10 GREAT PLACES FOR TACOS By Keri FREEEMAN cont...
VOL 14 NO 8 - DECEMBER3RD - december 9th / DTLAWEEKLY.COm
4. In honor of the mamba at Cil
Leo Matias, owner and operator of Fashion District’s Cilantro Lime, had been inviting Downtown Weekly to help create a new menu item for his “For The Gram” menu for over two years. But chefs, we are not.
American cheese. And it was good. But Leo took one bite and said…
It was February and we knew we wanted to do something to honor the Mamba! But, we didn’t know what?
Taking out the squash and adding sprinkled queso, Leo concocted a burnt cheese quesadilla/taco.
In the kitchen, we stood over bins filled with tons of appetizing ingredients. With our guide Leo and our thoughts of purple and gold, we set out to make “His-story” in a taco.
Piled high on a sturdy burnt cheese tortilla, prepare for the zesty taste of fresh sweet corn with your choice of meat topped with Pico de Gallo, guacamole, spicy aioli, cilantro and lime. On that day, a BOMB spontaneous taco – the “Kobe Taco” was born.
First, we tried to build our taco with a purple-ish squash, corn and bright yellow
antro lime
@cilantrolimedtla
“Let me teach you a little something about texture. It’s good, but it has to be bomb!”
O C A T N W O T N W O D T A L E G 5. SAVED BY AN AN
Downtown Taco! Arts District’s Angel City Brewery stayed closed most of the year only to reopen just last month, to close again just last month, due to the second wave of Covid shutdowns. Fortunately, for Downtown Taco, the mobile kitchen regular, attached to the side of the Brewery, was able to provide his selection of delicious tacos inspired by the flavors of Oaxaca Mexico on the move. For most of the year, we could find the gourmet food truck parked on Hill and 3rd servicing the Department of Water and Power and BOA plaza inhabitants who managed to keep their jobs at the office.
Downtown Taco sets themselves apart with their freshly hand-pressed, organic tortillas cooked to order over a very hot grill. Inside the tiny space of the mobile kitchen, the Chef keeps his choices of grilled meats and eclectic toppings within arms reach. Our favorite??? The Mesquite filled flavor of the Chorizo Taco with spicy Spanish pork sausage and pineapples and a side of vegan cheese roles. Sure, it’s contradicting. But, it’s the balance between good and evil that just does it for us. Follow @downtowntaco for up-to-date locations.
6. HERE IN THE CLOUD with sky’s tacos Even COVID had to take a back seat to Sky’s Gourmet Tacos. Sky Burrell and her team were already ahead of the curve, so to speak, being on all of the prominent food delivery apps, such as Uber Eats, Door Dash, Postmates, etc., when COVID 19 shutdowns were announced last March. Despite not being able to open indoors, Sky’s TakeOut and catering options put up a good defense. Still, after 28 years, customers leave with TakeOut Bags full of steak, chicken, fish, sweet potato tacos (among others) and sides of beans and rice; and they never
forget to order a slice of her famed caramelized pecan cheesecake. Our favorite? Hands down - the shrimp tacos thanks to the shrimp’s special seasoning, made in-house, that make the taste of each crustacean incomparable. Sky’s Gourmet Tacos boasts several locations in LA, and recently they opened their newest cloud kitchen location close to Expo/USC now serving Sky’s remarkable mix of “Mexican with a Splash of Soul”. Order online www.skystacos.com
