Stellar salsa & a messy meal at El Jacalito Oaxaqueño
Is this a salsa blog now?
Unlike Lonzo’s, El Jacalito Oaxaqueno isn’t a longtime favorite - it was a new stop recommended by Janice’s date. And yes, we will take great food recommendations from anyone (don’t get me started on us driving to Downey on Easter to eat Cuban food recommended by a valet downtown the week before.) We won’t go east of La Brea for our nearest and dearest, but we will travel to the depths of the Valley, even the IE for some great, cheap, authentic food.
Luckily, El Jacalito is in our neighborhood.
On a Friday afternoon we walked in and immediately gave each other a knowing smile - we were the only non-Hispanic guests during the lunchtime rush. This was going to be good.
God’s greatest gift to man is salsa
What we ordered (pictured above):
Tacos - de cabeza (pork, bottom) & barbacoa (goat, top): The two signature tacos on the menu likely don’t reflect what you think of in LA. These are not the street tacos that can fit in your palm, and can be sucked down 4 at a time. These are hardy, flour tortilla-wrapped behemoths. We both loved both tacos - Janice was slightly more partial to the pork cabeza (head) with salsa verde, Rachel loved the gamey spiciness of the smothered goat barbacoa taco, and that ultimately is why we’re the best of foodie friends. Either way you can’t go wrong.
Tlayuda: The signature dish of the restaurant, and of the Oaxaca region. Tlayuda is like a large Mexican pizza - served atop a slightly fried tortilla crust, topped with refried beans, Oaxacan cheese, avocado and meat. We got the combo Tlayuda that came with chorizo, cecina, and tasajo (the latter two both beef varieties, one cured, one grilled.) We gravitated towards the chorizo and tasajo, as the cecina ran a tad drier, but both were enamored with the Oaxacan cheese. Like string cheese and cotija had a baby, this cheese is mild, salty, delicate with a delightfully stringy texture. It almost melted in your mouth. Overall the flavors were good, but this was pretty messy to eat and we found the center fo the tortilla to be pretty soggy.
The salsa: Again, not something we ordered, but the salsa served at El Jacalito was outstanding, especially if you, like us, seek the spice in everything. Dippable, but with texture, flavorful and fresh, and with just enough spice to make it clear you weren’t eating whitewashed cuisine within seconds of sitting down.
Cost: $20-25 pp
#FunLunchFriday
janice lived off of the Tlayuda leftovers for two days
