A. Scattergood

Chichen Itza's cochinita pibil

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4), we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes.

98: Chichen Itza's Cochinita pibil.

You know the drill. Wind your way down the 110, past the concrete universe of downtown L.A., L.A. Live and USC, and into the Mercado la Paloma; thread past the market stalls and the chairs and tables for people who've paused for ceviche or aguas frescas or guanabana sorbet; and step up to the counter of Chichen Itza, where you will order a plate of cochinita pibil. If you have not done this recently, maybe think about doing so.

The pork, roasted in banana leaves to a different ontological condition, now rests in a bright sauce, shot through with heat and something like sunlight, an alchemy of achiote and Seville orange, garlic and allspice and clove. A confetti of pickled onion. A single whole habanero that is both signature and motif. Or challenge, really, considering the Scoville level of the stuff in the jar beside your plate.

More >>

Anne Fishbein

Cemita de Milanesa at Cemitas Poblanos Elviritas #1

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4), we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes.

No. 99: Cemita de Milanesa at Cemitas Poblanos Elviritas #1.

There are sandwiches, and then there are sandwiches. The towering Mexican creation known as the cemita, a burly cousin of the torta and specialty of the state of Puebla, is set firmly in the latter camp -- in fact, it has about as much in common with your standard coldcut as a two-door Fiat has with an Abrams tank. It might just be one of the most formidable things ever stuck between two pieces of bread.

There is simply no room for filler here. A grilled sesame-studded roll, hard-shelled on the exterior but soft as brioche inside, is stacked with oily sheets of breaded fried beef, a heap of stringy quesillo, a smattering of sliced avocado, raw white onion, smoky chipotle peppers or pickled jalapenos, and a few leaves of a pungent herb called papalo, which smells like a mixture of mint, pepper and laundry detergent. For a dollar or two more, they'll even slip in a piece of Poblano head cheese if that's your kind of thing; the aspic dissolves under the heat of the sizzling meat and forms a spreadable, offal-based condiment of sorts that pushes the richness to atmospheric levels.

More >>

Chef Jonathan Waxman

Baja California is very hot right now. Just ask Anthony Bourdain, The New Yorker, or Dwell. Now chef Jonathan Waxman, cookbook author, chef/owner of Barbuto in NYC and culinary consultant for Rosa Mexicano, is debuting his "Foods of Baja" menu at the restaurant's West Hollywood and L.A. Live locations. It offers a "seasonal celebration inspired by the signature flavors of the Baja peninsula."

More >>

Flickr/kelso

flor de calabaza (squash blossoms)

This week's Twitter war began innocuously enough: On May 8, Portland-based food blogger and restaurateur Nick Zukin, who owns a Mexico City-style snack shop called Mi Mero Mole in PDX, inquired via Twitter where to find jarred flor de calabaza (squash blossoms) on a recent trip to Orange County. When no one in particular piped up with a particular location, Zukin (@extramsg) lamented that the item was easier to find in Oregon than in Southern California.

That statement attracted the attention of food blogger Bill Esparza (@streetgourmetla) and O.C. Weekly food editor Gustavo Arellano (@gustavoarellano), who responded that the statement was patently false, and that Zukin wasn't looking hard enough. Food-based barbs were traded, words like pendejo and gabacho were thrown around, and Zukin was compared unfavorably to a character in a Portlandia sketch. Zukin then pulled out the Rick Bayless card by suggesting L.A. was lacking a Mexican food expert on the level of the Chicago chef, a statement that definitely touched a nerve with two of our city's foremost authorities on the cuisine. The back and forth battle continued for a couple hours, like a electronic version of this year's Australian Open finals.

More >>

T. Nguyen

Tacos al pastor at Tacos Leo

Los Cincos Puntos, one of our favorite places for a taco, is located right near a cemetery. This is fitting, in a way: After all, in Los Angeles, nothing can be said to be certain except death and tacos. Indeed, we're willing to bet that if you peeked in backyards across town during Memorial Day weekend, you'll find tortillas and carne asada grilling on the Webers as readily as you'll find hot dogs and buns, and kids will be adding salsa to their tacos the way your 10-year-old self topped your hot dog with relish. Summer can't come soon enough.

Beyond the backyard, we're fortunate to have a landscape dotted with great taco trucks and taquerias. And while there are countless ways to connect these dots to come up with a top 10 list, ours is comprised of tacos that are not only stellar in their own right, but so fantastic that we would drive clear across town for them. Turn the page for the full list.

More >>

Anne Fishbein

Mexican corvina sea bass with miso-saki reduction, shrimp and mashed potatoes

If, for some reason, you still think Los Angeles is still lagging behind other major cities in the sophistication of our Mexican cuisine, maybe you haven't been getting out much. The city has been going through a renaissance in the last few years, with highly talented chefs bringing the food they grew up with to new heights of both artistry and authenticity. Today's feature food story, by journalist Lorenza Munoz, explores some of the restaurants that have changed the game in this town, from places like Chichen Itza and Teresitas and La Casita Mexicana that have been open for years, to those like Seta and Rocio's Mole de los Dioses that have opened recently. But it was not always so:

When La Casita first opened, one guest threw an enchilada at them, scolding that it was not a proper enchilada because it did not have cheddar cheese or rice and beans. Introducing people gently to the new was a delicate dance. "We have been seducing them with the flavors of Mexico," [Ramiro] Arvizu says. "We go out into the dining room and explain the stories of the dishes and traditions."

Read the story, and check out Anne Fishbein's spectacular photos of Seta.

Via Travel Channel

Anthony Bourdain relaxing on a Baja beach

The Baja California episode of No Reservations begins with a soundtrack of gunshots and sirens peppering news reports of violence in Tijuana. But against this noise we see Anthony Bourdain strolling into town looking unafraid. He knows what you're thinking: "Wait, isn't Tijuana dangerous?"

The short answer, we learn, is there is no short answer. Yes, it's been a hotbed for drug-related violence in recent years, which has caused Americans largely to stop going. So what does one find just over the border these days? A city that's stopped caring, apparently, about catering to our vices and is now in the midst of a renaissance, especially when it comes to the culinary scene.

Bourdain also reminds us in this episode that Tijuana is merely stop one on your Baja excursion, if you're wise, and that a journey further south will land you in wine country that "feels like Tuscany."

In other words, our SoCal backyard is blooming again, and watching this show will make you want to frolic in it.

More >>

B. Hansen

interior of Santa Monica Loteria

Lotería pulled a sneaky stunt, opening in Santa Monica without telling a soul. But how could the fifth location of this Mexican chain not open on the fifth day of the fifth month of the year, which, as you of course know, was Cinco de Mayo?

The official first day was to be May 14, but Jimmy Shaw, founder and executive chef of the Lotería! Grill Restaurant Group, had his heart set on celebrating May 5. So he opened for a few hours with a short menu, then closed the doors to get ready for this week's grand opening.

The new Lotería takes over a space on the Third Street Promenade formerly occupied by a Gaucho Grill. The lotería theme is everywhere, in enormous panels in the cantina and the main dining room and in a wall of illuminated niches holding painted wooden lotería figures. Shaw commissioned a Oaxacan artist to make these. They're in the style of the whimsical Oaxacan folk art figures called alebrijes.

More >>

Krista Simmons

mole

Many food fanatics would consider a trip to Mexico the ultimate vacation. But when East L.A. is your proverbial backyard, somehow airfare to an exotic locale doesn't seem necessary. Nancy Zaslavsky, author of A Cook's Tour of Mexico, could prove that very point. On May 19, she'll lead an "East L.A. Mexican Market Tour" with stops to shop and eat. Guests can sample carnitas, moles, tamales, sweets, pan dulce and breads, as well as "corn tortillas made by the old pat-pat method from just-made masa." They may also want to check out the cookware on sale and try on some boots or tejano hats. Then it's lunch at one of Zaslavsky's favorite local restaurants. (Sign up to get the exact itinerary.)

More >>

Anne Fishbein

Mole Poblano at Moles La Tia

If there is a singular food worthy of its own museum exhibit, it's probably molé, the versatile Mexican sauce that ranges from the pitch-black Oaxacan negro to colorful varieties tinted with tamarind or pistachio.

On Saturday June 2, in connection with LACMA's current exhibition, Children of the Plumed Serpent: The Legacy of Quetzalcoatl in Ancient Mexico, the museum is partnering with food-tour company Six Taste to offer an exploration of pre-Columbian Mexican cuisine with a visit to Koreatown's Guelaguezta and East L.A.'s Moles La Tia to sample their molés. (Yep, a private shuttle takes you to the restaurants. How cool is that.)

More >>