REVIEW: Los Angeles Restaurant, Panaderia Y Tortilleria

On Sunday, June 22nd, we visited Los Angeles Restaurant, Panaderia Y Tortilleria #1.  It's located on Zarzamora, just north of Commerce St., in the heart of the Westside.  The restaurant was originally recommended to us by Teno's sister, Zuani.  We'd been there before and we knew we liked it, but this was a special trip because we were celebrating the beginning of Teno's birthday week.  Thus, we had decided to go to a place where we knew exactly what to expect.

Ambiance - When you walk into Los Angeles, you know you're going to a happy, family-friendly place.  The air is filled with the aroma of freshly cooked tortillas, particularly corn tortillas hot off the press near the kitchen.  When you enter, you see, hear, and smell the tortilleria.  It's got the familiar squeakiness of the large machine and woman with plastic-covered hands is stuffing maza into the head of it.  It reminds you of the neighborhood tortilleria you visited before returning to the U.S. from a visit to your grandmother's house.  Then you begin to miss those days when...(The rest of this review is mostly written by Teno, as Eddie has become lost in nostalgia.) There is a panaderia section where you can start eyeing your dessert.  Next is a large seating area that is most likely filled on weekend mornings.  And on the walls, you find words of inspiration and encouragement.  This is your 'happy' place and you're ready to order. 5 Tortillas - Taco-madre!

  

Service - The service at Los Angeles was good.  (The server reminds me of my tia.  She makes an excellent pan de nata, and when you bite into it...Focus, Eddie!)  The staff was friendly and our server came around often to ask for refills.  However, this not being our first time there, we did notice that our food  took a little longer than usual.  It was busy, but not especially so, and previous visits had yielded faster results.  We'll chalk it up to a one-time hiccup.  4 Tortillas - Taco-nazo!

Menu Options - The menu offers a number of tasty staples of most well-regarded Mexican restaurants - all the standard breakfast fare.  They are even so proud of their machacado that they list it twice.  (Ah machacado. Did I ever tell you about the time that... Darnit, Eddie!  We're trying to write a review!)  However, Los Angeles differentiates itself by offering one particularly tasty item that we have not found many places - barbacoa de borrego.  As with most places, they offer regular barbacoa, menudo, and other select offerings on weekends only.  But the barbacoa de borrego?  You can get that any day of the week.  We know.  We've tried.  We've been impressed. 5 Tortillas - Taco-madre!

Food - The food at Los Angeles was everything we remembered, and then some.  Teno ordered the barbacoa de borrego (on corn), a bean and egg (on flour) and a machacado con huevo (on flour).  After wolfing down the barbaco de borrego, he barely managed to eat half of each of the other tacos.  They were tasty, but he was full on this day.  The corn tortillas were fresh, warm, and tasty, the kind of warm where you could just roll them up with your hands and pinch of salt and enjoy by themselves, just like at my abuelita'shouse when she'd come back with a fresh, paper-wrapped pack of...  (Ha!  That was Teno.  Who's stuck in nostalgia now?)  The flour tortillas were good with just a hint of extra flour on the outside, and they held firm (mostly).  Eddie ordered the chicharron con huevo, machacado con huevo, and regular barbacoa.  He too was nearly full just off the barbacoa, but managed to finish his plate despite one of his tortillas tearing early in the meal.  This is a place we could return to often (and we have).  5 Tortillas - Taco-madre!

  

 
 

Overall Taconacity - This place exceeds expectations.  The ambiance and food alone require repeat business and the staff helps maintain the happy, wholesome, family atmosphere.  This is a place we really enjoyed and would gladly take friends and family there on future visits.  There is still so much more to try there.  We didn't even hit the panaderia this time!  Lots of goodies await.  5 Tortillas - Taco-madre!!

Los Angeles Restaurant, Tortilleria Y Panaderia

300 N. Zarzamora St.

San Antonio, TX 78207

(210) 435-2400

Teno's Tidbits - That morning, we were not only celebrating my birthday week, but also mourning the fact that my car was broken into the previous night.  It happened while I was sleeping and luckily, they did not cause any major physical damage.  I was only hurt emotionally.  I felt violated and wronged.  They did not take much, as I'd learned not to leave anything of value in my car overnight in my neighborhood.  What were the spoils the villains escaped with?  A bag of dirty laundry which included a favorite pair of jeans, some lottery tickets (I checked the numbers and they did not get away with a 'winner'), an empty glasses case and some $5 sunglasses from a convenience store.  That, and they made a bit of a mess.  Oh well.  Life goes on.  All is well.  Lesson learned. 

Eddie's Extras - ...and then my grandmother made mole, just for me...

Sorry about the distraction, guys.  It's just that tortillerias have a distinctive smell and it's one that makes my mind wander as soon as we exit Teno's Escape, walk through the parking lot, and approach Los Angeles.  (Zuani, if you're reading this, I can't thank you enough for introducing this place to your brother.)  

The flavor of a restaurant is in the pecularities

We Honor Our Fathers

Today we honor

The first man we met

The first man to to give us "the look"

The first man to introduce us to all of the most important things:

  Pedro Infante

  Salsa ranchera

  The Dirty Dozen and Magnificent Seven

  Tortillas de masa

  Cheap beer

  A sense of nostalgia often confused with hoarding

The man that commanded attention with

  A word

  A whistle

  A snap of the finger

The one that taught us

  To catch

  To throw

  To watch cartoons

  To laugh at the inappropriate

  To eat without abandon

  To dance without fear

  To shave

  To get back up

  To be proud

He may not have cooked,

But he appreciated the one who did

He may not have made the tacos

But he knew where to find the best ones

Today we honor

The landscaper

The pit-master

The air-accordionist

Who brought home the barbacoa

And was there

Even when we didn't want him to be

But always when we needed

Gracias.

-By El Tacolico

 

Free Panties

You share your apartment with everyone who has ever lived there before.  Checking the mail therefore becomes an exercise in getting to know previous residents.  I can tell you, for example, that the former inhabitants of my little slice of paradise rented furniture, had insurance with Geico, and donated to various environmental causes. 

I've also learned from the catalogs I occasionally receive, that someone ordered from, or otherwise made the mailing list for, Victoria's Secret. While the occasional mailing can be visually appealing I can also see that as a father of two, it's not something I should be hanging on to.  The other day, however, I got something more - a booklet with an offer for free panties.

This provided a dilemma of sorts.  My parents rarely threw away coupons and didn't usually turn down free offers.  I've been trained to take advantage of good deals. People in my culture will stand in line for hours for something don't even need.  I've heard people call in on the radio and ask what they won, because all they knew was that something was being given away. I am genetically predisposed to hold on to coupons.  In cleaning the top of my dresser the other day, I found a completed Marble Slab Club card from 2007 and a large part of me wants to see if there's a chance I can redeem it this weekend. 

This offer is incredibly problematic. First, I'm not sure that any of their styles are appropriate for my frame. Second, I don't have a significant other to whom I can hand over the card. Third, I just can't throw it away. And finally, I do occasionally entertain guests and it's not something I want sitting on my counter or coffee table. 

So I've decided that the best thing to do is give it to a friend, but I'm not sure if any of my approaches will convey the appropriate message.  None of the following phrases sufficiently distance me away from awkward. 

"Hey, you want some panties?"

"I got some panties in the mail and I thought you might like them."

"Not to sound creepy or nothin' but I've got some free chones for you."

"Would it be weird if I gave you free underwear?"

"I acquired these and thought you could use them."

"Hey," then wink, hand over the card, "just in case."

"I thought of you when I saw this."

"I'm not sure if you could use a new pair, but here you go."

"Um here, for you...or your mom...or your daughter, or whatever."

I think Victoria's Secret contrived the perfect social experiment. There's no way that a man can give free panties to a woman he's not in a relationship with, without it seeming awkward. And if you were in a relationship, how would you explain the free offer that would sound innocent and believable?  You'd be left thinking the best thing to do would be to pick them up yourself, which would lead to to ask her for a size (something you should never do) or looking through her drawer (again, something you should probably never do).  Not to mention that you will enter the shop and be that guy - the one guy at VS who has absolutely no idea what he's doing in that store and trying his hardest not to make any eye contact with sales associates or scantily-clad mannequins. 

This is a major crisis with no clear solution - the perfect discussion topic for us to taco bout, but all anyone wants to taco bout right now is the Spurs beating the Miami team in the NBA Finals. 

With very few options left, I've come to the safest conclusion I could think of. I'll likely just leave it in a colleague's mailbox at the school where I teach. I'm sure that's perfectly safe. 

"Hey, did you use that card I left in your box last week?"

REVIEW: Ramona's Cafe

On the morning of Saturday May 31st, we visited our first taqueria that was not on the SA Current's list of the top 5 breakfast spots on the Westside (and by first not on the list, we mean for the purpose of this blog - we have of course visited many other taquerias....just look at us).  Eddie mentioned that Ramona's Cafe was recommended by one of his former students, so we decided to give it a try.  As we drove in, we saw the parking lot was full and an adjacent caliche parking lot was mostly full too.  We felt good about our selection as we pulled in.

Ambience - We believe that any place with a caliche parking lot gets bonus points right from the start.  The inside was typical of most Westside spots.  Some colorful art on the walls, colorful menus and  Teno especially enjoyed the homely feel of the coffee mugs.  They weren't your standard plain, white cups.  His had a duck on it.  He likes ducks.  Ducks are nice.  More points.  Taco-nazo! - 4 Tortillas

Service - We generally enjoyed the service at Ramona's Cafe, with one exception.  They brought Teno the wrong tacos....TWICE!  Everyone was nice and friendly and they checked on us multiple times to refill water and coffee.  For the taco mishap, we should probably rate it a 2, taco-kay - BUT, we're nice guys.  So, we'll give it Taco-rale! - 3 tortillas

Menu Options - The menu options were pretty standard.  All the mainstays were represented, but we saw some things we liked, such as the migas taco.  It's not uncommon, but you don't see it on every menu.  We were satisfied with our options.  Taco-rale! - 3 Tortillas

Food - Everything we ordered tasted good.  The tortillas were just a tad dusty from flour.  The machacado con huevo a la mexicana was just the right level of salty - although not nearly spicy enough.  We had to add some of their tasty hot sauce on it.  Teno was a bit disappointed in the bean and egg - too much egg and not properly mixed.  The chorizo con huevo seemed to lack the desired level of grease.  Probably healthier, but not what you're really looking for when you order chorizo con huevo.  Solid meal. Nothing to get excited about, but another solid 3.  Taco-rale! - 3 Tortillas

Overall Taconacity - We both left there satisfied and full.  These were not the best tacos we'd ever had, but nowhere near bad.  They were good.  Solid.  Average.  We probably wouldn't go out of our way to revisit or make a point of taking our family there.  But, if you're in the area and find yourself in need of a taco fix, you can't go wrong.  Taco-rale! - 3 Tortillas

Ramona's Cafe
604 NW 24th St.
San Antonio, TX 78207
(210) 436-7100

Teno's Tidbits - Teno is traveling to Northern California this weekend for a friend's wedding, so we will not Taco Bout anything this weekend. UNLESS, do any of you have any recommendations for a place to get a good taco in San Francisco?  Send us a comment, tweet, or email with any suggestions.

Eddie's Extras - San Antonio isn't really known for neighborhood pubs - places where you go, hang out, have a beer, have some conversation, and go home to a place nearby. Instead, we have taquerías.  Ramona's is the perfect example of a neighborhood taqueria.  We could tell, from the moment we walked in, that this would be a place we would frequent if we lived in the area.  It had a wholesome feel to it and the food was solidly good.