Lunch @ Lupe’s (East L.A., $)

We had some friends from City Terrace over for dinner yesterday and despite finishing the meal, we just kept on talking about food in L.A. I was asking about what their local go-to spots were and they mentioned Lupe's Burritos on 3rd, a little bit west of Mednik. 

I had to drop off a package in East L.A. anyway so me and my wife stopped by Lupe's for lunch. She got the taquitos plate, I got Carolina/Ed's recommended "green and cheese" burrito (i.e. bean and cheese with chopped green chiles). 

My wife, who grew up in L.A. and remembers going to Lucy's Drive-In as a kid, took a forkful of the refried beans and said, "this tastes like my childhood." I sampled the plate and thought it was familiar and comforting but nothing outstanding. The hot sauce they give you is legit hot though. 7/10

I enjoyed my burrito but it pretty much lost all "burrito integrity" within a minute or so; probably my rookie mistake for not making sure it was tightly wrapped in the paper. Either way, I had to finish it with a fork. 6/10

For this style of L.A. burrito, La Azteca is still my #1 choice.