Los Toros Meat Market, Rosemead: All I Ever Need For A Lazy Weekend At Home In The San Gabriel Valley

Everyone in Southern California seems to have their favorite carneceria. Mine just happens to be Los Toros Meat Market in Rosemead. When I'm feeling particularly lazy but am still craving some serious grub, it has everything I need for a weekend at home in the San Gabriel Valley.

What I love about many ethnic markets in Southern California is that they carry a wealth of delicious prepared foods along with their normal grocery selections. Los Toros is no exception. Whoever said "Never go grocery shopping when you're hungry" obviously never lived in L.A. In L.A., we buy the groceries for the stuff we're gonna cook later but get instant gratification from the stuff we can eat now. That's how we roll.

A typical Lazy Los Toros Weekend goes something like this:

1) Put in order for tacos or combination plates at the food counter located in the back of the store. If it's early on a weekend morning, make sure menudo is included in that order 'cause families will come in with pots and scoop all of it up before mid-morning.

2) Pick up some of the market's own tortilla chips and habanera salsa, which, by the way, is my own form of crack as of late. If you like spicy foods, you'll love the slight smokiness of this salsa that burns in a just-enough-to-clear-your-sinuses-a-little way instead of the literally-kick-your-ass way that we often associate habanera anything with.

3) Then you'll wanna go to the meat counter to pick up some carne asada and other marinated meats for grilling that night.


4) Go to cashier to pay for all your stuff.

5) Upon seeing the glass case of carnitas and house-made chicharrones near the door, realize that you want some of those too.


6) Repeat Step 4.

7) Eat the tacos you just bought in your car before leaving the parking lot. Pick up any pieces of cabeza or lengua that may have fallen onto your lap and eat them before you get too many oil stains on your pants.

8) Immediately upon arriving home, put meat & other perishables in fridge. Then bust open the habanera salsa and tortilla chips while you prepare your menudo with lime, oregano, chili flakes and other accoutrements.

9) Savor that bowl of deep reddish-orange broth in front of you. It's got good flavor depth with a nice kick, a good balance of tripe and hominy, and they even throw in a gelatinous pata (foot) or two. No wonder the stuff sells out so quickly.

10) Go about the rest of your morning business, which for me means watching an energetic 2 year old tear up my house.

11) Eat delicious, tender, but slightly crispy hunks of carnitas and rice and beans in combination plate for lunch.


12) Crack a beer open and watch Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew or similar marathon on V-H1 while snacking on more chips and salsa.

13) Take a nap.

14) Fire up grill to cook that meat you purchased.

15) Have a good time at dinner with your loved ones.

16) Wake up hungover, tired and/or lazy, either from what you drank the night before or from life in general. Hungover, that is, in a good way.

17) Crave menudo.

18) Repeat steps 1-16, and 17 if applicable.

Los Toros Meat Market
8210 Garvey Ave.
Rosemead, CA 91770
626.573.8305
www.lostorosmeatmarket.com

Singing The Braises Of Guisados, Boyle Heights

While trying to keep yourself toasty this winter, think outside the Ugg boots and heater. Staying warm in the winter for me means doing it low and slow, which translated into Get-Your-Mind-Out-Of-The-Gutterese means braising and stewing. When that thermometer dips, there's nothing better to eat than some hearty, tender food that's full of flavor, falls apart easily yet still maintains integrity. So while you're searching for something to warm your stomach and soul, why not try some Latin stews and braises at Guisados, the latest venture from the people who brought us Cook's Tortas?

For those of us who have been to Cooks Tortas, a few things at this brand new Boyle Heights eatery are familiar: the floor-to-ceiling chalkboard that tells us what's on the menu that day, big jars of aguas frescas that make you feel refreshed by simply looking at them grace the counter, and wall decor like this menudo sign that reflects chef and co-owner Ricardo Díaz's easy going nature and sense of humor.

Díaz found the abandoned sign nearby and thought it was hilarious that whoever made it ran out of space when writing "menudo" but didn't bother taking it out. [Word and print geeks laugh now.]

Tacos de guisado--tacos topped with the restaurant's daily selection of stews and braises-- are what Guisados is all about. At $2-$3-something a pop, they're more expensive than the buck-to-buck-fifty tacos we're used to picking up at our favorite taquerias, trucks, and stands, but they're also a lot more filling. And as with Cooks, the carby outside of the offerings at Guisados doesn't overshadow the fillings but rather, really lets them shine. Slightly coarse around the edges and slightly thicker than the tortilla I'm normally used to, the handmade tortillas here have an unrefined quality which is actually a good thing in this case.

The tinga de pollo was chicken stewed with a chorizo-based sofrito, onions, and cabbage. Sweet and slightly spicy, its heartiness made me think of a Sunday supper with family at home. A chunk of cool avocado was a nice cooling compliment to such a warming dish.

The steak picado had tender chunks of skirt steak cooked a la mexicana with peppers and onions. It wasn't my favorite of what we tried that day but it was still a solid choice.

But the dishes that reminded me of why I adore braising so much were Guisados' chicharrón and mole de pollo. Chicharrón, or fried pork skin, is amazing on its own but add it to a tasty braise and it takes on a whole other level of deliciousness. The crackly rinds are like a sponge, soaking in the salsa verde and taking on an airy yet al dente consistency while also adding a funky smokiness to the whole thing.

Mole de pollo was everything you'd expect in a good mole: hints of spiciness, sweetness, bitterness and nuttiness working in unison. Sesame and pumpkin seeds added a nice contrasting crunch.

The calabacitas featured a succotash of zucchini, corn, tomatoes and pepper. As a veggie whore, I appreciated that there was a vegetable option, and the tangy and slightly spicy flavors of the succotash were just fine. I did, however, find the consistency to be too watery for a taco. I ended up eating most of this one with a fork.

But wait, there's more! Guisados makes tamales with their stews like the tamal shown above with that mole de pollo I loved so much. And they're only a buck-fifty each. If I lived closer to Guisados, I'd buy one of these for breakfast or lunch or a snack every day. And I'd probably weigh 500 pounds as well.

There were no desserts on the menu yet, but Díaz told us he was experimenting with possible offerings. We were lucky enough to test drive a brown sugar, mascarpone cheese and sweetened condensed milk mixture that Díaz had slathered on a handmade sweet tortilla; I don't recall if it had a name, but whatever it's called, I certainly hope it lands a spot on the chalkboard soon!

With so many delicious, hearty options available at Guisados, and with its namesake, a Mexico City specialty, becoming more widely available in LA (check out Elina Shatkin/LA Weekly's and Bill Esparza/Street Gourmet LA's posts here and here about Tacos Carmelita in MacArthur Park to see what I'm talkin' bout) I see many tacos de guisado warming my gut this winter or heck, even after I've packed the Uggs away.

Guisados
2100 Cesar Chavez
Los Angeles, CA 90033
(323) 264-7201
Become a fan of Guisados on Facebook

A Stove Top Haiku

Stuffing from a box
Just add water and butter
I'd like some more, please.

To accompany our organic free-range Thanksgiving turkey prepared Judy-bird style, we had roasted organic brussels sprouts and fingerling potatoes with pancetta and thyme, homemade giblet gravy and...Stove Top stuffing.

No homemade gourmet stuff. No mixture of cornbread, sage, fancy charcuterie, chestnut or random autumn fruit here. Just a familiar red box filled with dehydrated seasoned bread crumbs that cook in just 5 minutes and fond childhood memories of my parents doing their best at creating the most American Thanksgiving meal that they could.

Only the best for my family.


(Note: This post was in no way, shape or form paid for by Kraft. I honestly like Stove Top stuffing. Yeah, yeah, take away my food blogger badge already.)