A new Tijuana-style taco shop in Cypress Park is pressing fresh, handmade tortillas to order and filling them with 24-hour-marinated meats and heaping helpings of guacamole, while customers line up at counter stools late into the night under a sign that reads “MÁS TACOS, MENOS FRONTERAS.”
“We’re trying to bring Tijuana to Los Angeles,” said Taqueria Frontera owner Juan Carlos “JC” Guerra.
Although this is Guerra's first restaurant, he is no novice at spinning tops.
Taqueria Frontera owner Juan Carlos “JC” Guerra started with pop-up shops on the sidewalks of Lincoln Heights and then opened his Tijuana-style taco shop in Cypress Park.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
His father owns seven locations of the Tijuanazo Taquerías chain, based in Tijuana, and the family also owns Rancho Meat Market in Lincoln Heights. Guerra, who grew up in Northeast Los Angeles, began making inroads in the market with a tented stand about two years ago, serving a simplified menu of street tacos. Now with a brick-and-mortar location, he has expanded his offerings to include tortas, more meats, burritos, mulitas and quesadillas.
He didn’t always know he wanted to join the family business, but when he was approached about expanding his taco empire in the U.S., Guerra began shadowing his father to learn how he’s been grilling and marinating meat for two decades.
Taquería Frontera, from a member of the family behind Tijuanazo Taquería, wants to bring a taste of Tijuana not only with its tacos but with its fresh, open-window format.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
At Taqueria Frontera, he wanted to deviate from his father’s practices in a few key ways: asada marinated in a more citrusy style, with pineapple and orange juice, and an adobada seasoned with more than 20 spices. He also offers chicken, something his father doesn’t make. Some of these deviations, he said, have met with his father’s approval — and might even be better.
“There are certain things he likes about mine that he doesn't want to change in his life. [restaurants]simply because your customer is already used to that taste,” he laughed.
Taqueria Frontera, with options like chorizo, lengua and birria, prepares each meat with a special sauce, such as red serrano chile on top of thick cubes of carne asada, or a small river of spicy cilantro crema on top of adobada. Wash it all down with a rotation of house-made aguas fresca. Taqueria Frontera is open Tuesday through Sunday from 12 to 10 p.m.
700 Cypress Ave., Los Angeles, instagram.com/taqueriafrontera
Tendon Tempura Carlos Jr. Pasadena
Some of the best tempura in the region can now be found in a small Pasadena arcade. Tendon Tempura Carlos Jr., a specialty fry restaurant from chef and owner Carlos Pinto, made a splash when it debuted in Torrance in 2019, and its new Pasadena location has 18 seats, a slightly scaled-back menu, and lines forming for Pinto’s mounds of customizable, fried-to-order tempura of shrimp, chicken, eel, squash, peppers, whitefish, whole eggs, and more.
At age 20, the Peruvian-born chef moved to Japan but didn’t speak the language, so he connected with the country’s cuisine, especially its tempura. He trained at Kaneko Hannosuke’s famed tempura restaurant in Tokyo and then its branch in Torrance, and after its eventual closure in California, Pinto opened his own tempura house. His tempura temple is famous for the crunchy texture of the koromo, or batter, as well as its secret-recipe tare and breadth of options: A variety of soba, udon, and rice come adorned with a host of fried elements, enjoyed with condiments of pickled ginger and burdock or celery. The new spot also serves sushi along with sake, wine, and beer. Tendon Tempura Carlos Jr. is open in Pasadena Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 7:30 p.m.
694 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 298-6200, Instagram.com/tempuracarlosjr
Akira Back's first sushi restaurant in Los Angeles, Norikaya, specializes in creative and traditional temaki such as strawberry unagi, left, and dynamite lobster with masago.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Norikaya
Prolific restaurateur Akira Back just opened a temaki bar in the heart of Koreatown, where the Seoul-born chef hopes to blend his Korean heritage with Japanese classics in handmade rolls, raw rolls and more. At Norikaya — where “nori” refers to the seaweed used to make temaki and “kaya” is a nod to the format of an izakaya, where small plates are often served — diners can find creative handmade rolls like baked unagi and mashed avocado under sliced strawberries. Small plates include fried geso, or octopus legs; garlic-crusted edamame; and, in a nod to the chef’s many grills, a pan of seared filet mignon with navy beans and mushrooms. Sake, soju, wine, beer, teas and sparkling sodas are also on offer. More dishes, such as otoro, uni and caviar temaki with gochujang miso, or a handmade roll topped with caviar, will be added when the menu expands next month.
Back operates more than two dozen restaurants, bars and lounges around the world, some of which serve sushi, but this is the chef’s first Norikaya and his second restaurant in Los Angeles. He also operates ABSteak in Beverly Grove. One of the best Korean BBQ restaurants in town.and partnered with Robert Kim (also of ABSteak, as well as Mama Lion) to bring the 20-seat sushi bar to life. Norikaya is open Tuesday through Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday through Sunday from 5:30 p.m. to midnight.
554 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 816 8720, norikaya.com
Danny Boy's Famous Original, with locations in Midtown and Westwood, specializes in nostalgic New York-style pizzas from chef/owner Daniel Holzman's upbringing.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Danny Boy Westwood
Some of Los Angeles’ most popular New York-style pizza is now available in Westwood Village, with options for slices, whole pizzas, Sicilian pizzas, parmesan sandwiches, salads, and beer and wine served under neon pizza slice signs. Danny Boy’s Famous Original opened in a downtown food hall in 2021, the first Los Angeles restaurant from Daniel Holzman, a native New Yorker and veteran of storied restaurants like Le Bernardin, Palladin, and the now-closed Axe location in Venice. Upon returning to Los Angeles, the chef sought to recreate the nostalgic Italian-American food of his childhood and opened his pizzeria. With more than 50 seats and 2,300 square feet, Danny Boy’s second location offers new dishes as well as signature items like beef and pork meatballs — a nod to Holzman’s popular Meatball Shop, an East Coast chain that opened alongside it in 2010. Look for garlic knots, hot wings, salads and pizzas topped with ricotta, pepperoni, mushrooms, pickled peppers, chicken cutlets, vegan cheese and more.
New additions to Westwood include bottles of house-made dressing and cold, pre-made sandwiches, such as a carefully prepared Italian sandwich, as well as alcohol. The beverage program is led by sommelier Cameron Mahlstede (formerly of Osteria Mozza and Jon & Vinny's), with a focus on wines to pair with each menu classic, plus locally made craft beer. Holzman plans to further expand his restaurant's full menu with entrees, stromboli and more. Danny Boy's Famous Original is open in Westwood Village Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
10889 Lindbrook Dr., Los Angeles, (559) 468-7664, dannyboysfamousoriginalpizza.com
The Hummingbird Ceviche House
Chef Ricardo Zarate is no stranger to the Los Angeles restaurant scene, having opened, cooked for, or collaborated on more than a half-dozen concepts over the past 15 years, including Picca, Mo-Chica, Paiche, Causita, Rosaliné, Pikoh, Mamacita, Short Stories, and several pop-ups. But his new venture, Hummingbird Ceviche House, is the first chef-owned restaurant. The new casual Echo Park spot, located in the former Mayas’ Tacos, focuses on Peruvian-Japanese Nikkei cuisine, combining the flavors of both cultures to create hand-rolled rolls stuffed with tuna and rocoto pepper; Hokkaido scallop aguachile with a hint of yellow chili and pepper ash; and fried empanadillas eaten with whole shiso leaves.
The small, open dining room features a long counter where guests can watch Zárate and his team top hummus with grilled octopus or darb ikura over cylinders of salmon sashimi. While Zárate’s menu of handmade rolls, tiraditos, tostadas, and ceviches focuses on raw seafood, he also offers small cooked plates like a risotto-like seafood dish with ají limo; rib-eye steak; and the “papa no rellena,” which stuffs a split potato with salmon, tomato, tuna, or crab. Zárate said he hopes to offer beer and wine in the future; in the meantime, look for non-alcoholic wine, beer, margaritas, and CBD-infused drinks, as well as a version of chicha morada with chia seeds, apple, and pineapple, and a house-made horchata made with Japanese rice. The Hummingbird Ceviche House is open Wednesday through Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m.
1600 N. Alvarado St., Los Angeles, (213) 929-9610, instagram.com/thehummingbird.la
Black Restaurant Week
Peach cobbler panna cotta and a glass of wine at Inglewood’s 1010 Wine and Events, a participating event in this year’s Black Restaurant Week that highlights Black winemakers and growers year-round.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
This week, Los Angeles is celebrating Black-owned bistros, food trucks, taquerias, wine bars, dessert destinations, and more with its seventh annual Black Restaurant Week. The annual event runs from now through September 1 to raise year-round awareness and support for Black-owned restaurants, many of which can’t afford marketing, social media, or PR outreach. Now 9 years into the national event, the team behind it estimates they’ve helped over 3,000 restaurants by providing resources and attracting new customers. In Los Angeles, this year’s dozens of participants include Dulan’s, Blaqhaus Noho, Happy Ice, Alma’s Place, Post & Beam, Peppered Grill, Sky’s Gourmet Tacos, Darrow’s New Orleans Grill, and 1010 Wine and Events.
“We want knowing your favorite Black-owned restaurant to be the same as knowing your favorite sushi restaurant or your favorite Italian restaurant,” said Warren Luckett, who founded Black Restaurant Week in Houston in 2016. He told the Times.
blackrestaurantweeks.com
