My Last Meal(s) in LA - Part 1

A preview of coming attractions - some excellent mandu from Myung Dong Kyoja:

I recently said good-bye to my hometown, Los Angeles.  As the close of escrow on my late mother's house approached, I went back for a few days in order to finish up the remainder of the house business.  Besides driving around Silver Lake thinking of times past, I also went to some old (and new) favorites.

What trip to LA would be complete without some potato tacos from El Atacor #11?

Potato tacos are Mexican comfort food to the nth degree but surprisingly are unheard of in the Bay Area.  Also, having lived in the Bay Area for over 4 years, I can say that I'm pretty sick and tired of paying an average of $4 per taco.  El Atacor #11 is old school and charges accordingly: one can get 10 potato tacos for $7.95 - that's $.79 per taco, Dear Reader! I limited myself to only four of them.

The next morning it was nearly 90 degrees by 10 am.  What better excuse to go get dongchimi guksu for breakfast than that? 

No Corner Place for me, I switched to Myung Dong Kyoja a while back.  Since dongchimi guksu didn't seem substantial enough I calorie splurged on some of the aforementioned mandu.  Am I glad that I did since they were sooooooo good.  There was not only some nice chili paste on the table but it also offered some green onion schmutz that was quite good - the two together made a potent dipping sauce.

Well, later that night I had to decide between Pollo a la Brasa or Marouch.  Marouch won out since it was closer.  I hadn't been there in nearly 4 years and I was craving some good Lebanese food.  I wanted to get everything on the menu but I ordered babaganoush and chicken & lamb kafta kabob with yogurt.  While I was waiting the owner gave me a plate of the staff meal which was a Middle Eastern tinged pasta with sausage and cheese - it hit the spot!

I'm trying to get back to LA one last time to finish up my mother's business so on the culinary agenda is Sakura House, Park's Korean BBQ, Sanamluang, and a ramen joint in San Gabriel.

El Atacor: Potato Taco Madness!

Pop Art Potato Tacos:


Two words: potato tacos. Who doesn’t like, every now and then, to indulge in this carboholics’ and fatlovers’ (yes, they are little fat bombs) dream? There is something about potato tacos that makes people crave them, they just taste so damn good.

I was able to lure several foodies to El Atacor #11 recently on a very cold and soon to be rainy Sat afternoon with the promise of the best, and perhaps the cheapest, potato tacos in town. Said foodies took the bait but surprisingly I was the only person who ordered potato tacos.

An uber-fussy potato taco fanatic eats one of my potato tacos:



Indeed. These potato tacos are fantastic. I just love the fabulous contrast of the crispy taco shell with the creamy, soft potato filling. The tacos are piping hot but are served with cooling avocado sauce, lettuce, and cheese – another great textural combination. Want to know the best part? You can get four potato tacos for $3.29.

Two words: porno burrito. In J. Gold’s review of El Atacor #11 he affectionately refers to the Super Burrito as the Porno Burrito and claims that if one does a Google search of “porno burrito” ten thousand hits for El Atacor will pop up. Surely this is hyperbole, when I followed Mr. Gold’s instructions I just got hits for porn sites.

See the four stages of the burrito’s undress:



Is the porno burrito so named due to its size and shape or because it is true foodie porn? Unfortunately, the former - this burrito is “Super” in size only. I ordered a carne asada porno burrito with rice, beans, cheese, guacamole, onion, cilantro, and salsa (sans lettuce and sour cream). The carne asada tasted more stewed than grilled and there were just mere vestiges of the guac, cheese, ect. The beans dominated, and although they were good, in this case less would have been more since more was no bueno. I would try the porn burrito again but I think that it might be better with carnitas.

Word association:

Chiles rellenos (and Mexican Coke)


Shrimp ceviche


Frickin’ great salsa

El Atacor #11

2622 N. Figeroa Street

Los Angeles, CA 90065