By ROBERT LANDRY
Los Angeles is the capital of bad food. I don’t say that to mean it’s a bad-food town, only to make the point that because of the sheer size of the metropolis, it’s darn near a mathematical certainty that it has more bad places to eat than, well, just about anywhere.
It is almost inevitable that a businessperson in Los Angeles will have to go out for some bad food on occasion. (And by bad food, I don’t mean food that tastes bad or is of poor quality; I mean inexpensive food that’s unhealthy.) But where to get the best bad food?
Let me just say right now, and get it out of the way, I am originally from New Orleans. And I hold to the general feeling among New Orleanians that it has one of the best if not the best concentration of good places to eat in the country. Coming from that, and then being confronted with the immensity of Los Angeles, I don’t think I can be faulted for feeling a little overwhelmed, and for making some bad choices when I first moved here.
So I felt like I made a nice first step toward L.A. savvy at the Farmers Market at 3rd and Fairfax. The food is high quality enough that it doesn’t leave me worried about after-effects, the prices are manageable, and the market has plenty of neat things to buy and shops and stalls to browse. It’s a great place to take colleagues or maybe familiar clients for a fun, casual outing.
A favorite haunt is the Brazilian barbecue counter I’m a sucker for roast lamb but my first recommendation would have to be the Mexican food place called the Loteria Grill. I know, I know. There are probably several hundred better places for the “real thing” between mid-Wilshire Boulevard and Rosemead Boulevard, not counting the taco trucks. But so what? The food is excellent.
My routine is to order a couple of tacos, three if I’ve been sticking to my diet and getting a little exercise. I generally order an albondigas en chipotle, a shredded beef and maybe a carnitas en salsa morita. I’m also partial to the excellent black beans and rice. If you’re up for it, you can first stop by 326, the beer and wine bar right next door.
Unfortunately, service seems to be on the economical side. That is, not much of it. You might as well get in line at the register and order from the counter. Otherwise, you can end up waiting quite some time for a server. Consistently making awkward eye contact with one of the ladies gently patting tortillas doesn’t help. They don’t seem to understand that you’ve come there to eat.
The menu items are generally appetizing. I’ve tried the sopes, and find I’m not fond of the texture. Also, the fact that a sopes order comes with chips is not an attraction for me, as I don’t want to fill up on them.
Besides, a taco feels like the only right thing to eat from an open stall. Each of my holy trinity has its charms: the perfect firm texture of the meatballs with their oniony accent and unchallenging Chef Boyardee-ish tomato sauce I can’t help myself, I usually tackle the albondigas in about three bites; the garlicky ooze from the shredded beef perfectly complemented by the buttery avocado; and the barbecue tang of the carnitas.
No doubt my education as an L.A. foodie needs to progress. But I’m happy to have the market as a beachhead, and look forward to finding out more about the good food of the city. Lately, I’ve noticed a little crowd milling around a truck parked out in front of my building at lunchtime. Maybe I could start there.
LOTERIA GRILL
Where: Stall No. 322, Farmers Market, 6333 West Third St., Los Angeles, 90036. Cross Street: Fairfax Avenue.
When: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday
What to Try: Tacos, burritos, tostadas, nachos, black beans; breakfast served
all day
Parking: Validated parking in Farmers Market lot
Price range: Tacos with meat from $2.80 each, burritos from $7.95, nachos from $6.50; entrees range from $9.95 for enchiladas to $15.45 for chiles rellenos
Robert Landry is the design director of the Business Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].
