Mexican

tortillas with a clump of shredded cheddar cheese in the middle, Ivan Gomez was eating his mom's quesadillas fritas in Martin Carrera, a small area of Mexico City in the Gustavo A. Madero borough. The quesadillas look like tacos, overflowing with carne asada

live," Gomez said on a recent call. "My mom would make them and I just really wanted to bring this authentic taste of Mexico City food to L.A." He also wanted to give his mother, Norma Ramirez, a chance to make the foods she's proud of. Ramirez used to

has reached peak form at its two-year mark. But my initial impression of the space will always be tangled with the bleak moment during which it opened. A marquee project of Mexico City-based chef Enrique Olvera, Damian spent several years in

goes by the name Poni for her Mexican street art, painted a mural in which human figures float among birds and leaves. A retractable roof had been built for L.A.’s increasingly rare rainy nights. It was — is — a space that both revels in the city’s

almost certainly if you grew up in Southern California, there’s likely a dish or an ambient aspect of a long-standing Mexican restaurant that stirs your memories. They have existed for decades among us, and some for nearly a century. These seemingly

eternal houses built from flour tortillas and kept afloat by mild salsa are as embedded in our cultural landscape as our beaches and our freeways. Call it classic American Mexican, or Mexican American, or California Mexican — “Cal-Mex” for short, as Times

and place.” The pastrami taco is the focal point of Malli, Elizabeth Heitner and Nestor Silva’s “Mexican-inspired Jewish pop-up,” which they launched last summer at Melody Wine Bar and are set to bring back from hiatus Sept. 9. The taco was inspired by

the childhoods of a Jewish New York transplant and a Mexican Angeleno and propelled by the ingenuity of two ambitious, out-of-work chefs who started a pop-up at a Virgil Village wine bar that leans heavily on the natural stuff. It doesn’t get much more

A crop of new Mexican restaurants sprouted during the pandemic like mushrooms after the rain, and crowds of diners are following suit. Some of these places come from familiar names while others offer completely fresh takes. Every single one of them

can’t find something suitable to drink here, that’s on you. The vibe: The modern design brings together tropical wallpaper, Mexican tiles, hand-crafted chandeliers and large, cozy booths. With windows that fold away on two sides, the majority of the

A restaurant opened in Dana Point a few years ago called Bistro Provincia. It looked more or less like a Mexican restaurant, but the chef, Manny Diaz, served Eurocentric fusion fare. It was a loosely defined menu of French, Italian and pan-Asian

dishes with random Mexican flavors sprinkled in. While the cooking was solid, the overall effect was that of a tourist hotel trying to please everyone without offending anyone. It wasn’t in a hotel, though. It just lacked a voice, a sense of purpose

It’s often called Mexican pizza, so it’s fitting that the tlayuda from Flor de Oaxaca in Santa Ana arrives in one those generic boxes with “pizza” emblazoned across the top. They do sort of look like pizzas. And I think people call them that because

exponentially thinner, like crepes. And despite the nickname “Mexican pizza” they are typically griddled on a comal (or in most restaurants, a flattop grill) rather than baked in an oven. The dough quickly turns crisp and brittle, held together with a spiderweb

. He often hosted Marlon Brando, Cary Grant, George Clooney, Al Pacino and other actors and studio executives, who sipped margaritas, tucked into the restaurant’s signature tufted red leather booths. Vega, who helped introduce and popularize Mexican

to the Bay Area to study hospitality at San Francisco State University but after a year moved back to Los Angeles to help his family. After a successful 18-year run, Rafael and Maria closed Cafe Caliente and opened another Mexican restaurant in

For about a month this past fall, the stylish patio at Enrique Olvera’s Arts District restaurant, Damian, was L.A.’s buzziest place to dine. But when the county banned outdoor dining in November, the acclaimed chef from Mexico City knew he needed to

income. It’s an effort to keep some people working.” Chef Jesus “Chuy” Cervantes is running the kitchen day-to-day. “It’s the same thought process as our Damian menu,” Cervantes says. “We’re very much respectful of classic Mexican techniques and