Lugya'h by Ponchos Tlayudas — Restaurant in Los Angeles

MÉXICO 🇲🇽 Eat the World LA review: The tortilla of a tlayuda might just be the only one you can cook ahead of time and still make wonderful in the coming days, but even so it requires such a high skill level that you rarely find them done well outside of Oaxaca. If done right, a tlayuda will be on an ultra-thin disc that approaches the diameter of a pizza, with all the water cooked out on the first pass. For this reason, the quality does not decline if the tortilla cools and is reheated.

While Los Angeles has no shortage of Oaxacan people, the tlayudas are somehow a separate entity and usually just average. The best from back home are made not in restaurants serving a wide range of cuisine, but from masters that spend their nights over comales and fire perfecting their trade. All of the tlayudas in town are imported, but sourcing matters and most of the best stay in Oaxaca. Lucky for all of us, this backyard operation found a source for top-rate tlayudas and asiento, the pork lard that makes them melt in your mouth.

From South Main Street, only two signs in the driveway (at the beginning and end of article) announce you have arrived at the right place. There is also music and the smell of grilled meats making their way out to the sidewalk, but neither of those things is a rarity for this South Los Angeles neighborhood. Follow the signs, the smells, and the sounds down the driveway and you come to a backyard that instantly promises something so special that it already seems fleeting. Eventually enough people will want these tlayudas that this weekly backyard Friday night party will not be enough. To some degree, it already has with a regular Sunday stand at Smorgasburg downtown feeding folks for whom a trip down to South Park would be unthinkable.

But for the time being, skip that and come here. It has the...

My family and I have been coming here for the last 5 years, and it really is one of the most unique food experiences in L.A. Located in South Central, near the intersection of Main St. & Vernon usually in the backyard of Indigenous rights organization, CIELO. You can find them at this location every Friday from 4pm until they sell out. Try the tres carnes tlayuda first! (3 meat tlayuda). You'll get to try Chef Poncho's world famous Chorizo stuffed Tlayudas, a side of hand-made moronga, along with a well-done slice of tasajo (my daughter's favorite). I won't lie, I usually get double chorizo and 2 pieces of moronga. Portions are large. 1 Tlayuda easily feeds 2 people minimum. One of the best things to eat in L.A., hands down!

Get a taste of what it means to be in Oxacalifornia, and tell them you heard it from El Terrible Eric (IG).

Pro tip: Always BYOM-- Bring...

I thought it was great for what it was. No thrills, no frills, no muss, no fuss food stand in a front yard. I definitely enjoyed the atmosphere, and the vendors were incredibly friendly. The wait was unbearable, but I was also eager to enjoy my food. It really only took like 30 minutes. I don't believe they have parking, and finding some in South Central is a nigh insurmountable endeavor. So plan accordingly. I genuinely don't know what traditional and/or fresh tlayudas are like, but these are probably as close as I can get without going to Mexico. Tasajo and chorizo were both delicious, but preferred the tasajo, 100%. I'm not brave enough to try...