If there is one cuisine Angeleños have every right to be passionate about, it is comida Mexicana.
We have restaurants serving some form of Mexican dish or Mexican-inspired food on every other damn block. We grew up going to them. We get upset if we try a new spot and the salsa is too watery. We get euphoric whenever we find the next legendary plate of chilaquiles. We get sad when our favorite Mexican restaurant, which may have been around for decades, if not generations, closes.
And now more than ever, we need to support Mexican restaurants.
Their sheer existence is an act of resistance in these times of exorbitant and rising food costs, a government that criminalizes immigrants for the color of their skin, and the woes of trying to run a small business during late-stage capitalism. Many are barely holding on by a thread, and every dollar spent at these establishments might be the difference in surviving just a little longer.
To select L.A.’s best Mexican restaurants, the L.A. TACO team held yet another staff battle royale to duke it out and decide which we feel are the very best of the more than 5,000 reported Mexican restaurants in our county.
Our criteria prioritize restaurants that keep honoring what we think is the best cuisine in the damn world by honing in on each chef’s standards for regional representation or creative ambitions, shunning homogenization or nostalgia to find those innovators who continue to push themselves and further burnish L.A.’s reputation as the Mexican food capital of the United States. We also esteem transparency in sourcing and the sustainability of proteins and farmers market produce.
Dining and Cooking