Topline:
We have long a list of some of the best pozoles that the city offers, with each pozole showing its own distinct identity.
The backstory: The pre-Hispanic dish remains one of the most popular dishes in Mexican gastronomy, associated with celebrations, gatherings, and holidays.
The basics: . There are three common iterations throughout Mexico: red, green, and white. The differences are seen regionally, with their variants in proteins, spices, and chiles.
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Pozole season is nigh!
Studies show that fridges in Mexican households are a game of chance around this time of year. Is this margarine in the margarine container? No. It’s pozole. Sour cream here? Nope. You ran out three weeks ago. It’s pozole, again.
Pozole is a dish associated with celebrations, gatherings, and holidays, and comes from the Nahuatl word pozolli, which translates to “frothy” or “boiled”.
It remains one of the most popular dishes in Mexican gastronomy. There are three common iterations throughout Mexico: red, green, and white. The differences are seen regionally, with their variants in proteins, spices, and chiles.
We have a long list of some of the best pozoles that the city offers, with each pozole showing its own distinct identity.
We’re starting strong with this Los Angeles gem, Pozolería Doña Ana, in Panorama City and Pacoima. The family behind the restaurant believes that Mexican food provides more than just a meal. They believe it offers a celebration of life, and you can taste that.
The business makes their famous pozole rojo estilo Nayarit with your pick of pork and chicken. To try a mix of the best, we suggest getting their loaded pozole rojo mixed with pork meat, pata (pork foot), and cuerito (pork skin). This is the only dedicated pozolería in Los Angeles County and the best pozole in the San Fernando Valley.
Doña Ana started selling pozole in the streets to help her with her mental health and now she's developed a huge following. She sells both red and green varieties made with pork or chicken. We definitely recommend pairing her pozole with her tacos dorados de picadillo for the complete pozole-induced euphoria effect.
Location:
14551 Nordhoff St, Panorama City, 91402
10345 Laurel Canyon Blvd, Pacoima, 91331
Hours: Monday through Sunday 7 a.m. - 8 p.m.
While primarily known for its phenomenal birria de chivo, El Parian's secret weapon is an exceedingly good pozole. It has no business being so good, in fact. The pozole is a classic pork-based red, the caldo rich with pork, chiles, and spices, which are never overbearing.
The most intriguing thing about this pozole is the use of a particularly large variety of hominy that looks like freshly popped popcorn. A server explained that they start cooking it very early in the morning for several hours to achieve this glory in a bowl. It should go without saying that an order of birria is also mandatory.
Location: 1528 W. Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, 90015
Hours: Daily 9 a.m. - 8.30 p.m.
This neighborhood Oaxacan eatery offers pozole made from pork head. Once the bowl arrives you’ll notice a faint funk that becomes more prominent in the caldo, adding an extra dimension to the broth, and reminding us of the strong fishy flavors found in the best bowls of ramen.
The first bite of pork head bursts with concentrated porkiness; the meat is tender and slightly chewy. A thick layer of rendered, stained pork fat consistently floats on top of the bowl. This pozole is one of the most unique on the list because the offal adds a dimension that isn’t present with traditional proteins.
Location: 3337 1/2 W. 8th St. Los Angeles 90005
Hours: Daily 8 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Tamales Elena is one of the first regional food trucks in L.A. to celebrate Afro-Mexican influences from the state of Guerrero. While this place is recognized and named for for its signature tender banana leaf-wrapped tamales, its pozoles, offered in green, red, and white varieties, are equally famous, including a pork pozole topped with chicharrón, one with chicken, and a veggie-filled pozole.
The family behind these great bowls were even featured on Netflix's Taco Chronicles for their regional Mexican sazón.
Location: Wilmington Ave & E. 110th St. Angeles, 90059
Hours: Monday through Sunday, 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Shrimp pozole is a staple in coastal communities in Mexico, such as Baja, Nayarit, Jalisco, and Sinaloa. Yet for some reason, a seafood version never caught on in the States. That is until Cefishé came around and rectified this crime against L.A. County's mariscos and pozole-loving communities. If you love brothy, Mexican-style shrimp cocktails and need something that is a little bit more substantial during winter, then consider this your new addiction.
Location: 197 E. 2nd St. Pomona, 91766
Hours: Mon - Wed closed; Thurs - Sunday 12 noon - 8 p.m.
Contrary to what Chicharroland's name might suggest, it is not a theme park dedicated to fried pork skin, though this charming restaurant in South Central does specialize in chicharrón. On weekends they offer two different pozoles: a pork-based rojo and a chicken-based verde.
The pozole verde has a formidable broth that is more subtle than what you’ve probably encountered before. It leans more on the strength of the chicken broth, spiked with a subtle taste of tomatillos and cilantro. Little greenish beads of rendered chicken fat swirl after each hearty spoonful. It can be probably a little spicier, sure, but it’s nothing a scattering of chile flakes from the table's shaker can’t fix.
Location: 4714 S. Main St. Los Angeles, 90037.
Hours: Daily 8 a.m. - 6 p.m; closed Thursdays. Pozole is only served on weekends
Cacoa Mexicatessen is a few years shy of classic L.A. restaurant status. They were the first on the scene to bring duck carnitas here back in 2010, and their pozole verde is equally enticing. From a glance alone, you can sense the weight of the pozole. The caldo is cloudy green with a spicy punch. It has a strong porky presence and plenty of granos hidden under the broth, cooked just right —slightly firm and not overly gummy: al diente. This place gets bonus points for offering a super-solid local craft beer list and Mexican wine to go with the food.
Location: 1576 Colorado Blvd. Los Angeles, 90041
Hours: Closed Mondays; Sun, Tues, Wed, Thurs 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 5 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Pez Cantina has a fantastic pozole verde. This place flies low, mostly catering to downtown power lunchers and executives blowing off steam after work over their enticing happy hour menu. But don’t sleep on their pozole. The broth is on the thicker side and there are moments when you wonder what percentage of the caldo is just salsa verde. (If you’ve caught yourself with tendencies to sip on your taqueria’s salsa verde cups, this pozole is for you!).
It is a smaller portion, but don’t let the size fool you because it packs a punch; slightly acidic from the tomatillos but spicier than expected. While it’s not ridiculously spicy, the heat builds with each spoonful of the thick green broth. It’s a chicken-broth but not overly chicken-y.
Location:
DTLA: 401 S Grand Ave. Los Angeles, 90071
Pasadena: 61 N Raymond Ave, Pasadena, 91103
Hours:
DTLA: Mon 11.30 a.m. - 2.30 p.m.; Tues, Wed, Thurs 11.30 a.m. - 9 p.m.; Fri 11.30 a.m. - 10 p.m.; Sat 4 p.m. - 10 p.m.; Sun closed. Pozole is only served on Sat.
Pasadena: Mon closed; Tues – Fri 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.; Sat 11 a.m –10:30 p.m.; Sun 11 a.m. - 9.30 p.m.
Antojitos Los Cuates' small, peach-colored, Compton restaurant is decorated with yellow lettering and iconic scenes of Jalisco. Upon entering, you automatically know some amazing antojitos are about to pull your heartstrings from the feel of the dining room alone. While their tacos de requesón are what people come for and are highly recommended by L.A. TACO contributing writer Xitlalic Guijosa, their pozole blanco doesn’t stay behind.
It is a bowl of love made with nixtamal de maiz morado (purple corn nixtamal) and topped with repollo (cabbage), cebolla (onion), rabanos (radishes), and limon (lime). The perfectly simmered pork in your bowl makes for a broth so good you’ll be sucking on the bones to get every bit of it out.
Location: 1811 N. Long Beach Blvd. Compton, 90211
Hours: Tuesday - Friday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. - 10 p.m.
This neighborhood spot is great for breakfast, but on weekends they offer white pozole made with pata (pork feet), which means some of the collagen is rendered into the broth, though not to the point of palpable thickness.
The pozole is served with plenty of accoutrements: onions, cilantro, tostadas, avocado slices, rabanos, oregano, lettuce, and a specially tailored red salsa to crank up the heat. The floating bits of avocados offer a nice creamy texture that pairs pleasantly with the chunks of pork. The grano is on the tougher side, call it al dente. If you have the inclination to order a huarache with carnitas, I’d urge you to follow that intuition.
Location: 6480 Santa Fe Ave. Huntington Park, 90255
Hours: Daily 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.
This green pozole from Guayaba Kitchen will fool you. Recommended by L.A. TACO contributing writer Noe Adame, this vegan bowl of pozole is so popular that, in the past, it sold out in just one hour. It has all that a good bowl of green pozole has to offer, made with mushrooms (the star of the show) and spices and herbs homegrown in the owner's backyard. You can top it with the classics, chopped red onion, and a couple of squeezed limes, and top it all with chopped repollo for that familiar crunch. Y sin faltar, you can’t forget some chili de arbol oil to add extra heat.
Noe tells L.A. TACO: “I didn’t think a vegan pozole would ever taste like the real deal, much less, dare I say, better than any meat-based pozole I have ever had! Spicy, earthy, flavorful, and best of all, piping hot—just the way I love it.”
Location/hours: DM for curbside pick up
Being vegan doesn’t mean you have to miss out on eating some of your favorite Mexican dishes. Pozole is one of those meals that can be made meat-free and packed with a flavorful and rich broth. And that’s what you will find at El Cocinero Restaurant: a bowl full of vegan pozole rojo made with jackfruit cooked just right, leaving you with tender strips of what might as well be chicken.
Location: 6265 Sepulveda Blvd. #12. Los Angeles, 91411
Hours: Mon closed; Tuesday - Sunday 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Across the street from El Mariachi Plaza stands Un Solo Sol Kitchen. Its Latin-American menu (there are also Asian and Middle Eastern influences here) features plenty of meaty recipes, but the vegan options are about as vast. One of the best items has to be its veggie tacos. But as the weather gets cooler, the vegan pozole, be it the red or green one, rises to the top. Their green pozole is made out of mushrooms; the red with soft pieces of tofu.
Location: 1818 E. 1st St. Los Angeles, 90033
Hours: Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 12:00 noon - 8.30 p.m. Closed Tues and Wed
Topline:
As Los Angeles homeowners grapple with the expense of rebuilding after last year’s devastating fires, an L.A. City Council member is putting forward an idea that could lower some costs.
Who’s behind it: Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Pacific Palisades, has introduced a motion to explore waiving part of the city’s portion of the local sales tax for fire victims who purchase rebuilding materials in the city.
The details: The plan calls for returning the 1% of the local 9.75% sales tax that goes into the city’s general fund. The waiver could apply to lumber, appliances and other rebuilding goods purchased within the city.
Read on … to learn whether economists think the proposed tax relief could make a difference.
As Los Angeles homeowners grapple with the expense of rebuilding after last year’s devastating fires, an L.A. City Councilmember is putting forward an idea that could lower some costs.
Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Pacific Palisades, has introduced a motion to explore waiving part of the city’s portion of the local sales tax for fire victims who purchase rebuilding materials in the city.
The 1% of the local 9.75% sales tax that goes into the city’s general fund would be given back to consumers under the proposal. The waiver could apply to lumber, appliances and other rebuilding goods purchased within the city.
The motion, introduced Friday by Park and seconded by Councilmember John Lee, says: “The City should do everything within its power to alleviate the financial burden for these residents and businesses in order to facilitate their return and stabilize the Pacific Palisades community.”
Economists told LAist the proposal could help many homeowners mitigate the high cost of rebuilding, but likely wouldn’t tip the scales for under-insured, under-resourced property owners.
“It wouldn't hurt if it's very well designed and easy to use,” said Alexander Meeks, a director at the Santa Monica-based Milken Institute. “But I'm not sure if it's really going to tackle the scale of the financial challenge that survivors are facing.”
Meeks noted that the tax waiver wouldn’t lower up-front costs such as environmental testing, architectural design and permitting. And it may not help homeowners sourcing raw materials from outside the city.
Zhiyun Li, a UCLA Anderson School of Management economist, said the waiver could help some homeowners justify the additional cost of rebuilding more fire-safe structures.
“Homeowners must typically pay out of pocket to upgrade to IBHS+ standards, which are more stringent,” Li said. “The tax waiver could encourage upgrading to IBHS+ standards or investing more in mitigation, thereby reducing future risk and improving the likelihood of maintaining insurance coverage.”
The proposed tax relief would not be available to properties that have been sold since the fires started in January 2025.
The motion has been sent to the City Council’s budget and fire recovery committees. If approved by the full council, it would require the city administrative officer, the Office of Finance and the city attorney to report back to the council within 60 days on options for crafting a tax relief plan.
The motion calls for the report to consider factors such as how to minimize the burden of administering the tax relief, what documentation homeowners would have to submit and what it would cost the city to oversee the program.
Topline:
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the House will take up a measure passed by the Senate last week to fund most of DHS except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of September. Republicans would then attempt to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years using a party-line budget reconciliation bill that would not require support from Democrats.
About the deal: The agreement comes nearly a week after House Republicans dismissed an identical plan, refusing to take up the Senate-passed measure and instead passing a 60-day short term funding bill for all of DHS that had little chance of overcoming Democratic opposition in the Senate. Democrats welcomed the agreement as in line with their pledge not to give ICE any more money without reforms after immigration enforcement agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. But the deal does not include any of the policy demands Democrats are pressing for, such as a ban on masks for immigration enforcement officers and requiring warrants issued by a judge, not just the agency, to enter homes.
What's next: Congress is on a two-week recess, but the Senate and House could move to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP as early as Thursday using a procedure known as unanimous consent that allows the chambers to circumvent formal voting as long as no member objects. Even during a recess when most members are not in Washington, this could be unpredictable, especially in the House, where many hard-line conservatives oppose a deal that does not fully fund DHS. If a member does object, that could require waiting for another vote when all members are back from recess.
Senate and House Republican leadership have resurrected a stalled plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security after a record 47-day funding lapse.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the House will take up a measure passed by the Senate last week to fund most of DHS except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of September.
Republicans would then attempt to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years using a party-line budget reconciliation bill that would not require support from Democrats.
"In following this two-track approach, the Republican Congress will fully reopen the Department, make sure all federal workers are paid, and specifically fund immigration enforcement and border security for the next three years so that those law-enforcement activities can continue uninhibited," Thune and Johnson wrote.
The agreement comes nearly a week after House Republicans dismissed an identical plan, refusing to take up the Senate-passed measure and instead passing a 60-day short term funding bill for all of DHS that had little chance of overcoming Democratic opposition in the Senate.
Johnson called the agreement a "joke" and President Donald Trump declined to publicly endorse the deal. Trump had previously resisted any package that did not include his push to overhaul federal elections known as the Save America Act.
"I think any deal they make, I'm pretty much not happy with it," Trump told reporters last week.
Democrats welcomed the agreement as in line with their pledge not to give ICE any more money without reforms after immigration enforcement agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. But the deal does not include any of the policy demands Democrats are pressing for, such as a ban on masks for immigration enforcement officers and requiring warrants issued by a judge, not just the agency, to enter homes.
"For days, Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote in a statement Wednesday. "Throughout this fight, Senate Democrats never wavered."
Trump seemed to bless the revived plan earlier Wednesday, writing on social media that he wants a party-line bill to fund immigration enforcement on his desk by June 1.
"We are going to work as fast, and as focused, as possible to replenish funding for our Border and ICE Agents, and the Radical Left Democrats won't be able to stop us," Trump wrote.
Despite the shutdown, ICE has been minimally impacted because Republican lawmakers approved $75 billion for ICE through another party-line budget reconciliation bill last year.
Congress is on a two-week recess, but the Senate and House could move to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP as early as Thursday using a procedure known as unanimous consent that allows the chambers to circumvent formal voting as long as no member objects.
Even during a recess when most members are not in Washington, this could be unpredictable, especially in the House, where many hard-line conservatives oppose a deal that does not fully fund DHS.
"Let's make this simple: caving to Democrats and not paying CBP and ICE is agreeing to defund Law Enforcement and leaving our borders wide open again," Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, wrote on X. "If that's the vote, I'm a NO."
If a member does object, that could require waiting for another vote when all members are back from recess.
Claudia Grisales contributed reporting.
Copyright 2026 NPR
Topline:
The Dodgers Foundation says it's expanding Dodgers Dreamteam, its program for underserved youth. The foundation says the program will be able to serve 17,000 kids this year, 2,000 more than last year.
Why it matters: Now in its 13th season, the program connects underserved youth with opportunities to play baseball and softball and provides participants with free uniforms and access to baseball equipment. It also offers training for coaches in positive youth development practices, as well as wraparound services for participant families like college workshops, career panels, literacy resources and scholarship opportunities.
How to sign up: For more information and to sign up, click here.
Topline:
California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season. It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.
What happened? Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.
Why it matters: Experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains. State data reports that California’s snowpack is closing out the season at an alarming 18% of average statewide, and an even more abysmal 6% of average in the northern mountains that feed California’s major reservoirs. “I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.
California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season.
It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.
Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.
But experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains.
On Wednesday, state engineers conducting the symbolic April 1 snowpack measurement at Phillips Station south of Lake Tahoe found no measurable snow in patches of white dotting the grassy field.
“I want to welcome you call to probably one of the quickest snow surveys we’ve had — maybe one where people could actually use an umbrella,” joked Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. “We’re getting a lot of questions about are we heading into a hydrologic drought? The answer is, I don’t know.”
State data reports that California’s snowpack is closing out the season at an alarming 18% of average statewide, and an even more abysmal 6% of average in the northern mountains that feed California’s major reservoirs.
Only the extreme drought year of 2015 beat this year’s snowpack for the worst on record, measuring in at just 5% of average on April 1st, when the snow historically is at its deepest.
“I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.
“Without a snowpack, and with an early spring, it just means that there’s much more time for something like that to happen.”
In the city of South Lake Tahoe, which survived the massive Caldor Fire in the fall of 2021 without losing any structures, fire chief Jim Drennan said his department is already ramping up prevention efforts.
“It's pretty bizarre up here right now. It really seems like June conditions more than March,” Drennan said. “People are already turning the sprinklers on for their lawns.”
Without more precipitation, an early spring may complicate prescribed burning efforts. But Drennan said fire agencies in the Tahoe basin can start mechanically clearing fuels from forest areas earlier than usual.
“That means we can get more work done,” he said.
It also means homeowners need to start hardening their homes now, said Martin Goldberg, battalion chief and fuels management officer for the Lake Valley Fire Protection District, which protects unincorporated communities in the Lake Tahoe Basin’s south shore.
Goldberg urges residents to scour their yards for burnable materials, create defensible space and reach out to local fire departments with questions. The risks are widespread — from firewood, wooden fences, gas cans, plants, pine needles — even lawn furniture stacked against a house.
“In years past, I wouldn't even think of raking and clearing until May,” Goldberg said. “But my yard's completely cleared of snowpack, and it has been for a couple weeks now.”
Battalion chief David Acuña, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, said fire season is shaped by more than just one year’s snowpack.
Climate change has been remaking California’s fire seasons into fire years. And California’s recent average to abundant water years have fueled what Acuña called “bumper crops of vegetation and brush.”
“Most of California is like a haystack. And if you’ve ever seen a haystack fire, they burn very intensely because there's layers of fuel,” Acuña said.
Like Quinn-Davidson, Acuña wasn’t ready to make specific predictions about fires to come.
But John Abatzoglou, a professor of climatology at UC Merced, said the temperatures and snowpack conditions this year offer a glimpse of California in the latter decades of this century, as fossil fuel use continues to drive global temperatures higher.
How this year’s fires will play out will depend on when, where and how wind, heat, fuel and ignitions combine. But it foreshadows the consequences of a warmer California for water and fire under climate change.
“This,” Abatzoglou said, “is yet another stress test for the future in the state.”
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
