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