La Barca

I've been to Mexico City once and I learned two things. One, that tequila taste different there than here and two, their are many styles of Mexican food; Oxachan, Northern, etc. One style they didn't have was "LA style". Many would say that this is a good thing but seriously, our hybrid Mexican Food is pretty awesome.

A great place to have this style is La Barca, 2414 South Vermont Ave., LA CA 90007, 323-735-6567. Now, I realize what I am advocating is not a purist idea of what Mexican Food can be but it's fun. I remember going there with John Haines when we were both undergrads at Otis Art Institute in the early 80's. It was cheap, filling and tasty. Today, you can get away with spending $10.00 on lunch.

They always start you off with chips and salsa like most places. The salsa here reminds me of Tito's tacos but hotter. I like this very much. Today, I ordered the Chorizo Con Huevos. It was really good. Chorizo is one of those foods that I can only have once every other month but I love it. It was introduced to me by firend from high school, Sandy Oliva's Tia and I've been eating it since. All the portions are hefty and filling. There were a lot of students and staff from USC. I was glad to see that it was still a place students can get an affordable meal for relatively cheap.

Today, my friend and sculptor, Megan DeArmond ordered a tostada which was huge and later my buddy artist Jeff Mohr told me his favorite is the chicken and rice dish or pollo con arroz. This is a great place to go with friends and order margaritas.

By the way, once again, I was so hungry, I started eating my food before I remembered to take a photo. Sorry about that.