Tintorera Restaurant in Silver Lake: A First Look

Hidden Sunset Blvd. entrance

Tintorera's main dining patio

New restaurants are opening in Silver Lake, Atwater and the surrounding area faster than I can keep up with them. Last week Sweetfin Poke in Silver Lake and Journeymen and Good Measure in Atwater, this week Tintorera in on Sunset Blvd. in Silver Lake. I was invited to try Tintorera with some other writers.

Stylish indoor bar area at Tintorera in Silver Lake

The space: Tintorera (a type of shark in Spanish) is located in the old Cowboys & Turbans space, which has been completely overhauled to create a spacious enclosed patio. As at Salazar, most of the tables are outdoors with a small indoor bar area. What will happen in the winter? "We will think about that later," says chef owner Maycoll Calderon, whose sceney restaurant Huset in Mexico City is designed with the same outdoor feel. At night, strings of lights brightly illuminate the large patio, which is set to get an even larger extension with an outdoor bar.  

Tamarind mule comes with a giant chile garnish

The bar: The indoor bar is smartly designed with au courant leafy wallpaper, marble counters, and large globe lighting fixtures. An array of cocktails with Mexican touches (most are $14) include the Tamarind Mule with mezcal, ginger, tamarind and pineapple and the milk-glass green Aguacate with tequila, horchata, avocado and pineapple juice. Three different mocktails are offered for the non-imbibers, which is a nice touch.

snapper aguachile

grilled tuna with ginger rice ($34)

The food: At the moment the menu is small, but Calderon, a native of Venezuela, assures that other dishes will be added. The focus is on ceviches and grilled fishes and meats, including a hamachi tostada ($14), roasted red snapper ($34)  with a bright sesame emulsion, and NY steak ($68) with a subtle black mole sauce topped with nuts. 

Prime NY steak with black mole

The verdict: The patio instantly shoots near the top of Silver Lake's best patios, and once the outdoor bar is installed, it's likely to be a very hopping spot. Calderon will likely need to add some appetizers and small plates to keep repeat visitors engaged, as there is currently a lack of snacky options. Prices are on the very highest end for the area, although the ribeye at Salazar is not far away at $58. Prices in this range should be reserved for the most innovative menus with excellent service, so we'll see if Tintorera can bring its excellent Mexico City reputation to hard-to-please Angelenos.

Tintorera, 2815 Sunset Blvd., is currently accepting limited reservations in a soft opening mode. Grand opening to come in the next few weeks. 

Salazar: First Impressions of the Eastside's Stellar Summer Spot

Belly up to the covered bar if it ever rains...as if!

Many of us have been imagining a restaurant like Salazar practically forever. A place where kids are welcome, that takes advantages of L.A.'s temperate climate, where you can sip a good margarita while eating some equally good Mexican food. A place kind of like Birba in Palm Springs. We didn't imagine it would spring up in the shell of a former car repair shop hard by the freeway where Atwater peters out and Frogtown industrially begins, but that's L.A. for you, always full of surprises.

Plenty of heat lamps just in case. Love the old school chairs.

And Salazar, conceived by Billy Silverman and Mexicali Tacos' founder Esdras Ochoa, turned out practically identical to that vision many of us had...so many, in fact, that's it's been packed since day one, and the bike-parking area in front has become a de facto playground for waiting families.

So many people already biking to dinner

Who knows what it will be like when the heaters have to come out -- the restaurant is almost completely outdoors, except for a small bar area, but for now, the long, shaded tables are one of the best places in the city to enjoy a summer evening.

Checking out the tortilla-making station

The spot-on Sonoran-style wood-grilled meats and much-more-than-margaritas cocktail menu from Aaron Melendrez makes it the rare spot that's more than just a pleasant patio. The menu promises "full menu coming soon," so it will be interesting to see what gets added to the simple list of tacos, grilled meats and fishes, and a few sides. I would recommend heating the plates so the tacos stay warmer when cooled by evening breezes, and adding chips for the guacamole. The tostada-style crisps are nice, but people do like their chips.

This crazy cocktail has mescal, brown-butter washed corn whiskey, ancho chile, huitlacoche and Mexican fernet

Lots of pretty elixirs behind the bar

Esquites - charred corn with crema 

Terrific housemade tortillas complement the grilled meats

One Yelp commenter said that Salazar can't really be part of Frogtown because the prices are too high for the locals. It's certainly true that dinner here will set two people back $60 or more. But that's the price you pay these days to build out an entire restaurant, pay the large staff, get a liquor license  and generally offer full service. Of course the tacos are more than at Tacos Leos truck -- if it's too expensive, you can get the same style of tacos at Mexicali, but without the patio and cocktails.
But if you can afford it, Salazar was definitely worth the wait. And don't miss the ridiculously retro website.

Salazar 
2490 Fletcher Blvd.
Los Angeles

La Tostaderia: Fish Tacos and Ceviche Stand Out at Grand Central Market

Grand Central Market's recent addition of ceviche and fish taco stand La Tostaderia joins Wexler's Deli as the latest reason you don't have to spend an hour in line at Eggslut to have a delicious meal at the rapidly-changing food hall. Owner Fernando Villagomez has long run carnitas stand Las Morelianas in the market, and he's now partnering with chef Sandra Felix for a counter that's an ode to fresh, modern Mexican seafood preparations.

fish tacos at la Tostaderia

Both fish and shrimp tacos were excellent, with green salsa verde providing a tart, zingy contrast to freshly-fried nuggets of corvina fish topped with crunchy bits of pork chicharones.

campechana verde ceviche

While the tacos were our favorite at a recent tasting, ceviches were also a cut above most Mexican restaurants in L.A., especially the smooth and tangy Campechana verde with shrimp, squid, scallops and corn nuts and the scallop aguachile. Most dishes are $8-10, but that seems worth it for the fat tacos and solid portions of ceviche. When Golden Road Brewing opens later this year in the market, their beers should make the perfect pairing with La Tostaderia's appealing seafood dishes.

El Condor Creates More Spacious Tequila-Sipping Areas as Dustin Lancaster's Empire Expands

After nine months using basically the same footprint as El Conquistador, El Condor owner Dustin Lancaster of Bar Covell and L&E Oyster realized the tiny upstairs bar and secluded back bar weren't creating a very good flow in the Silver Lake modern Mexican bar and restaurant. The feng shui just wasn't working, he explained, so a long L-shaped wooden bar now stretches across the entire downstairs area for maximum margarita-ordering efficiency. The front patio is now glassed-in while the cozy upstairs balcony is strictly for seating.

The menu has been streamlined just a bit -- though some are sad to lose the tortas and main dishes, it seems tacos and tequila (along with quesadillas, chips and enchiladas) are what the people want. There's also a fine selection of mezcals and carefully-crafted Mexican-influenced cocktails that are a world away from El Conquistador's neon green swill. Happy hour is 5-7 pm and 10-12 am.

Blending Courvoisier, Averna, Aperol & Sambuca, @elcondorLA's Hidden Path cocktail is a dark, licoricey mood-piece. pic.twitter.com/yujRJJdGrp
— Matthew Chernov (@MatthewChernov) January 21, 2015

With the boutique Hotel Covell set to open any day upstairs from Bar Covell, Lancaster is a very busy guy. He's also getting very close to opening Augustine, a wine bar in the Covell mold on Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks. After Home State and Mother Dough, the Covell block is filling up fast: The former two-story house next to Bar Covell is already set to feature a Go Get 'Em Tiger Coffee in six months or so; Lancaster is hoping that McConnell's Ice Cream will possibly join the coffee crowd.

El Condor: The Mexican Restaurant -- And Margarita -- We've Been Waiting For

El Condor is brightened up now, with some cool lighting fixtures

Change is hard for some people. Particularly for the faithful customers of gaudy, goofy, El Conquistador, who apparently loved their neon-green margaritas, paper decoration-festooned ceilings and ho-hum Mexican fare. Those former customers might not warm to El Condor, the completely new restaurant in the same Sunset Junction spot.

Best.margarita.ever.

But they would be very shortsighted. El Condor comes from the owners of Bar Covell and L&E Oyster Bar, who have done much to bring better food and drink to Silver Lake and Los Feliz.

Pambazo sandwich with chorizo

El Condor is just what a neighborhood Mexican restaurant should be: a place to get a killer margarita, some delicious chips and maybe something more, with a cool ambiance. The restaurant attracts a crowd as stylish as at the owners’ other spots, and it’s not unusual to see a well-known actor or two. But it’s still easy to drop in for a lazy Sunday happy hour drink (4 p.m.-6 p.m. nightly) or family dinner after the Tuesday farmer’s market.
The whole restaurant has been opened up, stripped down and cleaned up, and the decor is now a groovy — but not kitschy — mix of colorful Mexican tiles, carved-wood window frames and a distinctive brass and frosted glass chandelier.

Carnitas taco plate

The Mexican dishes have a California sensibility, and while they're a far cry from gloppy old-school beans and rice plates, the menu is fairly small and not terribly adventurous. Tortas, quesadillas, tacos and enchiladas are the centerpieces, but there’s also a few main dishes, like a carne asada or chicken plate ($18) and a pricier fish plate. Salads include a fine chopped combo of grilled corn, peppers, avocado, beans and queso fresco, and kale with pepitas ($12), because Silver Lake.

Start with a bowl of crispy, just-fried chips and salsa. If you’ve already ordered the tart and potent house margarita, you may have a hard time ever leaving. Or try La Llorona, a super-refreshing and unexpected combination of mezcal, hibiscus, ginger beer and pineapple, or the spicy Amor y Chile cocktail that packs a dual mescal and tequila punch. Guacamole is also first-rate and if you add a gooey pot of Queso Flameado (baked Oaxacan cheese) with savory mushrooms or chorizo on top, you might be tempted to stop right there. The torta sandwiches ($13 to $14) are messy but fun, especially the Milanesa — just the thing to pair with a Michelada. Soft tacos ($12 to $13) are served three to a plate on homemade, organic tortillas with quality meats with tangy pickled vegetables. Flavors can be a bit restrained, but adding some of the housemade salsa should fix that.
Prices may seem a bit high but are on par with other neighborhood Mexican restaurants that have full bars. The difference here is that not only is the food fresher and prepared with more care, the terrific cocktails blow away most of the others. Sure, it’s the new Silver Lake, but it’s one we can get behind.

This review first appeared in the Los Feliz Ledger. Click through to see how many forks El Condor received.

El Condor
3701 Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake, (323) 660-4500

Rocio's Moles De Los Dioses: Food of the Goddess, indeed

Rocio's "Mole of the Goddesses"

I had been wanting to try Rocio's Moles ever since the queen of moles, Rocio Camacho, landed at her new restaurant in Bell. Although I had been to Bell with Bill Esparza on the Latin desserts crawl, it still seemed like a fur piece to go for lunch. But then I checked the map and realized that for those of us near the 710, Bell is actually a quick trip south just past East L.A. In case you just came in, Camacho has been known for her startingly original array of moles and fresh approach to Mexican cooking since her days at Moles La Tia in Boyle Heights. Javier Cabral has been following her cooking ever since he was the Teenage Glutster, and it's well worth a little freeway action to get there.
Turning down Maywood Ave., the industrial street of discount mattress warehouses doesn't look like a promising place to find one of the better Mexican restaurants in the entire L.A. area. But it is, and on entering the small but immaculate and welcoming restaurant, you'll might find, as we did, that the only other party is a rather esteemed local critic and his family taking in a mole-infused late lunch.

pork with pipian rojo

Mole can be heavy stuff, so we ordered a smattering of other dishes as well since I had tasted many varieties of the mole back at Moles La Tia. Most all the dishes on the menu show the same spirit of experimentation with ingredients and preparations as the moles.

nopales with grilled panela cheese

Nopales (cactus) salad with grilled panela cheese had a bright dressing that perfectly offset the creamy cheese. The salad can also be had with chicken or shrimp instead of cheese.

corn and cuitlacoche soup

Corn and cuitlacoche cream soup was a little different than I expected -- rather than a fresh corn soup, it combined cornmeal with the corn fungus cuitlacoche in a soup that was interesting, but tasted more like the Mexican breakfast drink atole than a soup.

Guacamole (Diosa Sangre Ardente)

Do not miss the guacamole -- it comes in three different degrees of spice, each with a florid moniker. Diosa amorosa (goddesss in love) is not spicy; Diosa carnal (carnal goddess!) with serrano chile is very spicy, while the Diosa Sangre Ardente (Goddess with ardent blood) with habanero is also pretty spicy, though passion fruit gives it a fruity finish. Whichever you choose, you'll be completely in love with the chunky, just-made guac, though the chips are pretty standard. Instead, ask for some just-made tortillas, which are excellent. After working your way through some appetizers, choose a main course -- start by selecting chicken breast, filet mignon, salmon, fish, pork or veal. Different moles go better with different meats, so ask your server for saucing counsel. Tangy mescal salsa (complete with worm, of course) is perfect for fish. For the grilled pork, we tried the pipian rojo, a smoky but mild ancho chile sauce thickened with pumpkin or sesame seeds.

cherry ice cream with grains

I didn't want to miss the desserts, since the five choices were a far cry from the plain flan or tres leches cake found at most Mexican restaurants. Our server wasn't entirely sure what kind of grains gave such an unusual texture to housemade cherry ice cream, but the iciness that's common with Mexican ice cream, the slight grittiness of the grain and a potent topping of what must have been alcoholic rumpope or eggnog added up to a heady and refreshing finish to the meal.  
If the Valley is closer, Rocio's has another location near North Hollywood at 8255 Sunland Blvd.
(818) 252-6415.

Rocio's Moles
6242 Maywood Ave.
Bell
323) 588-5536


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Mexicali Taco: A very quick trip to the border of Downtown

Mexicali Taco's simple eating area

I don't think I ever tried the Mexicali taco stand Downtown, although I remember parking by it and thinking it smelled awfully good. But my perennial quest to find a place to pick up dinner that's smack on my route home has now been satisfied, as Mexicali Taco opened recently on the last stretch of Figueroa right before I hop on the 110 for the final leg of my commute.

Jamaica, horchata and strawberry lemonade aguas

While it's essentially still a taco stand, the new Mexicali is clean and bright with several picnic tables for seating, a selection of fresh aguas and a salsa/toppings bar. Regular tacos stuffed with flame-grilled carne asada, chorizo, chicken or vegetables, are just fine, reminiscent of a good Baja street taco.
But you must try a Vampiro ($3.75) -- a fat quesadilla stuffed with a choice of meat and infused with "special garlic sauce" that is destined to rival Zankou Chicken's in local food lore. A Vampiro looks plain on the outside, but the thin, chewy flour tortillas are imported from Mexico and pack a big punch of flavor wrapped around a handful of garlicky meat. Add your choice of chopped cabbage, brightly flavored  pickled onions, avocado sauce and two red sauces to get the combination right where you want it. Yes, beer would be good, but that's where take-out comes in.

Mexicali's chorizo cachetada, left; veggie taco, right

Specialty number two is the Cachetada ($3)-- a crispy tostada laden with meat and topped with "chipotle aioli" -- kind of a froufrou description for what is basically a glorious marriage of mayo, garlic and chiles that will get all over your hands, your phone and everywhere else until you devour every last bit. Order an egg on top for maximum effect. Also on the menu: the Zuperman, sort of a mega-dilla with all three meats and cheese, and nachos topped with cheese and meat. Each plate comes with a nice little cup of soupy beans, and the spicy grilled peppers called Gueros are available if you must sample everything on the menu. Mexicali Taco may have a brief menu, but I'm sure I'll be back often to fuel up before a concert or on my way home from work.
Mexicali Taco
702 N. Figueroa St., 213-613-0416

Tijuana: Six places you must go now

When a dozen or more food writers descend on a town for the same event, there's sure to be plenty of write-ups on the highlights. Dave Lieberman pointed out 5 Products You Didn't Know Came from Baja in the OC Weekly, while Javier, aka The Glutster, took readers course by course through the special Mision 19 Baja Culinary Fest dinner with Javier Plascencia and John Sedlar. So EatingLA highlights a quick list of places to hit when you go to Tijuana, whether as a day trip or part of a drive to Ensenada or beyond. And yes, you must go, because the seafood is a wonder of impossible-to-find ocean beasts, while the tacos and other local specialties (from cheese to venison) are different than anything you will taste in L.A. (Addresses are on the linked blogs.)
Caesar's Restaurant: You can't miss this Tijuana landmark on the Avenue Revolucion. While the avenue has seen better days, the restaurant has been lovingly restored under the ownership of local restaurant magnate and chef Plascencia. Get a Caesar salad prepared tableside (yes, they were invented here), some tapas like fried sardines, and a classic cocktail or a margarita, and pretend you're Julia Child enjoying the prohibition-era atmosphere in Tijuana.

 
Cebicheria Erizo: Plascencia's latest creation is his most modern and stylish -- Erizo is a casual seafood restaurant and market specializing in the things that can't readily be found north of the border: Chocolate and Pismo clams, farmed abalone, Geoduck clams (above), oysters, local shrimp, squid and tuna and much more.

We sampled scallop ceviche decadently topped with a hefty shard of chicharron (here's FoodGPS's Dose of Vitamin P), tempura salicornia (sea asparagus, above), a simple but artfully-flavored tuna tostada, octopus tacos and a shooter of the restaurant's namesake erizo or sea urchin.
 
Asadero Baja Sonora: Thanks to StreetgourmetLA, we've tried several excellent places for carne asada tacos, which I've only truly come to obsess over in the last 10 years since I've been eating beef more frequently. Sonoran-style beef dishes are some of the best, and we tried the a slick new outpost of one of these fine taco spots. Located on the large Agua Caliente Blvd., Asadero Baja Sonora looked more like a Pollo Loco inside, but the large menu of parrilladas (full meals of grilled meats) and tacos shows how seriously this places takes its cow. Try the tacos with cactus or chiles, and the arrachera, a higher quality cut than the basic beef. The above link to StreetGourmet's blog also describes a trip to the highly-recommended Sonora Mia, a steakhouse with some other fine regional dishes.

Tacos Salceados: While it's true that Tacos Salceados is now under new management, and the new management has an awfully heavy hand with the mayo sauce, this innovative taqueria (also known as Tacos La Ermita, for the street where it's located), is still a must for the quesotaco made from a cheese crisp enfolding shrimp, a sweet and savory pineapple taco with strawberry sauce; and salsas like almond and tamarind.
 
El Matazeno: We had tried the signature spicy shrimp enchilado and smoked marlin tacos before, so this time in Tijuana we branched out to try the octopus, chicharron (fried fish skin), simple shrimp in butter sauce and the enormous Perron or "badass" taco with shrimp enchilado, chicharron and cheese. But don't stop at seafood tacos -- the bustling restaurant also serves seafood soups, coctels and tostadas. It's not in the most central neighborhood, but a cab driver or GPS should be able to find it.

Tepoznieves Ice Cream: This gourmet ice cream shop has two Tijuana locations, and I got to sample their nieves again at the first Baja Culinary Fest. What it lacks in rich creaminess, this ice cream makes up for in imaginative flavors and sheer variety. I ordered a combo of chile tamarind sorbet and "Beso de Cencienta," (Cinderella Kiss) which combined cream, cheese, honey and marmalade. I topped it with a fiery red homemade chile lime sauce similar to chamoy that turned the ice cream into a salty, spicy, sour, frozen, cheesy bowl of surprises. It's the perfect way to end a day of taco sampling before starting on the cocktails of the evening or heading back across the border.

See more photos from Baja on Flickr.

Mixto: Los nuevos burritos de Silver Lake

The arrival of Mixto in the old Burrito King spot is a sure sign of the Silver Lake of the future: grass-fed, compostable, vegan-friendly, and of course more expensive than the old Silver Lake. From the owners of Tomato Pie, Mixto's menu sticks mostly to tacos, burritos, tortas and quesadillas with a few sides and salads.
 
 
I tried a carne asada torta; made with grass fed beef, the meat was nice and tender but didn't pack a ton of flavor. A free-range chicken taco came with a possibly handmade tortilla, pickled onions and a creamy salsa, but strangely, you'll pay extra to add the cilantro or onions that are usually laid out alongside salsas on a counter. These simple preparations will need a dollop of salsa to wake them up. Fresh mixto green salad was pleasant with arugula, lettuce, yellow peppers and a sprinkle of cotija cheese. Of course, there's also a kale caesar salad.

New tables freshen up the old Burrito King

They've put in new wood tables and given the outside a coat of bright green paint, and the remodel was done in record time. Mixto doesn't have the more ambitious Mexican cooking of a Guisado's or Cook's Tortas, though it's still nice to have a place in the neighborhood where the food seems healthy enough to eat fairly often, and there's even delivery. But I can't help slightly missing the old-school Silver Lake joints like Zamora Brothers, where the jalapeno-laden $2 gut bombs brought on a state of chile euphoria before crashing victoriously into your stomach.
Mixto
2827 Hyperion Ave.
Silver Lake
323-668-1818

Tinga: Flavors that sing ... but do the prices zing?

Flat-iron steak tacos at Tinga

Tinga has been open on La Brea near 2nd for nearly a year, but many people still haven't noticed the tiny storefront with two tables outside near the larger Cafe Midi. Inspired by the approach of Santa Barbara's La Super Rica, husband and wife team Chris and Jerry Baker didn't replicate the menu, but brought handmade tortillas and the same careful approach to spicing found at the venerable stand. Instead of a scruffy patio, Tinga is tucked into a narrow space with a long communal wood table, blackboard menu wall and industrial feel.

chicken tacos with salsa verde, Tinga

I wanted to be able to say that Tinga's $8.50 taco plate was too expensive or that their compostable plates and utensils were too precious. But after recently eating at an old-school Mexican restaurant with even higher prices, rancid chips and watery salsa, I'd gladly give up on the chance to get a $10 jamaica margarita in exhange for real taste in my food. Actually Loteria's tacos are the same price, and Tinga's tacos are even bigger and meatier. In fact, I almost wish the Pechuga lemon-brined chicken breast tacos or the flat-iron steak tacos were chopped into smaller pieces instead of served in large slices. The taco toppings are dynamite, like addictive salsa verde on the chicken tacos or dog-snout salsa and pickled onions on the steak tacos. For easier eating, try the slow-cooked cochinita pibil pork tacos, which truly are spicy-spicy as the menu advises. The menu has expanded since the August 2010 opening, adding tortas and burritos to tacos and quesadillas. Don't look for elaborate dishes -- this is simple street food, but made with the highest attention to flavor and quality. In addition to the crispy, fresh chips that come with the tacos, don't miss the Elote especial -- a tangy-sweet-spicy combo of roasted corn, lime and poblano chile. There's plenty of other choices for vegetarians, like potato tacos and a mushroom quesadilla that intrigues even a devoted pibil-hound. Aguas like jamaica and watermelon lemonade are strong and not overly-sweetened, while dulce de leche-laden alfajore cookie is just the thing for dessert.
Sure, street tacos are great. But when even Baja Fresh charges $6 for two tacos, it's only logical to pay a dollar or two more for something you'll still be thinking about several days later.
Tinga Buena
142 S. La Brea
323-954-9566
(now open every day till 9 pm, Sundays to 7 pm)