Carrots, Peppers & Onions

I'm gonna be in trouble tonight...

I had no idea what a burrito was. Never mind a taco. It was right there on the cover of "Burrito Deluxe," studded with rhinestones, but I was still clueless.

Until I got to L.A.

First you go to Tito's. Down on Washington Place. In Culver City. Where they keep the chips in garbage cans and you line up for food so cheap, so filling and very good...

Until you start experimenting and get a frame of reference.

There was a place back in the seventies. It's gone now, called Burrito King. They had this concoction called the "Machaca Burrito." With stringy beef and oozing sauce, it was delectable. Hell, that's when I learned what a burrito truly was, the difference between corn and flour tortillas.

And Burrito King was a stand. Painted orange. Never in a good neighborhood. And after eating there I realized...don't judge a Mexican place by its looks.

And there were detours to the Gardens of Taxco, where the waiters insisted on prix fixe and you felt ripped off.

And the legendary El Tepeyac, with its Manuel's Special, literally big enough to feed two. On Brooklyn Avenue, in the barrio.

And it was a seventies outing, going in search of the best Mexican food. You never went to Taco Bell, you didn't want anything that institutionalized, with hamburger meat in the pre-made shell....

But back in the eighties, someone decided to go upscale. A restaurant called La Salsa popped up in a strip center at Pico and Sepulveda and eventually morphed into a chain. It wasn't dirty and the salsa was plentiful and free.

The salsa...

That's one thing you devoured, with the chips. You rarely could finish your main course, having devoured bowls of chips, which when done right, were oily and sticky and hot and delicious...like at El Compadre on Sunset. You just couldn't stop.

But at La Salsa, there was a variety of salsas. A smorgasbord of salsas, not just the green and the red.

But then La Salsa was trumped by Baja Fresh. Yes, when La Salsa took its eye off the ball, was busy raking in the profits, a competitor emerged that was cleaner and healthier and... Emblazoned over the counter it states there are no freezers, can openers or microwaves...the food is truly fresh.

And so is the salsa.

That's where I just had lunch.

Now as one visits Los Angeles Mexican restaurants, one starts to encounter this bowl... Especially at stands. There may not be any salsa displayed, but there's a bowl of yellow peppers, which look like they've been there since the fifties. And I love all peppers. But if I eat these things that have been sitting in the hot sun, am I going to survive?

And at even more authentic stands, there's a bowl containing carrots and green peppers and white onions, and the whole stew is immersed in a liquid so milky, you think you need one of those purifying straws to consume. I usually avoid these bowls. It's like refusing a drink, or a joint, you want to, but...

But today at Baja Fresh, they'd just made a fresh batch of this brew. And it was settled in ice. There was no visual attrition. And the ratio was right, there were tons of carrots.

That's what you want, the carrots. When done right, they take on the spiciness of the peppers. They've got a bite. They're delicious. Everything you've always hated about carrots, the firmness, the bland taste, these will close you. Hell, they're oftentimes a bit soft, from having sat in the liquid.

So I'm waiting for them to serve up my fajitas, and I go over to the salsa bar and see this delectable carrot, pepper and onion concoction. I get one of the tiny cups, drop some in, spear a carrot with my fork, and I'm in heaven!

I can't stop eating. I'm standing there at the salsa bar. Consuming.

And when my food was finally ready, I poured this stuff on my plate. This was the Cadillac of concoctions, the Mercedes-Benz, the ratio was right, the carrots were crunchy yet peppery and there were even baby yellow peppers thrown in, which were just mild enough to savor.

Either you're clueless or you know exactly what I'm talking about.

P..S. I know, I know, I didn't mention El Cholo, where I seemingly spent every weekend in the seventies. No one knows if the food there is any good, because they're so messed up on margaritas.

P.P.S. Metamucil. Don't be ashamed. This is the best way to avoid the back end burn. Suck it down before you go to bed, you'll thank me.

P.P.P.S. If I spent the seventies at El Cholo, I spent the eighties at Los Tacos, around the corner from Freddy and Demi Moore's apartment. They would crisp the flour tortillas just right!

"Burrito Deluxe": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrito_Deluxe

http://titostacos.com

Burrito King. Turns out there a couple left. I've eaten at this one on Sunset, not as good as the one on Vermont used to be, still: http://www.yelp.com/biz/burrito-king-sunset-los-angeles

http://thegardensoftaxco.com

http://manuelseltepeyac.com

http://elcompadrerestaurant.com (The one across the street from Guitar Center.)

http://lasalsa.com

http://www.bajafresh.com

http://www.elcholo.com (You want to go to the original one, on Western Avenue.)

Los Tacos: http://www.yelp.com/biz/los-tacos-w-hollywood


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