I stumbled on to the La Tienda carneceria on Inglewood Ave in the city of Lennox by accident. Perhaps the taco gods were looking over me this sunny afternoon because I had every intention to get on to the 405 north. But as luck would have it I missed that onramp and found myself on Inglewood Ave staring down this taco cart.
The sign read "stop ya estan listos los pollos" which translates to- stop! the chickens are ready.
I watched as whole chickens were lifted from the large smoker style grill and then met with a cleaver on the cutting board. Every so often the lady manning the grill would lift the hood to turn the chickens and the smoke would chimney out followed by the most incredible smell of chargrilled pollo.
There wasn't an organized method to order and the two women were so busy manning each others stations that people just started announcing what they wanted . "torta de cabeza!" someone shouted,"burrito de pollo!" said another.
I figured I better get in the game so I just belted out my order "tres tacos, dos cabeza, un de pollo!"
But for about 3 seconds I felt like the most desperate gabacho in all of LA. Who am I to belt out my order? I'm a soft westsider, I'm not local, what was I thinking? But those fears were quelled when one of the girls looked up and smiled and acknowledged my order.I was safe from any embarrassment.
There were tubs of salsa(verde, roja) on a table adjacent to one of the grills and tubs with jalapenos, limes, radishes. After topping my tacos with the onions, cilantro and salsa roja I dug in to the pollo first.
The tender cubes of pollo had that perfect charcoal taste with a citrus marinade that was just the right balance to the salsa roja. Each cube of chicken had a peppery crust and a soft juicy center. Oh man...this was the pollo that I've been looking for.
cabeza taco
And the cabeza? Excellent as well. Very soft and not fatty or waxy like alot of cabeza. No gamey aftertaste either which I have experienced with some cabeza. This cabeza was comparable to the excellent cabeza from Tacos Chatos
Salsa was homemade and a nice blend of chiles. Some spice but nothing that will make you sweat it out. That's what the jalapenos were for.
I ordered three more tacos de pollo for the road intending to wait until I got home to eat them. But I couldn't resist and I opened one of them up while I was driving and just went for it. I held the taco in the cup of my palm and devoured it ,the juice from the pollo running down my wrist as I got back on the 405 onramp heading north.
Tienda Latina Carniceria/Taqueria Morelia
10333 S INGLEWOOD AVE
90304, LENNOX
I wrote a little report about Lennox for one of my classes last semester. The town (it's unincorporated LA County, not an independent city) is seriously screwed in a lot of ways, but I really wanted to visit a bunch of the taquerias I saw there.
ReplyDeleteNice... pollo is tough to come by! i think as a general rule anytime you see a taco cart with its own smoker you're probably going to eat well...
ReplyDeleteJust want to thank you for the blogin...I love mexican food especially tacos. I wish I was on the road again go thru the heart of Mexico and stopping at every street tacos for some tasty treat. Soon...so hard to find some decent street tacos is OC.
ReplyDeleteHi, have you ever tried the taco truck on Fair Oaks in Pasadena? It's located between California and Del Mar, right in front of the Nishikawa auto shop. (It's in the parking lot of that shop, across from the Berkin public storage, next to an antique shop, if you are heading north on Fair Oaks.) I'm kicking myself for not remembering the exact name--it's something like El Taqueria. I have been going there weekly for almost ten years. Their al pastor is to die for. Perfect blend of spices, smoky flavor, and tender slow-cooked pork. Hands down, the best al pastor, carne asada, and lengua in all of Pasadena and the San Gabriel valley. Both the red and green sauces are awesome. I prefer them over the sauces from King Taco! The chefs are fast and friendly. Even on a busy Saturday night, don't be afraid of the line long because they are very quick. They're open till 3am on the weekends. Great place to sober up after a long night of drinking in Old Town Pasadena. Highly, highly recommended.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see you get to the South Bay more. Our tacos may not be ass good as some other parts of LA, but we have some good places. I'm pretty fond of Amigos Tacos on the corner of Artesia and Prospect in Manhattan Beach. They're best known for their breakfast burritos, but I think their Al Pastor tacos can be pretty decent (plus they're probably the only al pastor in MB). I'd love for you to check them out.
ReplyDeleteExcellent last week when I tried it and even better today when I brought a Spanish speaking friend. Order inside,,four tacos was one too many, and I am drifting away to a Heaven lined with Carne Asada and Pollo....
ReplyDeleteWent today - 1/29/09 - for lunch with the wife. We had 1 pollo, 1 lengua, and 4 carne asada tacos. All were very good. The carne was killer though. Their salsa has an excellent blend of mild/medium heat and an amazing flavor. Probably the best salsa I've had. I frequency Acosta's down on Imperial, just east of Inglewood, a lot. Acosta's is much spicier and so I don't taste the flavor as much. Acosta's lengua is better.
ReplyDeleteI'll definitely be back at this place for their Pollo Asada Especial.
Update Oct 2010. Looks like they changed format, no grill outside, no lunch food. Really used to like it! So sad.
ReplyDeleteWent today - 1/29/09 - for lunch with the wife. We had 1 pollo, 1 lengua, and 4 carne asada tacos. All were very good. The carne was killer though. Their salsa has an excellent blend of mild/medium heat and an amazing flavor. Probably the best salsa I've had. I frequency Acosta's down on Imperial, just east of Inglewood, a lot. Acosta's is much spicier and so I don't taste the flavor as much. Acosta's lengua is better.
ReplyDeleteI'll definitely be back at this place for their Pollo Asada Especial.
Hi, have you ever tried the taco truck on Fair Oaks in Pasadena? It's located between California and Del Mar, right in front of the Nishikawa auto shop. (It's in the parking lot of that shop, across from the Berkin public storage, next to an antique shop, if you are heading north on Fair Oaks.) I'm kicking myself for not remembering the exact name--it's something like El Taqueria. I have been going there weekly for almost ten years. Their al pastor is to die for. Perfect blend of spices, smoky flavor, and tender slow-cooked pork. Hands down, the best al pastor, carne asada, and lengua in all of Pasadena and the San Gabriel valley. Both the red and green sauces are awesome. I prefer them over the sauces from King Taco! The chefs are fast and friendly. Even on a busy Saturday night, don't be afraid of the line long because they are very quick. They're open till 3am on the weekends. Great place to sober up after a long night of drinking in Old Town Pasadena. Highly, highly recommended.
ReplyDeleteI wrote a little report about Lennox for one of my classes last semester. The town (it's unincorporated LA County, not an independent city) is seriously screwed in a lot of ways, but I really wanted to visit a bunch of the taquerias I saw there.
ReplyDeleteNice... pollo is tough to come by! i think as a general rule anytime you see a taco cart with its own smoker you're probably going to eat well...
ReplyDeleteJust want to thank you for the blogin...I love mexican food especially tacos. I wish I was on the road again go thru the heart of Mexico and stopping at every street tacos for some tasty treat. Soon...so hard to find some decent street tacos is OC.
ReplyDelete