Otomisan Restaurant

Otomisan Restaurant
2506 E 1st St
Los Angeles, CA 90033
323-526-1150

Otomisan Restaurant was listed in a LA Eater as one of 15 Hidden Gem Restaurants for the winter of 2018.  A Japanese restaurant in Boyle Heights intrigued me and I made a trip down here.

It's a small restaurant with counter seating in the left and about four booths in the right.  The last booth the owner, and sushi chef  were on their phones.  There were only two other customers the entire time I was there.

Spicy tuna roll, $6.95 and shrimp roll, $6.95.  Both rolls were huge.  Good sized portions with plenty of spicy tuna.  The shrimp roll, had small thin pieces of shrimp.  Both were fresh.  Well worth the price, especially for the portion size.

Service was good.

Otomisan Restaurant has ramen, teriyaki and other items, but their sushi selection is limited.  I won't rush back, but have no problems going back.

L Fish-Closed

L Fish
3205 1⁄2 4th St.
Los Angeles, CA. 90063
323-412-6586

I found out about L Fish from this LA Eater story.  As the story mention L Fish bought the recipe from the iconic El Fenix Puesto in Ensenada.

L Fish is really a stand in front of somebody's house.  The main set up with the fryer and flattop is where you order.  The tacos come just the fish or shrimp and corn tortilla.  On the table along the house is your condiments for the fish or shrimp tacos.  They have cabbage, pico degallo, salsa, and all kinds of sauces like crema and chipolte sauce.

Fish tacos-$2 The fish is angelito (angel shark), which is pretty damn good.  I've never had it before.  The batter is yellowish in color, tumeric or mustard power must be used.  It's kind of a thick batter and wasn't that crunchy, but I did like the flavor and texture of the fish.  Since you add your own toppings, I added just the basics, cabbage, pico de gallo.  I added some chipotle sauce and it did add some heat.

Shrimp tacos-$2.50- the shrimp, about three in each taco, was plumb, tender and very good. Same batter as with the shrimp tacos.  I prefer the shrimp taco to the fish taco here.

Service is good.  The owner is nice and helpful.  Eventually the plan is to make this location their actual restaurant.

I would go back to L Fish for their shrimp tacos.

Guisados

Guisados
2100 E Cesar Chavez Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90033
(323) 264-7201

Guisados is owned by the same people who own Cooks Torta. They also opened a ceviche restaurant not far from Cooks called Dorados Ceviche Bar, which I will be going there soon.

Guisados is located in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles, and in the 18 months it's been open, Guisados has been a hit for the foodie crowd. That becomes clear when you walk into Guisados and the douchebags with Ed Hardy jeans are mingling with the Latinos who live down the street.

Interesting trivia; East Cesar Chavez Ave. used to be Brooklyn Ave.  




All tacos are $2.50. They also have a taco sampler, $6.50, that includes 6 mini tacos.
I got the fish-grilled tilapa, shrimp and the tinga de pollo-chicken. The tacos come on a pizza pan and are hot!! The flour tortillas are freshly made and grilled. They are much thicker than any tortilla I've had. They really need to be, to hold up the toppings they offer.

The fish taco was grilled tilapia with a very spicy hot sauce that just overpowered the flavor of the taco. The tilapia was grilled perfectly. The cabbage was cut in bigger portions than the shredded cabbage of other fish tacos, but was fresh and had a nice flavor. The creme was nice attempt of adding a coolness to the taco. But, the hot sauce just overpowered this taco. I will order this again without the hot sauce.

The shrimp taco was great!! There were about five small sized shrimp in the taco. There were a ton of grilled red and green bell peppers which added a ton of flavor.

But, my favorite taco was the tinga de pollo-chicken!! This was awesome, a well balanced, nothing overpowering, taco. That was filled with shredded chicken that is cooked in a stew with tons of flavor!! The avocado added a nice coolness, but the taco wasn't spicy at all.

Service was very good. Nice friendly staff who know their menu inside and out. Ask them what comes on a taco and they know.

I would go back to Guisados anytime and try their other tacos. They are well worth the $2.50 price, good portions and good quality meats and fillings. A true gem in Boyle Heights.

Al & Bea's Mexican Food

Al & Bea's Mexican Food
2025 E 1st St
Los Angeles
323-267-8810

Al & Bea's Mexican Food is a Boyle Heights institution, that has recently became better known to the rest of LA when the Gold Line Extension opened a few years ago. The Mariachi station is 2-3 blocks away and foodies have blogged about Al & Bea's bean and cheese burrito. So in Labor Day I decided to give them a try, giving traffic and parking wouldn't be too bad.

So I arrived at Al & Bea's quickly since there was no traffic and parking was pretty easy to find. Located near a very busy intersection, 1st and St. Louis, you can tell Al & Bea's has been serving the neighborhood since 1966, the sign says so. You order at the window and you can eat at the covered patio which has about 6-8 tables.

Bean and cheese burrito with red sauce, $2.99.

I didn't want anything fancy, so I just got the bean and cheese burrito with red sauce, $2.99. The burrito was filled with chalky beans and very little cheese! How can any Mexican restaurant screw up beans? These beans were undercooked and lacked flavor. I mean if Del Taco or Taco Bell can get a bean and cheese burrito right, why can't Al & Bea's? The amount of cheese in this burrito wouldn't top most tacos, much less this burrito.

Service was ok. Nothing great but nothing bad.

Going to Al & Bea's Mexican Food is something everybody should experience, but one trip is more than enough. The burritos are bad and aren't worth the price. I would rather go to Del Taco and get a bean and cheese burrito for $1, than drive back to Al & Bea's!

LA Weekly listed the bean and cheese burrito at Al & Bea's one of the 9 best burritos in LA!  WTF were they thinking?