Discover Los Angeles - The Best Burritos in Los Angeles

Source: Discover Los Angeles

The burrito, a beloved Mexican food item featuring a flour tortilla and a range of fillings, has origins in northern Mexico, with most people pointing toward the border town of Ciudad Juárez. Now, some of the most famous burritos are rooted in California. For instance, Mission burritos in San Francisco can be massive, and in San Diego the California burrito is known to contain French fries. In Los Angeles, we’re not bound by any particular traditions, so you’ll find a far larger variety, including many Asian fillings. L.A.’s most famous burrito may belong to Manuel’s Original El Tepeyac Café in Boyle Heights, which holds the distinction of serving burritos the size of small schnauzers. However, you’ll probably enjoy these 10 standout burritos even more.

TAQUERIA LOS ANAYA

This West Adams taqueria is the byproduct of hard work from three Anaya brothers (Juan, Manuel and Gerardo), who hail from Guadalajara. The space features framed photos of Pancho Villa on orange walls, along with two-tiered seating. Their meat-filled burritos tout Mexican rice, refried beans, onion, cilantro and guacamole. Seafood gets a different treatment. Regardless, the best option might be lengua, which is boiled, grilled and practically calls for salsa verde, which centers on tangy tomatillo.

Read full article of the best burritos in L.A.

Lucky Peach - A Taco Crawl of Los Angeles

Source: Lucky Peach

By LUCAS PETERSON 

A mixture of the familiar and unknown.

West Adams isn’t a neighborhood especially known for its tacos but Los Anaya, a bright, friendly restaurant run by the Anaya brothers, is a worthy addition to this taco agglomeration.

On a recent visit, I took down an ambitious (and quite beautiful) plate of five tacos, the best of which was probably the chicken mole ($2), a healthy portion of flavorful meat topped with a slightly sweet, marginally bitter mole sauce. The tortillas at Los Anaya are handmade and thicker than normal, but they are wonderfully moist; none of that dried-out-parchment effect that can sometimes afflict machine-made tortillas. The tender chicken and subtly chocolatey mole is complemented wonderfully by a potent red salsa served on the taco.

Where: 4651 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90016

What to get: Chicken mole, carne asada tacos

Read the rest of the blog post at the Lucky Peach

L.A. TACO - The Best Burritos In Los Angeles

Source: L.A. TACO

Taqueria Los Anaya – Shrimp Burrito

I wish more places like this existed where quality reigns over quantity. The excellent golden fried shrimp : Veracruz-style coleslaw : chipotle salsa ratio was perfect. Balance of flavor and texture is everything when looking for a proper burrito–especially when dealing with seafood. You just can’t go wrong when there’s shrimp in every bite of your burrito.

Note: A great meal is that much more enjoyable when the service is impeccable and the vibes from the entire staff are warm and welcoming. A lot of restaurants could learn from this taqueria.

4651 W Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016
Hours: Mon-Sat 7a.m.- 9p.m. (Sun 8a.m.-5p.m.) (323) 731-4070.

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kevinEats Review

Source: kevinEats

Following that Beersnobbin tasting in Redondo, we were in search of some eats en route to Little Tokyo and landed at Los Anaya, situated in a sleepy section of West Adams. The restaurant opened in March 2012, and comes to us courtesy of the Anaya brothers: Jose Manuel, Gerardo, and Juan Carlos. The hermanos represent three of the seven children of Don Guadalupe Anaya, who opened the first family restaurant in Guadalajara back in 1983 (hence the "est 1983" in the logo). 

Inside, things are festive, and yellow. The restaurant is separated into a brighter front area and a slightly more formal dining room to the side. Note, also, that this is a table-service type of joint (a pleasant surprise to us). 

You'll find a large menu of all your Mexican standbys in various incarnations. Click for larger versions. 

Chips were legit, wonderfully textured examples that paired swimmingly with the bright, slightly sweet salsa on the side. 

Taquitos de Potato & Manchego Cheese [$4.25] | 3 Per Order with Lettuce, Oaxacan Cheese, Mexican Cream, Salsa & Guacamole

Grounded by a smooth filling of potato, taquitos arrived crispy and conveyed a subtle smokiness, the guacamole imparting a welcomed lushness to the dish. 

Machaca con Huevo [$9.50] | Sauteed Shredded Beef with Eggs, Peppers, Onion, Tomatoes & Rice and Beans

Machaca was satisfyingly-textured, with some bite to it, and came well-seasoned and appropriately beefy, a perfect match to the eggs. Lovely underpinning of spice here, and I definitely appreciated the brightness provided by the onions and cilantro too. I do love me some breakfast-y food at night. 

The Agua Fresca de Sandia [$2.50] was sweet and thick, doing a pretty good job conveying the summer-y essence of watermelon. 

Our four-taco plate (each ordered à la carte). 

Taco de Lengua [$1.95]

Tongue arrived in oversized chunks. Meaty, tender, and mildly-spiced, they really called for the cilantro-onion and the acidic zip of that salsa verde. 

Taco de Camaron [$1.95]

Shrimp tacos conveyed a nice brine to 'em, the accompanying salsa giving up a well-placed bit of heat. 

Normally, we'd be BYOB'ing all over the place here, but given that we'd just tasted no less than two dozen beers, all we could stand was a single bottle of Prairie Somewhere. A blend of farmhouse and sour ales with citrus added, this one displayed super juicy notes of sweet lychee, countered by a base of citric tartness. 

Taco de Pescado [$1.95]

The fish taco, meanwhile, was more restrained compared to the shrimp above, with a softer, more supple consistency and a nice crunch from the lettuce. 

Taco de Pollo a la Parrilla [$1.75]

Chicken showed off a delightfully smoky depth that was evened out by the generous helping of cilantro piled up top. 

Camarones a la Diabla [$14.50] | Shrimp Sauteed with Bell Pepper, Red Onions, Wine & Spicy Tomato Sauce; served with Mexican Salad, Rice, Beans and Home Made Tortillas

Shrimp were slightly overdone, but not distractingly so. Taste-wise, they were spot on though, imbued with a mouth-watering smoky spice that just made sense with the veggies in the sauté. The rice and beans--usually throwaway at places like this--were on point as well, and enjoyable even just by themselves. Great salad, too. 

Los Anaya was sort of a random visit, but we rather liked our meal here. The food was better than you'd probably expect, and I appreciated the comfortable vibe and friendly service as well. Overall, the sort of place I could see myself coming back to time and time again if I lived in the area.

Read the post at kevinEats

CBS LA - Best Unique Restaurants To Eat For Under $10

Source: CBS Los Angeles

Specializing in autehntic Mexican food “made with love and care,” Taquería Los Anaya has a wide selection of tacos for about $1.75 each, meaning you can easily walk out of here for under $7. The tiny store offers great parking, smiles all day long and tasty tacos. What’s good? The carnitas are always a favorite, as are the pollo mole, which are slathered in their delicious oaxacan mole sauce. They also offer burritos, combos, quesadilla’s and more for under $10.

LA Weekly - Taqueria Los Anaya: The Taco Next Door

Source: LA Weekly

Man cannot live on taco trucks alone, try as he might. For that reason there are places like Taqueria Los Anaya in West Adams. The family-run restaurant, which opened in March, happens to dabble in the kind of home-cooked Mexican food that inspires weekend drives to La Super Rica in Santa Barbara or mournful laments about the passing of Pasadena's Las Ruinas some years back.

BY GARRETT SNYDER

The standard order at Los Anaya is probably the three-taco combo plate, made with thick, handmade tortillas. You can mix and match between stewed chicken in a deep dark molé, or tender pink carnitas braised with citrus zest. There is carne asada marked with char on the grill, or oversized chunks of stewed lengua that fall apart like pot roast.

The fact that each taco is individually dressed with red or green salsa, a dash of cilantro or onion, and perhaps a sprinkle of crumbled queso fresco, shows a seriousness of intent. The refried beans, a throwaway item at most taquerias, are delicious here -- with hints of garlic and cooked to a velvety smooth consistency. My favorite so far might be the sope, a shallow dish of fried masa lined with beans and meat that crackles under a fork and knife -- if you choose to use them.

You won't find more obscure Mexican fillings here -- this isn't the place for cesos, tripas, or chicharrón -- and the al pastor, while very good, isn't carved off the spit. That fools some people into thinking less of it, especially since the small, brightly colored dining room looks like somewhere office coworkers would go for a birthday party.

The taco might have its roots in poverty cuisine -- think of those kerosene-seared tasty scraps heaped together on a tortilla for a dollar -- but at Las Anaya the taco is a thing of abundance, made with quality ingredients and a hulking amount of meat.

Go ahead, order a swordfish taco topped with Veracruz slaw, thick quesadillas paved with melted Oaxacan cheese, or a bowl of barbacoa if it happens to be on the specials board. The three cheerful brothers (Jose Manuel, Gerardo and Juan Carlos Anaya) who run the kitchen and the dining room -- 60-plus years of combined cooking experience they claim -- take pride in their craft, and it shows in almost every item on the menu. An icy melon agua fresca to drink and guava flan for dessert are recommended as well.

Chowhound - Taqueria Los Anaya on West Adams?

Source: Chowhound

Might be too early to get excited, but I'd heard about a fairly new Mexican restaurant on West Adams. I was looking to grab a meal yesterday and decided to give it a chance. Tacqueria Los Anaya had a fairly standard tacqueria menu, but when I entered the chalkboard looked interesting. Dishes like trout with cucumber sauce, fish filet veracruz, grilled pork chops with apricot/rosemary sauce, penne pasta with chorizo. Prices weren't marked on the blackboard, but I doubted it would be too dear in this neighborhood (West Adams, one block west of Buckingham Road). Since I generally eat in the cheap....uh, inexpensive place but I appreciate good food I went with one of the specials I've eaten at other places. The old standby, chili colorado. The place isn't too big with smallish tables they can put together (if need be) for a bigger group. As I waited dishes they were bringing out looked pretty good. When my dish came out it looked nice. Grilled small chunks of beef with a reddish coating of chili, a fairly generic green salad, and refried beans with chips. They also brought out a packet of homemade corn tortillas. It was quite tasty and to my taste a lot better than any other version of the dish I've had over the years. It was spicier than I expected, but it did taste good. I'll have to go try a few other dishes, but the place (to my mind) is pretty good for not much money.

Details at their facebook page

It sounds like their bread pudding is their dessert pride and joy, but they also had listed (on the board) pastry tres leches, and mango flan. I should add, the guys running the place were real welcoming and their command of english was excellent (if any of you worry about that).