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Recession Obsession: Tacos El Pastor
Note: This Pastor Taco Photshoot Did Not Take Place At "Tacos El Pastor"
A Recession Obsession is, 1) a meal so great that it stays in your mind long after digestion's end, and, 2) plays nice with your sensitive wallet. Is there a better place than Los Angeles to eat a wide variety of amazing food that so happens to be inexpensive? Probably not. We're as lucky as we are well fed. We last obsessed over some cheap-enough organic at Green Zone, and Mercado La Paloma (near USC.) Today, we obsess...
The taco is as friendly a Recession Obsession dish as can be consumed. At best they're warm, flavor-dense, transcendent -- and $0.50 to $3 each. At worst, I don't need to tell you. We've all been sold a few ghastly tacos. FYI, you can throw them out before they taint your lips.
While LAist does not advocate throwing rocks, if one were to gently lob one from within Los Angeles County it would surely hit a delicious taco. One such target is a yellow building near Normandie Ave on Santa Monica Boulevard, where Hollywood can be called East Hollywood (or the rare: Little Armenia Adjacent.)
Skip the stone slinging and eat some tacos. Tacos El Pastor is LAist's latest Recession Obsession.
Porkin'
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Naming your restaurant after a single dish is either a lot of pressure or no big deal at all. I'll assume the latter for Tacos El Pastor, who so confidently titled their business after marinated, barbecued pork. Pastor is a dish, unlike revenge, that's best served warm. And, for $1.25 it's wrapped in two corn tortillas with cilantro and onions.
They do pastor right, while featuring a formidable choice of other meats (from juicy carnitas to the less common suadero.) A side of spicy-but-not-too-spicy roja makes for excellent dipping/lubrication of any taco.
Tacos El Pastor is not the best taco hut town. However, it may be the best on the block, and that says something (especially if you live in the neighborhood.) For $1.25 each you can't go wrong.
- Quick Math: $1.25 x 4 Tacos = $5.
Eating With Little Seating
With only a few deck chairs laying about, there's not much dining to be done from the seated position. That's okay. You've been to taco trucks. You know tacos are great when quickly consumed while standing, or when strewn across the hood of your car. You could take them home if you live nearby. Or if you're particularly weird, model them in a roof-top photo shoot.
- Tacos El Pastor Hollywood | 5179 Santa Monica Boulevard (Near Normandie) | Los Angeles 90029 | (323) 644-9806
Photos by Caleb Bacon (Twitter) for LAist
Where in Hollywood do you get your tacos? Comment Below!
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
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