demand He Stop Arming Israel

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

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

Fried chicken with plantains, toppings and a special sauce.

Downtown

A Running List of Mom N’ Pop Businesses In Danger Of Closing That Need Community Support Right Now

Marina Peña is a writer and news producer who covers the social issues that affect Angelenos. She loves strawberries and a good empanada.

Marina Peña

An empanada with pebre sauce, a traditional Chilean sauce made to pour over the empanada’s filling, made with jalapeños, cilantro, green bell peppers, salt, garlic, olive oil, and onions.

The 14 Best Empanadas, from Van Nuys to Long Beach

L.A. TACO STAFF

The 25 Best Breakfast Burritos In L.A.

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Julianne Le is a recent grad from UCLA where she majored in English and minored in Asian American Studies. Maybe it&#8217;s because she isn&#8217;t jaded yet, but she is super eager to peek into the overlooked corners of L.A. and write about them. Le is the former editor-in-chief of UCLA&#8217;s Pacific Ties Newsmagazine and was a finalist for the Associated Collegiate Press&#8217; &#8220;Podcast of the Year&#8221; award in 2024.

Julianne Le

People

From Florida to SoCal: The Vietnamese Creator Spotlighting Hidden Gem Restaurants for Millions

A.k.a. Afroxander; Weekend Editor at L.A. Taco and a lecturer at San Diego State University. He has covered arts, culture, history, politics, and sports with an emphasis on Latin America and its U.S. diaspora for over two decades.

Ivan Fernandez

Taco Madness

Los Dorados And Los Cholos Are The Big Winners At TACO MADNESS 2026

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

Memo Torres is the Director of Engagement and multimedia journalist for the James Beard award-winning L.A. Taco. He is also the host of the Daily Memo and writes for Apple Maps’ ‘Where Memo Torres Eats in L.A.’ You can see him on Netflix&#8217;s Taco Chronicles and Pressure Cooker.  You can hear him on KCRW’s ‘Good Food’ occasionally. He was a finalist for the Ruben Salazar Award for Latino journalists and a former third-generation landscaper.

Memo Torres

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

Daily Memo: 18th Death in ICE Detention Is Presumed a Suicide After An Alleged Altercation Left a Guard Unconscious

Weekend Eats: You Can Now Eat These Egyptian Tacos Every Day In Lincoln Heights

Daily Memo: California Is Installing ICE AI Surveillance Tools As Trump Goes After Your Civil and Constitutional Rights

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News

Why Did Anaheim City Council Vote to Install Nearly $1M-Worth of License Plate Surveillance?

Former editor of L.A. Taco. I still live in Los Angeles but mainly just hang out at parks and stare off into the distance.

Erich Redson

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Burbank

The Pocket Burger, a burger encased in is own bun, at The Mouth in Burbank