My Taco: 6300 York Blvd #4, Highland Park, Ca 90042

Here at Losanjealous,  we tackle the hardest of hard-hitting issues. Serious earth shattering, globally conscious shit like, does Diet Dr. Pepper REALLY taste like regular Dr. Pepper? And whether or not ‘My Taco’ is “authentic” or “white people” Mexican food (see comments here – ed).

To truly put the matter to rest we first have to dissect what “authentic” and what “white people” encompasses. Naturally, I take authentic to mean a representation of something that is in close proximity to the original inception. Whereas what “white people” means is a matter worthy of some graduate school dissertation. That being said, I will naively conclude, for the purpose of this analysis that “white people” refers to the watering down, or commercialization of whathaveyou: in this case Mexican food. (Not that there is anything necessarily and automatically wrong with that as  I will explore later.)

»continue reading Under $10: OUR Taco (My Taco; Highland Park)

Weathered Sandal

With rave reviews in notable publications like the LA TIMES, the LA WEEKLY, and Los Angeles Magazine, just to name a few, it’s no wonder I eagerly looked forward to trying the “Huaraches” at my neighbourhood “gem” of the same moniker, ‘Huarache Azteca Restaurants’ in Highland Park. At the risk of disagreeing with the pseudo culinary expertise of YELPers far and wide, this brick pile is a 2.5 star joint, AT BEST.

Maybe I am being too hard on this place because I grew up eating Mexican food, or maybe all the praise and hype I heard about it falsely raised my expectations. Whatever it was, I can honestly say that I gave it the ol’ college try. I once read an article about the rules to writing food reviews which included a list of do’s and dont’s. I found the list redundant and obvious, but one rule that seemed logical was that in order to review a restaurant fairly, one had to try it more than once, and that is just what I did.

»continue reading Under $10: Huarache Azteca (Highland Park)

Nestled in a strip mall; in picturesque Highland Park, sandwiched between what I suspect to be a rub and tug massage parlour, a laundry mat overrun by savage rogue children and an El Pollo Loco, is Carolina’s Mar Y Sol Restaurante. I don’t know a whole lot about Salvadorean dishes, but a sign outside promises $1.60 pupusas everyday, and I like pupusas. Also, I like a bargain even though I am always hesitant to try things that have not been previously recommended.

»continue reading Under $10: Carolina’s Mar Y Sol, Highland Park

»continue reading 64th Annual Northeast Los Angeles Holiday Parade, 12/7/08, Highland Park

Full gallery forthcoming

Few things made me giggle more last year than muffler-man-turned-chicken-headed monstrosity Chicken Boy’s re-introduction to the local landscape back in October [witness the head's installation at LA Observed]. Following a discussion with Matt Maranian in 2006 I got in touch with owner Amy Inouye and was told this resurrection was in the works, but largely forgot about it. Suddenly one day last fall there he was, towering over Future Studio at 56th and Figueroa, glorious as the day he was born. Raise a glass to Amy’s tenacity this evening. [Chicken Boy: Official Site]
»continue reading After the Rain: Highland Park

Ave 56 @ Fig