Mixed Verdict for Hugo’s Tacos in Atwater Village

It’s no Yuca’s, but Hugo’s Tacos stands on its own as a solid, slightly gourmet neighborhood taco stand.

A sister to famed brunch spot Hugo’s, Hugo’s Tacos just opened a second location — in Atwater Village. And considering it replaced a old real estate office that had appeared to be on its last legs even in the best of times, it’s a nice new dining alternative for area residents.

We’re familiar with Hugo’s Tacos, having dined at the Studio City location. The Atwater Village spot boasts later hours — until 11.

Like the other location, the new Hugo’s Tacos gives a choice of fillings — chicken, steak, carnitas, al pastor, grilled fish, zucchini/corn/string beans and soy chorizo/potato/zucchini — followed by more choices in the salsa department: Pico de gallo, jalapeno/tomatillo, salsa cruda, honey chipotle, salsa negra, salsa habanero and salsa arbol. I tried the fish with honey chipotle (which has a nice kick) and the soy chorizo with habanero (also nice kick) while Maria got the salad (Romaine lettuce, green beans, corn, zucchini, pico de gallo, cotija cheese and vegan spicy caesar dressing). On a separate visit, Evan got the salsa burger — but minus the salsa.

There’s something holding these tacos back from being better than they are, although I can’t put my finger on it. (I kinda feel that same way. In the meantime, it’s still a good fall back choice for lunch or dinner.)

Food Nibbles: Taco Trucks, U-Pick Farms and Rotisserie Chicken

(Flickr pic by cknlomein.)

Some food tidbits via the L.A. Times:

– Tips on finding the best rotisserie chicken in Los Angeles.

Among the author’s faves:

Gourmet Grill Masters: Found at farmers markets all over.

Lola’s: 14851 Victory Blvd., Van Nuys, and 230 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale.

Moishe’s Restaurant: In the Original Farmers Market, 6333 W. 3rd St.

The Oinkster: 2005 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock.

Pollo a la Brasa: 764 S. Western Ave. (at 8th Street) and 16527 S. Vermont Ave., Gardena.

Pollos El Brasero: 2281 W. Pico Blvd.

Reddi-Chick: 225 26th St., Santa Monica.

Soumarelo Fresh Mediterranean Grill: 1090 N. Allen Ave, Pasadena.

– It’s that time of year: U-Pick farms are bustling. The paper has a list of places to visit and pick those peaches, raspberries, etc.

– L.A. County taco trucks: Saved! Carne asada for everyone!

– One more, not L.A. Times related: You know that fall’s fast approaching when the seasonal drinks start appearing at the coffee chains. I noticed this morning in line at Peet’s that, yes, the pumpkin latte is back.

Rate-A-Restaurant #175: La Super Rica

Restaurant: La Super Rica

Location: 622 N Milpas St. (Santa Barbara)

Type of restaurant: Taqueria

They stipulated: The line gets lengthy during the way — so you may have to wait to order. Once you get to the front of the line, order by number, and fast. Also, don’t be afraid to order a lot: The tacos are street food-sized.

We stipulated: On our drive up north, we wanted to make sure we hit a couple of simple, great spots. La Super Rica — well known as Julia Child’s favorite Mexican spot — fit the bill. It was easy to find, and we happened to be in Santa Barbara for lunch, so score.

What we ordered: Tacos de Adobado (strips of marinated pork steak served on two homemade tortillas, $2.50); Tacos de Chorizo (chunks of grilled chorizo served on two homemade tortillas, $2.50); Auesadilla (grilled cheese between two homemade tortillas, $1.55); Lomito Suizo (grilled marinated pork with melted cheese between two corn tortillas, $3.50); Gordita de Frijol (handmade thick corn tortilla filled with spicy ground beans, $2.75); Guacamole (served with two homemade tortillas, $3.25); horchata ($1.60); cafe de olla (coffee flavored with cinnamon and piloncillo, $1.40).

High point: Ahh, those homemade tortillas, filled with meat and topped off with homemade salsa. I especially loved the gordita — they don’t lie, it’s spicy. And the guacamole is excellent — we weren’t originally going to order it, but so many people were walking away from the counter with it, we couldn’t resist.

Low point: The wait was a little too long, particularly since we had to get back on the road. But still worth it.

Overall impression: La Super Rica is an instutition, and while I still think our own Yuca’s beats them on taste, it’s definitely as good a reason to visit Santa Barbara as anything else. La Super Rica is about to be featured on the Food Network, and I also hear rumors that the owners are planning on opening branches of the taqueria overseas. Not a bad export — perhaps the U.S. ought to consider making “taco diplomacy” a benchmark of its international strategy.

Chance we’ll go back: Next time we’re in Santa Barbara, we’re hitting La Super Rica first.

For a complete list of our more than 175 restaurant reviews, check out our companion Rate-A-Restaurant site.

Bellflower: The Southland’s 99 Cent Capital?

I wrote last week about our journey to Bellflower — yes, Bellflower — and how we stumbled across one of the best 99 Cents Only stores ever (“best,” because the store boasted a huge selection of 99 cent wine).

But on that same journey, the strip mall across from the Kaiser Permanente hospital was also home to the hole-in-the-wall Mexican spot Senor Baja.

We happened to be there on a Wednesday — which is 99 cent fish taco night. Oh yeah. 99 cent fish tacos. I had three. Delicious — nice crispiness to the fish, and a nice crema and cabbage topping as well. Salsa bar had fresh, spicy salsas to top off. I was very pleased. Senor Baja is a mini chain found mostly in the San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire; the Bellflower location is at 14351 Clark.

Taco’ The Town

I’ve seen some confusion on the whole taco truck issue, so a reminder via Blogging.la: The new L.A. County law only regulates taco trucks in unincorporated portions of the county. That means your favorite truck in Highland Park, Eagle Rock or downtown is OK… but if you live in the unincorporated East Los Angeles (or in those unincorporated portions of south L.A. County), then your fave truck indeed has a problem on its hands.

Prior to the proposal becoming law, a Blogging.la reader received this response from County Supervisor Gloria Molina, who drafted the law:

“Thank you for contacting my office to express your views regarding the proposed changes to the Los Angeles County peddling ordinance. Please be aware that this ordinance is effective only in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.

The proposed changes to the ordinance allow peddlers to remain in one location in a commercial zone for one hour. The current ordinance permits 30 minutes in one location. For your information, vending from a sidewalk has never been permitted in Los Angeles County. Our ordinance will protect the health and welfare of our residents and respect the needs of our business community.

Nonetheless, the folks at Save Our Taco Trucks are concerned that L.A.’s unique taco truck culture may start to disappear under Molina’s law, which was passed last week. They’ve put together a petition:

Let’s send Gloria Molina and the L.A. Board of Supervisors a message that we cherish our local vendors and don’t want to see them move away. This new law needs to be repealed!

According to the L.A. Times, ground zero for the taco truck debate is East L.A., where brick and mortar restaurants brand the trucks a “nuisance.” The paper writes:

Some taco trucks park in the same place all day, despite an existing law that requires they move every 30 minutes. But because the fine is only $60, many truck owners view it as a cost of doing business.

The new restrictions, proposed by Supervisor Gloria Molina, increase the penalty for violating the law to a misdemeanor punishable by a $1,000 fine and/or a six-month jail sentence. To soften the blow, however, she would extend the time a catering truck can be parked in one place from 30 minutes to an hour.

Restaurant owners have long complained to county officials that taco trucks have an unfair advantage: If customers don’t come to them, they can drive to the customers. And because they are small and mobile, their overhead costs are comparatively low.

But taco vendors see it differently: They say they provide good and affordable food to communities that sometimes lack places to eat.

After the law passed last week, taco truck owners told the L.A. Times that they won’t budge:

“They can try to move us, but we’re not going to go,” said Aleida De La Cruz, whose taco truck has been a family business for 20 years. “What are they going to do, take us all to jail?”

Is carne asada a crime?

Fast Food Taste Test: Taco Del Mar

Following up on last month’s post about the L.A. arrival of Pacific Northwest-based Mexican chain Taco Del Mar, we went ahead and checked out the first outpost here (in Glendale).

I was especially intrigued after several commenters vouched for the chain. But I wasn’t impressed.

We ordered their signature fish taco. Fish was limp, breading was soggy. Sauce was uninteresting. One bright note: Taco Del Mar’s spicy salsa is indeed quite tangy. But that’s about it. Given all the taco trucks in the area, Taco Del Mar faces some tough competition in gaining any traction here.

(Taco Del Mar is located at 4204 San Fernando Rd. in Glendale, next to the legendary Dinah’s Fried Chicken.)

Does Los Angeles Need Another Taco Chain from Out of Town?

It’s a moot question, since L.A. is getting it anyway. The Seattle-based taco chain (really, Seattle? Isn’t the coffee biz enough? Do you really need a piece of what’s clearly L.A.’s domain?) Taco Del Mar has quietly come to town.

First location in the L.A. region just opened in Glendale, at 4204 San Fernando Rd. (next to the legendary Dinah’s Fried Chicken).

Taco Del Mar’s menu is pretty straight forward, with the usual mix of tacos and burritos. It looks like the menu is finally getting a bit more ambitious, starting with the “mojito burrito.”

But in a market already saturated with chains such as Rubio’s, Baja Fresh, La Salsa and tons others (not to mention mom and pop taco stands and more traditional spots like Del Taco). Could a chain that hails from up north penetrate that competition?

Here’s the chain’s history, from its website:

Taco Del Mar opened on June 8, 1992 on Pier 57 in Seattle’s historic waterfront district. The founders, brothers James and John Schmidt, created a name and logo that reflected the signature menu items—the Fish Tacos and Mission-Style Burritos.

James “discovered” fish tacos while studying at the University of California at San Diego in the late ’80s. His inspiration for Taco Del Mar was the funky shoreline shacks that dotted the Southern California and Baja beaches…

Today, this company that started with $22,000 in startup capital (from friends and family) is franchising in over 75 DMA’s and has stores throughout the United States and Canada.

Taco Del Mar now has more than 270 stores around the country.