THING 6: Tito's Old School Tacos

It's true that there are taco stands galore in Los Angeles. It is almost mystifying to think how any one of them could distinguish themselves. Taco stands are basically made to be a place you go because it's close, it's cheap, and the food is of the type that, even if it's not the best example of its kind, it's also really hard to go badly wrong with a basic taco or burrito.

Tito's basically resembles most taco stands. It has the same basic dishes (taco, burrito, enchilada, tostada) and it's cheap. But there's something about these tacos that makes you want them even if you're not nearby. I have driven from Koreatown to West Los Angeles at lunchtime for these tacos and it is a miracle if you can get me to go somewhere that's out of walking distance.

A modern foodie would probably be mystified. There's nothing immediately special about the food at Tito's. It's far from authentic, it's not healthy, nor is it fused with any other international cuisine. It's just Americanized Mexican at cheap prices eaten in an ugly dining room (or preferably outside if it's nice weather) after waiting in a long line to have your order taken by a weather-beaten old woman or a bored teenager. So what is the magic?

My guess is that it is in the super crunchy tacos. The tacos are so crunchy and crisp and greasy that they kind of hurt your teeth when you bite into them. Your teeth recoil from the combination of crunch and fat that they know are not good for them and yet it's a deadly combination. The hard shell combined with the beef slow-cooked until it's soft and tender makes a satisfying texture combination, while the fat provides the flavor since these tacos are anything but spicy. And for me of course, it's also the cheese. Shredded cheddar cheese is mounded on the top to slowly melt from the heat that radiates through the protective layer of lettuce.




There is just something unique about this place that is definitive of the best part of Los Angeles - these places littered about here and there that seem like no other place in the world in some quirky or old-fashioned or just plain bizarre way. Tito's opened in 1959 and I doubt it's changed much since then. Certainly its design aesthetic is a relic of that Mad Men-era and even the mot high tech thing in the room - the video game machines are hilariously obsolete. A round of X-Men vs. Street Fighter, anyone? I'm pretty sure I could take Wolverine with Chun Li's Lightning Kick.

I should probably mention that tacos are only $1.70 without cheese and $2.20 with cheese. Depending on where you're coming from, you might pay more in gas than for your food.

So, Tito's might not be a place I'd show off to a visitor from afar but even so, I would say that a great deal of its charm is that it feels so definitive of Los Angeles, and having places like this - that you know are always going to be there, and will always be the same - that's one of the things that make a place feel like home, and I think that might be the magic, right there.

I can't really end this post without mentioning their amazing theme song. It's possible that THIS is the real magic, and that we're all being brainwashed in some fashion by the theme song, which commands everyone to love Tito's. In fact, I suspect this might be their terrible secret, as I can find no discernible method for turning off the theme song at the Tito's Tacos website.

THING 47: Eva Solo-Brewed Coffee from LA Mill

Without these "things" I may never have tried this coffee. Or not for a while anyway. I like my coffee in the morning, but not enough to drive all the way out to Silverlake to get it. Not to mention to get a morning coffee that costs about 4x as much as my regular coffee. But this is some pretty special coffee, and a special occasion (like going to see the Clientele at Spaceland) deserves a special cup (or two) of coffee.

So we decided to head into LA Mill for dinner. This will be one of the fanciest coffee places you go - they appear as a nice restaurant and they do serve food, and their menu matches their decor. Slightly upscale dinner fare, but nothing too fancy. Jason had sliders and I had a Spanish-inspired panini or pork, manchego cheese and piquillo peppers. The food was good - nothing drop-dead amazing but just solidly delicious. What we were really waiting for, however, was this coffee that was so special.

As soon as we began to peruse the coffee menu, we could tell it was pretty serious business. The list of coffees is extensive and they come with stories, some of them as elaborate as the most detailed fantasy. Things like "These beans were plucked from the cold, dead hand of a giant by the agile young beanstalk climbers of Ouagadougoo. The giants once traded these precious beans for cows, but as time went by, their stock began to dwindle and now the fearsome giants and the nimble beanstalk climbers war ceaselessly over these beans, which are grown and fed to the giants' special hens. The hens then lay golden eggs, which, when smashed reveal these precious and flavorful beans. When brewed they release a bright, floral aroma whose flavor contains hints of the honeysuckle flowers that grow so near their beanstalks as well as citrus overtones and a tiny trace of sunshine and cloud as is to be expected from Giantland, so high in elevation."

It's basically stuff like that. And it costs about $8.00 to get it brewed using the Eva Solo device, as specified by Mr. Gold in his strict instructions as to what exactly it is you must try before passing away. I think it made about four cups though, so although it was more expensive than my local corner coffeeshop, it wasn't forbiddingly so. We tried a kind that was a special addition to the menu at the time and was described by the waitress as being very unusual. It was. It just had a somewhat different flavor to it. It was described as candy-like, but I didn't find it so. I probably wouldn't choose to drink it every day, but if you are going to try something special, you might as well go all out and get the weird thing, so I'm glad I got it, because it was good, in its own unique way. The waitress was really helpful as well. I highly recommend asking for advice here and you will end up with something that makes you happy.

Picture Break

I really have a real post, that I will hopefully put up tomorrow, but I want to take a break to put up some cool pictures I have accumulating.

First, we had some people over to our house to watch the Oscars last month and our lovely guests brought the most amazing cupcakes from Big Sugar Bakeshop.

Each cupcake had an image representing a Best Picture nominee or an Oscar on it. They came in vanilla, chocolate, and red velvet flavors and all were delicious. I really cannot talk up this bakery enough. It is in Studio City, very near my former workplace and it is one of my favorite bakeries I've been to in L.A. They are extremely creative, but the stuff they make is not overly complicated or unbalanced. For example, their cupcakes are my top cupcakes in Los Angeles. Most of the trendy cupcakes seem to load on frosting completely out of proportion to the amount of cake and it's gross. I end up lopping off most of the frosting and leave it on the plate. These cupcakes have a correct proportion of frosting to cake, with not too much of either one. Thumbs up. Plus look at the kind of artistry they create with their special themed products. That's pretty talented.

Secondly, my mom sent me photographic evidence that I have always been a pretty expert baker. I may not have been so great on the sanitary practices long ago, but that was a wilder, more free time, you know - the '70s. I was also WAY ahead of the cupcake trend.

Um ... I have to taste it to make sure it's okay! Yeah, that's it.


Frosting is serious business.


Gotta taste the frosting too. I really hope I didn't keep using that knife, gross.

Ta-da, cupcake for you!