Donde Comer, September 18-20: Tacos La Carreta, Compton, CA

L.A.'s first legit northern Mexican taco cart


It just doesn't stop here in L.A.We are gaining new traditional, regional vendors each week, whether they've been around a month like Tacos La Carreta, or 15 years, hidden from mainstream food media.

As a writer for Los Angeles Magazine, restaurant consultant, fixer for food television and editor of this blog, it has been my job to find great shit. Whether it be the streets of L.A., Mexico, Brasil, Guatemala, or anywhere else in Latin America, I find shit, professionally.

These past few years have seen increased activity as many jobs that come up, as well as for my beat at L.A. Magazine, require me to find new places, constantly. And, to the petty food critic out there who has begun to trivialize my contributions to you diners, all I have to say is, what is your job? Apparently, to not find shit.

2 Generations of badness, Jose Morales Jr. and Sr.


My latest find I just published in Los Angeles Magazine's Digest is about Compton's Tacos La Carreta, and it's one of the best, a real carne asada vendor doing special tacos from Mazatlan, Sinaloa. And, this is my pick for you to explore this Sunday, as that's currently the only day they're out.

True carne asada is cooked over mesquite

Finding great Latin American food only helps to lift up Los Angeles as a dining destination and to reinforce its status as the best city for Latin American dining in the U.S., especially for Mexican cuisine. So, that's what we're going to keep on doing. I find shit.

On that note, let me welcome my new contributors, Juan Ismerio and Cerpa Rodion, who took these fantastic photos, and will be helping me update Street Gourmet LA more often and allow Street Gourmet LA to be in more than one place at a time. Scouts are for louts, no, these talented young Latinos aren't scouts, but they'll be contributing in a number of ways including an upgrade to a real website, attending events I can't make, and shooting much better quality pictures.


This past week we were able to attend events in Brasil, Los Angeles: the L.A. Times Taste event, Alex's Lemonade, the Festival Chileno in Camarillo and this top notch taco cart, Tacos La Carreta in Compton, as a team.

Chorreadas, Mazatlan-style vampiros spiked with a splash of hot, unrefined lard

These chorreadas, vampiros, tacos and quesadillas are game changers; do yourself a flavor and pay them a visit this Sunday.


Tacos La Carreta, 413 N. Wilmington Ave., Compton, Sundays only from 3:30pm to 9:30 p.m.

Mercado Olympic-L.A's Next Street Food Star

I've always shopped in the Produce District at the various Mexican produce markets, pinata and sweets shops, and Latino cooking supplies wholesalers along Olympic Bl. to the west of Central Ave. You can find quality chiles--a broad selection, too--Mexican spices, special cooking devices and utensils, and all the oddball candies and savory snacks.

When I first started going to the legendary Breed St. vendors on the weekends sometime back in 2007, I thought there might be another place like that, and the Mercado Olympic certainly had potential--a huge Latino customer base of shoppers hungry after dragging their families to and from the Fashion District before calling it a weekend. But the vendors and restaurants here were either bad, routine, or both: pupusas, hot dogs, tacos, and street corn.

That all changed a couple of years ago. It got much better--way better--and in the last 6 months it has erupted. It seems as though every week something new and substantial is joining the ranks of the mostly Mexico City, Puebla, and Michoacan style vendors.

These vendors are only around on the weekends, from the early morning 'til around 5PM. The hot items here are quesadillas, where a fresh made-to-order tortilla is formed from raw masa and cooked on a flat top. The tortillas are stuffed with a variety of stews, called guisados in Spanish. Most of these stands are people from Michoacan and Puebla, which means they have different stews and braises, and their tortillas and masa shapes are a bit different. The huaraches(masa boats shaped like sandals)are thinner and crispier at the Michoacan style stalls, and they have pots of delicious stews like chicharrones in salsa verde, steak ranchero, and ribs in chile pasilla, or a soupy tinga(spicy chicken).

The Pueblan stands have the stuff we're more familiar with: squash blossoms, huitlacoche, mushrooms, and the thicker style of tinga, but they also have tlacoyos(stuffed masa shaped like an oval). Tlacoyos are rare in Los Angeles, and the're usually filled with requeson(like ricotta), beans or another simple flavor, that is mixed in with the masa then toasted on the comal.

There are several solid carnitas vendors from Michoacan preparing this famed Mexican dish in a mode you would find on the streets and in the market stalls of Michoacan . Whole pork shanks, fresh made chicharrones, kidneys, liver, hog maw, pork skin, snout, ears, ribs, and shoulder are all available to go or for some quick tacos at the curb. Hidalgan lamb barbacoa, Mexico City style deep fried fish fillets, cemitas poblanas, tacos de canasta(basket tacos), toasted garbanzos with Valentino salsa, and there are a few Pueblan barbacoa trucks that park nearby as well. Shopping? Take home some chapulines(grasshoppers), quesillo(Oaxacan cheese), sweets from Puebla, or homemade chorizo.

What does this all mean? If you've ever walked the streets of Mexico City, you'll feel as though a stretch of Arcos de Belen has fallen on the City of Angels. LA now has a serious street food zone with a density and bill of fare only the likes of what you'd find in D.F., or in the State of Mexico. Very similar types of vendors set up here--except for the heavy presence of the michoacanos--but never-the-less it's a place to snack like a chilango(people from Mexico City)

Don Julio pinata. I want to beat hell out of that one just on principle.

Until now I've agonized over sharing this pristine spot, only sharing it with good friends, and encouraged them just to enjoy--no tweets or pictures. This is where I go to eat Mexican food these days--more of a vision of Mexico than the former Breed St. extravaganza--and like a few other Latino spheres around L.A. it's pura raza. The last thing I wanted to see was 50 blogs, Yelps, and Chowhound posts with marathon rundowns, and having the vendors ducking from intrusive shuttering of IPhones and cameras, or other disruptions. I'm hoping that those who truly want to savor this amazing food come for that reason, and that's why I now serve up this bounty and offer up a seat to a Mexican food lover's wonderland. Buen Provecho!


The South side of Olympic is a pathway covered by the familiar umbrellas of Mexican street food vendors, this is where most of the action resides. But don't neglect the other side of the street--there are some amazing eats there, too.


Yes, there are still elotes, or esquites to be had. But if it isn't Mexican field corn, I'm out.


Screw Jamba Juice; go for some Mexican fresh squeezed Viagra casera(homemade). Ask for an orange juice with quail eggs, and a splash of Jerez. Hehe, uh...shhhh. For 2 quail eggs, Jerez and juice it's $4--take a drink of the juice first so there's room for the other ingredients.


Need some Rompope, tortas de santa clara(Pueblan sweets originating from a convent), a box of the famous camotes from Puebla's calle de los dulces(sweets street), candied fruits and vegetables, caramel, quesillo, or palanquetas(nut bars). There's a young, street smart entreprenuer that bring them in fresh from Puebla, as well as other food products--the quesillo is amazing. These days, much of the quesillo used in Oaxaca is made in Puebla.


And their chapulines are thick, juicy and only purchased seasonally. They make excellent bar snacks or a filling for small tacos with guacamole, or for sopes.


Tacos de canasta are not commonplace in Los Angeles, but there are a couple of stands here now on the weekends. Neither of them are as good as even the average stands in Mexico City, but for homemade versions, they aren't bad. This is a real serious taquero discipline, and is a lot harder to make these than it seems. The tacos are filled with basic fillings--mostly sauce--and carefully stacked in a basket or box like the one above, and covered with a towel after cooking. The tacos are steamed on the way to the stand and slump into soft, oily, wet snacks as the tortilla absorbs all those hearty flavors.

Potatoes, beans, and chicharrones are the only ones available, these sellers avoid the more challenging mole verde and adobo fillings you'd find as standard in D.F. This is just the difference between pros, and the way families make them at home.

Domestic picklings of vegetables and chiles are a required side for tacos de canasta.


They're small so get a set, and just pour the salsa on top, otherwise they might fall apart when you open them.


One of my favorite stops is to see Eddie. I call the muscle bound chilango Eddie because he always has an Iron Maiden shirt on, and dark shades. He's a real gentleman, but could easily take Danny Trejo's gig if there's ever an opening.

He does Mexico City style fried fish--thin, crispy strips of fish with a nice seasoning, topped with the D.F. classic: salsa valentina. Here's Jeannie Mai showing us how fashionable street food is now that these guys have showed up. Eddie has superb frying technique, and there might not be anything better on a Sunday afternoon than a basket of these things with a bit of hot sauce.
He promises soon to include seafood empanadas--he'd been waiting on a recipe but it turned out to be unfit for his stand. I had hit a sore spot when I brought them up since he had previously told me he'd have them. "I called home and told them this isn't right" "I need a correct recipe." "Give me another month and hopefully I'll have something", he shrugged.

He might even have some refreshing tepache(fermented pineapple rind juice) on hand. Just don't show up with a Poison t-shirt--Heavy Metal rules here.

I'm going to spare you any chia jokes here, but there's an agua fresca of chia seeds that's flush with the infamous gelling buds. This is the signature drink over at one of the carnitas vendors.


At first there were just a couple carnitas stands, both making some fine textured and porky, lard-fried pig.


But the cazos have come out and the carnitas game has gotten interesting even as of today, when I saw a couple of new vendors that I'd never seen before, and it was only a month since I've was last here.


A more offal intensive spot was offering dark,smooth pieces of kidney, liver and wrinkled buche(hog's maw); another tray held snouts, and skin; and a silent, grimacing man was working a cauldron of chicharrones. Crackling,popping, hot chicharrones to go are also a trend here at the Mercado Olympic.


Across the street a more peppy fellow from Sahuayo brought a real familiar tone to the afternoon. "Hey, where are you countrymen from?" he asked. "Here, have a piece of this chamorro(pork shank), come on you have to have some tortilla with it....and salsa."

"I also have chorizo michoacano, have a taste" Chuy and I took 2-inch long pieces of raw chorizo to taste. We could have made a meal with the samples. Man, such a well-seasoned chorizo, and so natural--we each picked up a pound.
The key to the carnitas is arriving early for best results, and get it to go, some of these vendors are out by 6AM stirring pork in large metal pots of hot lard.


Lamb barbacoa roasted in a pit, Hidalgo style, is available and is very good.


But the spicy pancita(offal stuffed stomach) is even better, packed with dried chile tang. This stand is on the southwest side of the E. Olympic as it fractures, losing itself into E. 9th St.


Heading back towards Central Ave. into the jam of peddlers, food stands and markets you'll see a portly street stand boss manuevering around a table of soup pots full of tasty stews. His family also serves up quesadillas brimming with colorful brews full of pork ribs, cactus, and dark, stained sauces that form appetizing shades of oils and chile on the surface.
The cactus salad and pot beans are on the house--this is Mexico.



On a more quiet and sane corner-- the northeast rim of Olympic and Kohler--you'll delight in the novel tlacoyos and traditional quesadillas of Pueblan origin. Try a tlacoyo of epazote-laced requeson(Mexican ricotta)that yields a creamy, mild, salty cheese pungently seasoned by Mexican herb.
The quesadillas of squash blossom, huitlacoche and cesina(salted beef) are outstanding, but the moronga(blood sausage) is gourmet street food, a memorable dish that sets this stand apart. It's well-herbed, supple, and tastes of purgatory: neither foul, nor purified of its bloody soul.


In Toluca, Mexico, chorizo is their pride, their craft. "Oaxacans and Pueblans have mole; Jalisco its birria; Hidalgo its barbacoa--we have chorizo", says the spectacled Toluqueno with a perpetual smile. All day long he makes the best chicharrones on the strip; large sheets of trimmed pork skin, or fatty gnarled chunks with meat attached.

This chorizo is a gift to us weary of the industrial brands at the Super; the rotting, discolored imports also of industrial origin, and the mediocre store made sausages at places like Vallarta. It's one of the only places I shop for chorizos--along with the stand on the other side of the street from Sahuayo--made from 100% meat, and includes almonds in the mixture. The longaniza is spiced differently and is made in a continuous tube of sausage, not tied into links. Tolucan chorizo is perfect for grilling and making tacos, the longaniza, too. They're all made with natural casings, and get their reddish color from dried chiles instead of the paprika found in Spanish chorizos.

I asked about their famous chorizo verde, a Tolucan creation that has earned Mexico's charcutiers international recognition. This is an original Mexican sausage of Toluca, and a symbol of Mexican gastronomy. Its color comes from the bleeding of green chiles, and vegetables. He made it for me a couple of times, and occasionally has it available. I'm picking up a pound next week matter-of-fact. Tacos de chorizo verde? Forget about it.


Toasted gabanzos are as Mexican as tacos, and ceviche. You see it more in Michoacan and Jalisco, but here it is in the heart of Downtown LA. As many things street food, it's given some hot sauce, and a little lime. All that's missing here is a pulqueria!


Oh! It comes from magueyes grown in Victorville, mind you, and is pasteurized, and isn't the same as you'll find in D.F.--closer in flavor and texture to the type offered on the highways of tequila country, in Jalisco, but give it a try. Or drink of the aguamiel, the sweet nectar of the maguey plant.
This is the place to pick up a molcajete to make your own table-side guacamole without going to Rosa Mexicano, or to give some cascabel chiles a try. Its a one stop shop for large bags of duritos(puffed wheat snacks), molinillos(mole stirrers), and to get set up with your own backyard al pastor rig--and you don't even need a Costco membership to buy a palette of toilet paper. Load up the car and stroll the stands along Olympic Bl.; pick up a queso fresco wheel, a cup of chapulines; and experience a food crawl, Mexico City style at the Mercado Olympic: a Mexican street food consulate in Downtown Los Angeles.

Saturday and Sundays
early morning to 5pm
Olympic Bl. just west of Central Ave.
Los Angeles, CA

Blue Woman Group, Mexico City: Street Food Ritual of Blue Corn Masa Tlacoyos, Quesadillas, and Gorditas

Scattered about the streets of Mexico City you will encounter pokerfaced women with hands tinted periwinkle blue from the labor of preparing blue corn masa foods. This prehispanic ritual of snacking on blue corn products once made in the markets of empires continues in the most unobtrusive street vendor stands.

The hands of these women fascinate in the way that women in India do with henna painted hands, adorned for celebration. In Mexico City the blue hands beckon a celebration of antojitos, or little whims.

The blue corn masa specialists have minimal menus, maybe a few masa shapes, or just one. The cooking styles of the vendors come from around the State of Mexico and from neighboring states. One worthwhile stop for some blue corn delights is a stand on Jose Maria Izazaga, across from the San Miguel church at the Pino Suarez metro station in DF's Centro Historico.


The 18-year-old family run stand brings prehispanic traditions from Puebla, Mexico; they offer blue corn quesadillas filled with various toppings, gorditas, and tlacoyos. The young women who run the stand have their uncle, Jose Malaco close by, keeping a watchful eye, he appears out of nowhere to answer our questions.

Normally these stands are served by austere women, but my shuttering camera had everyone a little giddy, even a cute girl sitting in one of the few seats available couldn't stop smiling and staring in amusement. I stopped here with Josh Lurie of Food GPS on our recent trip, who was also snapping away--just call us the tacorazzi.

The tempting array of fillings were all traditional: poblano chile strips with cream, squash blossoms, huitlacoche(corn smut), chicharron, tinga de res(spicy beef), and mushrooms with cheese.

A finishing touch of queso blanco and shredded lettuce is added after your antojito is plated.

The quesadillas and all other blue corn masa shapes are cooked on a comal; a healthier option on the streets of Mexico City than the DF style deep-fried versions. Each region has a slight shape variation in their quesadillas, in Puebla, the elongated half-oval style is preferred.

The gorditas(little fat ones), chicharron filled discus-like rounds of masa, are distinctly wider than Mexico City style gorditas. Chicharron prensado(pressed pork skin), is the typical filling for a gordita.

The tlacoyos are oval shapped and filled with beans and queso blanco.

Quesadilla of blue corn masa topped with queso blanco, chile guajillo sauce, and shredded lettuce.

We ordered the blue corn quesadilla with poblano chile strips and Mexican cream. One of the young women thrust her hand into the mound of raw blue corn masa and began to slap our snack into shape.

Blue corn quesadillas have a softer texture, and blistered outer skin from the comal that give a rustic appearance--a flavor of corn that is lower in starch, yet sweeter; plus it's a higher source of protein.

Over near the Mercado San Juan, a woman from Toluca has been sitting on the sidewalk for over 25 years making sublime tlacoyos of beans and cheese.

Her simple set-up consists of a comal, a bucket of blue corn masa, and a few colorful bags of ingredients. Like a lady walking from the mercado who just thought, "hell with it, I'm going to set down and cook right here." This is one of the best tlacoyos you'll encounter, but her whole operation sits below eye level; if you sneeze, you'll miss her--don't!

Without making eye contact she takes orders, keeping the rythym of tortilla making a constant, a beat that starts your stomach to growl.

Her tlacoyos are paradisiacal; deep blue misshapen ovals filled with beans, zesty from cactus, and tomatillo salsa, and salted by queso blanco.

Look out for these blue-handed masters while walking the streets of Mexico City, hear the pulse of the Aztec Empire, a sound that is music to your taste buds.

No Name Pueblan Tlacoyos, Gorditas, and Quesadillas
mornings 'til mid-afternoon
Jose Maria Izazaga, 131(across from the San Miguel church, by the Pino Suarez metro station, south side of the street)
Centro Historico
Mexico City, Mexico

Tolucan Tlacoyo Lady
mornings 'til mid-afternoon
Calle Lopez(in front of the Ferreteria Casa Cadena, just south of Delicias on the west side of the street)
San Juan
Mexico City, Mexico

Villa Ahumada,Chihuahua:A Quesadilla and Burrito Oasis on the Cd.Juarez-Chihuahua Highway

Ah, the luxuries afforded a musician on the road.The Southwest flight to El Paso, the border crossing, and then the five hour schlep to the city of Chihuahua, the state capitol of Chihuahua. Of course, there weren't any direct flights to Chihuahua, right? Impossible!

Then, the busted radiator. "I have a cousin who's going to bring a replacement radiator," says our driver. We wait. One of the guys is getting nervous."I don't like being here in Ciudad Juarez, man, it's fucking crazy over here," he mumbled, eyes shifting to and fro.He's from Chihuahua, but me, I just don't worry about those kinds of things.Beer,food,chicks,tequila....

My cynical predictions almost always coming true."We're going to catch the bus to Chihuahua," said with an all too familiar sigh. I had suggested this about two and a half hours ago. "If they can't send another vehicle, let's catch the bus!" No one listens. I don't like idle time in Mexico, too many good eats and drinks awaiting, and all I could think of was the scent of flowing cheese stabbing the air, just down the road in Villa Ahumada. Villa Ahumada is a cheese huffers wet dream.


I passed out on the luxury Chihuahuenses bus line and came to while we were stopped somewhere along quesadilla row in Villa Ahumada, the smoked village. I gulped a startled breath and began to stumble out of the bus when the driver passed me and said with a smile,"we're leaving." "Nooo,how much time do I have?", I gestured. "Vamanos," he commanded,"we will stop farther down the road." He would be taking us to his account, the place that all bus drivers and cab drivers strike deals with. Do not listen to your taxi drivers and bus drivers unless they're off duty. They get kick backs for bringing customers to hotels, bars,restaurants, strip clubs, and even quesadilla stands.

Villa Ahumada is famous for their quesadillas.They resemble the American style quesadilla in every way, but on a superficial level. They're flour tortillas folded in half and filled with cheese. The difference is that the tortillas are made from scratch, not store bought, and the cheese is Chihuahuan asadero, a soft white cheese first made by the Mennonites of Chihuahua. Unlike the processed cheese used in American quesadillas, the asadero doesn't leech any oil, and gets nice and creamy. It has a low melting temperature, so no need for grating. Two whole round slices of asadero are placed on the tortilla atop a comal, and in minutes, a delicious northern quesadilla. The cheese has a mild tang, with an attractive flavor of fresh cow's milk cheese. These aren't served with guacamole, none is needed.

They can be ordered sencillo, just cheese, con guisado, with a stew, or you can get burritos, a handmade tortilla with a guisado. The typical guisados are deshebrada, shredded meat in a suace,picadillo,ground meat with vegetables,chicharron in a red or green sauce,rajas con queso, poblano strips with cheese,machaca,dried meat,beans and cheese, mole, eggs and chorizo, or even weenies. The ultimate is the montado, a burrito with asadero, a guisado of your choosing, and a thin chile relleno. There is also a burrito filled with a chile relleno and refried beans, this is referred to as a chile relleno in Chihuahua, or burrito de chile relleno.


We passed all the miles of quesadilla stalls as I peered helplessly from the windows of the bus. It's quite a sight to see, stall after stall, all making quesadillas and burritos, the smell of burning cheese soaking up the night air. When I thought all was lost we ended up at a truck stop style restaurant, Los Arbolitos.

The nice ladies at Los Arbolitos do a great job.The guisados are all very tasty, and I no longered felt gipped by our bus driver.


You can even get asadero, jocoque(cultered cream), queso mennonita(Mennonite cheese), or other local cheeses to go.


I went with a quesadilla con guisado. First, the melting of asadero, more exciting than the Super Bowl,well, for me anyway.


Then, the guisado. Hmmmmm......



A quesadilla of deshebrada roja and a chicharron rojo topped with a trio of salsas. These stellar quesadillas washed away my moans and groans, and the guisados were of the best kind, slowly cooked, savory, and rich.

Ordering quesadillas for most of us here in the states is SO mundane,but this isn't the case in Northern Mexico. From the the south of Mexico, quesadillas are fried or grilled masa turnovers filled with guisados, and in the north the quesadilla lies in the dominion of the flour tortilla stuffed with artisanal cheese made by Mennonites. These quesadillas are a smokin' good time.

Sated and rested, it was off to the city of Cuauhtemoc, Chihuahua for a show, where I met a small town beauty queen with big dreams, too big for Cuauhtemoc.



On the way back to Ciudad Juarez, we stopped at one of the many rows of stalls in Villa Ahumada before crossing the border and catching that flight from El Paso to LAX. Villa Ahumada is an hour and a half outside Ciudad Juarez on highway 45 as you make the five hour trek to Chihuahua.


Touts from the various stands run out to wave in drivers from the highway, directing you to their stalls.


In the back, the quesadilla specialists do their thing. Out front, the burrito and chile relleno carts await your orders.The burritos in the northern states are thin, and are a member of the taco family. They're just a tortilla wrapped around a guisado, no other ingredients.What we call burritos in the US aren't the same thing....at all.


The asadero stand is minimal,just sliced cheese and handmade flour tortillas.


The quesadilla sencilla. This is a Chihuahuan quesadilla in its purest form, no salsas, just tortilla and asadero cheese.The flavor is more than surprising. You might find yourself scanning the tables and stands for salsas, guacamole, or just about anything to put on these naked foods, but just one taste and...perfection.



From the burrito cart I ordered the burrito de chile relleno. A roasted, and battered Anaheim chile spackled with refried beans.A reversal of fortune where a chile relleno becomes the filling. "Take that!", says cheese to chili.


But the montado takes the prize here.The mounted burrito! This is a tortilla with asadero cheese, a guisado, here I chose machaca, and a chile relleno.


Even with all these goodies wrapped in the lightly flavored tortilla, the burrito remains thin.Store bought tortillas impart strange flavors to burritos, sometimes even a pancake-like flavor, but flour tortillas made from scratch, and rolled into their rounded form are a different prospect all together. This is the flavor of my grandmother's Aguascalientes kitchen. In Sinaloa the flour tortillas are more larded, in Sonora they are thin and more boldly flavored, but in Chihuahua, flour tortillas are more dry and milky white, with a natural taste of flour.These are the tacos of Chihuahua, the burrito, or burro.

These quesadillas and burritos de guisados of the northern states of Mexico are just as valid and representative of Mexican culinary heritage as their southern counterparts. Anyone who'd propose otherwise is merely being obtuse.

Yes, there is a quesadilla village in Mexico, an amusement park for cheese lovers. The asaderos in Villa Ahumada are the reason families love to make this trip. It's the cheese.....and burritos! For the burrito obsessed in Los Angeles and other parts of the US, I believe a visit here might elicit a tear. It's the realization that your favorite Mexican-American foods actually have tangible roots in Mexico, but here you can experience the pinnacle of burrito and quesadilla attainment.

Driver, take me to Villa Ahumada!

Villa Ahumada, Chihuahua

Various stalls, restaurants and carts
Located on the Juarez-Chihuahua highway 45
Los Abolitos

Truck stop on the edge of Villa Ahumada heading on to Chihuahua