Taqueria El Charrito — Restaurant in Los Angeles

We ordered carne asada tacos, a carne asada quesadilla, a pollo quesadilla, and beans and rice. The best word to describe each dish is bland, though banal works well, too. Also, for some reason our pollo quesadilla had not one shred of chicken in it. Who knows; maybe they didn't understand the word "pollo", even though they had no idea that I was ordering beans until I said, "frijoles!" So we managed to choke down the plain cheese quesadilla along with carne asada that was 1) overcooked, 2) dry and 3) utterly flavorless. I drowned the tacos in salsa, first the salsa verde, which was insipid, then with the salsa roja, whose only identifiable flavor was bitterness and was so mild I could have used it as an eye wash. The beans had to have come out of a can; in fact, when they served them I could swear I saw the letters, "Rosarita" slowly fading as the luke-warm lump settled onto the plate. Even the tortillas--which are hand made (I watched them make them from scratch)--are at best mediocre, virtually taste-free, but at least they are fresh.

I'm the first to admit that I am not Mexican; I'm as white-bread a gringo as you'll ever see. The only Spanish I can speak is what is necessary to order in a Mexican restaurant, and I can never remember the Spanish for "rice" and feel like a jackass when I order "rice and frijoles." However, I have been eating Mexican food all my life, and while Taqueria El Charrito's food may be authentic, it's hardly what I would call good, unless you like food that has virtually zero flavor and salsa milder than melted vanilla ice cream. The food is not bad--I wouldn't go that far (which explains the two stars rather than just one); it just is, well... barely there in the flavor department.

If you're in this neighborhood and have a craving for good Mexican food, do yourself a favor and walk across the street from Taqueria El Charrito and order your meal from California Grill Pupusaria, which serves some of the best carne asada around, with truly excellent and flavorful homemade tortillas and the very best frijoles of my experience (their salsa's on the mild side, too, but everything else...

We ordered: breakfast burrito=packed with toppings and ingredients. It's huge! Huevos rancheros=made to your liking, served with refried beans and rice. Asada gordita= big in size and packed well with meat and vegetables. Omelet=ham/anchovies and big in size! 2 tacos of asada= decent size with a lot of meat. This place does not hold back on toppings and the meats. The orange juice was made fresh before our eyes. They peeled 4 large oranges and blended them in a juicer. It was delicious! Small place with seating inside and small tables outside. Very friendly. It's CASH ONLY. Parking...

This is the real deal folks. We were in the area for a local taco stand. I ordered the Cemita Poblana con Milanesa, which is like a torta, but the bread is different, they use Oaxacan Cheese, and they use some spicy salsa/sauce. The rest of the table got, a Torta de Milanesa, Tacos al pastor, Sope de asada, Sope de Pollo, and Huaraches. Everyone was happy with their food.

We think they handmake their tortillas as they were really fresh. There are a couple of outside tables and they allow indoor dining too. Definitely...