Ask anyone in Los Angeles and they’ll swear that their favorite burrito spot is the best. While I can’t guarantee mine is the best, I can confidently say it’s unlike anything you’ve ever had. Enter: The chicken tikka burrito.
Four years ago, when I was accepted to USC, I immediately started looking online for food around the area. I bookmarked a tweet from 2018 that said if there was one place I had to eat at in my four years there it was 23rd Street Cafe — now Cafe 23.
The first time I had a bite, I knew I had to sing its praises to everyone I knew.
Cafe 23 is a perfect amalgamation of what makes University Park such a special place: how global it truly is. With USC — a school whose student body is roughly one-quarter international students — and the neighborhood’s many longtime residents, there’s something for everyone.
And for those who don’t know it, South LA is a hotbed of food culture. With the historic 27th Street Bakery and the anticipated reopening of Chef Marilyn’s restaurant, there’s plenty to eat. For those hankering to try something new, these three restaurants offer a culinary twist on these Mexican staples.
So whether you’re in the area visiting the Los Angeles Public Library’s oldest brand, on your way to a biweekly knitting night in Inglewood, or need a quick bite before heading to the Koreatown Run Club, these cross-cultural Mexican fusion spots are well worth the visit.
Thai Corner Food Express
3655 S Grand Ave. C-4, Los Angeles
Located in the back corner of Mercado La Paloma is Thai Corner Food Express, owned by Aritsa Elliot, who has served Thai food in the Figueroa corridor for nearly 20 years.
But, in April, the restaurant started offering the “Thai Taco.” Elliot said the idea came from a desire to satisfy her own curiosity.
“I wanted to try Mexican masa with Thai spicy sauce or the herbs in a taco,” Elliot told The LA Local.
Every Tuesday, Thai Corner offers choices such as a coconut beef taco, a spicy shrimp taco or a drunken noodle chicken taco served on homemade blue-corn tortillas made with masa from Komal, another popular Mercado La Paloma restaurant.
Developing the flavors was no easy feat and was the result of experimentation and collaboration. The owner of Komal suggested to Elliot that she should incorporate shaved coconut into the beef taco to really represent Thai flavors.
The blending of these two cuisines allows for flavors and spices that are typically muted by rice or noodles to be the main attractions.
As a side dish, you can order the Thai guacamole. It’s a creamy, sweet take on the classic dish, topped with diced mango. It doesn’t taste like any other guacamole I’ve tried, but it kind of works —especially with the tacos. Each taco is served with a dollop of it and sliced Thai chili peppers.
Taqueria Vista Hermosa
3655 S Grand Ave. C-5, Los Angeles
Right next to Thai Corner is Taqueria Vista Hermosa. For 25 years, owner Raul Morales has been using his family’s al pastor adobo — which goes back three generations to his ancestral home in Vista Hermosa, Michoacán — to feed customers of Mercado La Paloma.
Now, he’s using that adobo to make a brand new al pastor cheeseburger. The taqueria began selling the burger two months ago because nowhere else in Mercado La Paloma offered one, and the restaurant wanted to fill that niche.
“At first, I was like that sounds weird. I’ve never heard of that,” Sarah Morales said. She’s the owner’s daughter and an employee of Taqueria Vista Hermosa.
“We had all the employees here taste it,” Sarah added. “Everybody kept saying it’s the best burger they’ve ever had. It’s been one of our most popular selling items.”
The behemoth burger comes with a ground beef patty slathered in adobo, a giant pineapple ring, grilled red onions, oozing provolone cheese and a generous helping of their superb avocado aioli. Make it a combo and it will come with a bucket of fries perfect for dipping the house-made aioli. Just trust me. Dipping in that aioli is worth the extra carbs.
Raul said he prides himself on the fact that the burger doesn’t come with many typical burger staples. His inspiration: burgers from Michoacán. This choice has been met with some pushback from customers who expect a more traditional burger.
“People say ‘Oh I want a classic, you don’t have a classic? … You don’t have lettuce?’ No. I have it, but I don’t want [to add it],” Raul said. “This isn’t a burger place … I make my own unique burger.”
In the future, the taqueria may expand its cross-cultural menu to include a pizza or a flatbread, Sarah added.
“When you have a bite, you remember the flavor,” Raul said. “I want that, I want a memory. I want a ‘Disneyland.’ When you go to Disneyland you have memories, same thing with food.”
Cafe 23
936 W 23rd St., Los Angeles
Just a mile away from Mercado La Paloma, at the end of a residential block on 23rd St. you will find a cafe that’s been serving Indian-influenced Mexican food for more than a decade. Cafe 23 proudly serves Indian street food and has given some classic menu items a Mexican twist.
They have things like burritos and quesadillas but you can get them loaded with chicken tikka, lamb or paneer tikka.
The burritos come with whatever Indian protein you like plus rice, beans and onions. The quesadillas come with jack cheese and are served with the restaurant’s signature red salsa and green salsa.
For a little extra, you can turn your burrito into a breakfast burrito by adding eggs and hash browns. Their breakfast burritos have even gotten attention from Eater and LAist.
In a 2016 interview with LA Weekly, the owner at the time Hari Singh, said that the restaurant opened in 2006 and originally had a completely different menu. Back then, they were serving things like burgers and pastrami sandwiches.
“There were a lot of Indians in this neighborhood — mainly students at USC — and they kept asking me, ‘Why don’t you make Indian food?’ So we started with a few Indian dishes,” Singh said. “Then we came up with this idea to start mixing Indian with Mexican. And people loved it.”
