I lived in LA for 15 years, and I miss nothing in LA more than my people there. I am a person for whom chosen family is easily as important as the moms and aunts and uncles (whom I love dearly!) that have known me since I was a baby. For me, when I “go back home” to visit the places I grew up, that includes where I lived in my 30s.
Other than the people, however, the thing I miss most about LA is the Mexican food. I love the Mexican food in California so much that I’m always wary whenever I’m presented with Mexican food somewhere else. (For example, Paris.) I’m sure it’s good, but I will likely be longing for, you know, something better.
Last weekend I got to visit a new LA Mexican joint in the Mercado La Paloma, right across the street from the DMV near USC. I got to know this DMV and its neighboring restaurants well when I went to USC, because as a broke film student I was always getting my license suspended for unpaid tickets. The mercado includes the delicious Chichen Itza, which I have visited before, but Holbox (the X is pronounced like “sh,” it’s the Mayan name for an island of the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula) wasn’t around when I lived in LA. It’s one of those phenomenons where people stand in a long line just to see what all the fuss is about. Attention begets attention in LA. Also, I think people in Los Angeles love to stand in line because it’s another excuse to hang out together before we get back in our cars. Regardless, the food at Holbox in my opinion is worth standing in line for.
Photo credit Tannaz Sassooni
I had a real problem with the menu at Holbox, in that I had to choose some things to eat and could not order everything. It was helpful that the ceviches and the tostadas are largely the same ingredients in slightly different formats, but I’m still thinking about all the things I didn’t order. They also have four different hot sauces available, but fortunately I was able to try all of these. If you go, I recommend the one that’s an exciting radioactive orange color. But don’t make the same mistake I did—it wasn’t until after I had already ordered a delicious lemonade from Holbox that I saw the spicy pineapple ginger juice offered by the place directly opposite. The Mercado is full of delights and most them don’t require standing in line.
I would also like to put in a plug for Guerilla Tacos if you ever need a party catered in LA. Some of my dearest beloveds in Los Angeles are departing to Scotland (I brought them a sweater from Svalbard for their new climate) and their going-away party was catered by these champions of LA-style tacos. Apparently there is also a restaurant with a mezcal bar, but I only experienced the version that comes out of their van.
As long as we’re talking about LA-specific delights, I also squeezed in a visit to Century Spa in Koreatown. As someone on Reddit said, “Unless you’re gay or queer, don’t even bother.” But the question for my newsletter subscribers: do you think I should get this haircut? I feel like it would go with my matte gray manicure.
