Welcome to L.A. Taco’s Pozole Week! Every day this week, we are celebrating a different style of the hominy and meat stew that really hits the spot when it is cold out, and share some delicious spots in Los Angeles to try it. For our fourth day, we are celebrating a meat-free pozole in the Valley that just might be as good as its pork or chicken counterparts. Grab a bowl and join us.
ne can argue that the perfect time to gorge on some tamalitos and some pozole is after a long night of bad decisions and too many drinks. While this would be a perfect cure for la cruda, for me the next best time to indulge in these offerings of the gods was on a chilly Friday night after driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic from Northridge to the very edge of Sylmar. Traffic be damned as I had been preparing my paladar for this specific night.
As I pulled up to my destination, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of welcoming just by looking at the single-story, modest, and dimly-lit house decked out with string lights and a row of tables nicely spaced in conjunction with a variety of different chairs and bar stools. As I made my way up the driveway I was greeted by two familiar and much-beloved attacks on my senses. The overwhelming smell of deliciousness that awaited me and the gentle, almost serene sounds of a group of abuelitas sitting on the patio and having a conversation. I instantly felt at home!
This is the backdrop you’ll be greeted with when you make your way to vegan pop-up Guayaba Kitchen. Guayaba Kitchen, started by Chef Wendy Centeno, has been doing its thing for the better part of almost a year now. First setting up in Pacoima by Laurel Canyon and Osborne Streets, but ultimately settling down in their personal home since the previous location was getting too crazy.