32 – OCTOBER 2019
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I Want to Move toL.A. and Only Eat BirriaI’m not really sure why
everyone else wants to relocate
to Southern California (something
about the weather?), but I’m
in it for the birria. On my most
recent visit, I started at the new
Venice location of Teddy’s Red
Tacos, where I quickly learned
the distinction between the
Tijuana-style birria blowing up in
L.A.—typically spicy slow-cooked
beef—and the Jalisco-style birria
I knew from my Chicago days,
which was usually goat. As good
as owner Teddy Vasquez’s
orange-jus-stained tacos,
tostadas, and quesadillas are,
it was the Styrofoam cup of
deeply flavorful sinus-clearing
beef consommé that got me. All I
need is a little Eastside bungalow,
and I could spend every day
hitting up the list of birria spots
I’ve been making since that visit:
Burritos La Palma in El Monte,
Tacos y Birria La Unica in
Boyle Heights, Charlie’s Tacos
(weekends only) in Highland
Park, etc. Now if only I could
remember how to drive.... —J.K.GOOSENECK
BARNACLES
These guys are ugly as
sin but taste like LOBSTER
and melt in your mouth.WOLF EEL
Rich, fatty, and flaky like
fish—because it IS a fish. The
eel thing is a misnomer.SHIELD LIMPET
Scraped off a rock
just for you, this tiny, briny
abalone is firm
and perfect for grilling.I DiDN’T
STEAL THiS
FORKA fork is a fork
is a fork, unless
it’s one of Italian
company Mepra’s
retro resin-handled
Fantasia forks. At
Renee Erickson’s
Willmott’s Ghost
in Seattle, you’ll
find them mixed
and matched in the
prettiest shades of
pale rose, sage,
and forest. $51 for
six at mepra-store
.com. —J.K.Away – The Road to the Hot 101
NO.
2
(But I Thought
About It)3
NO.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY DAVID BISKUP
BUTTER CLAM
A big, tender Oregon boy
as creamy as his name
suggests and sweeter than
any scallop.Don’t Call
’Em Trash Fish
Our love for salmon and
other overfished species
is—sorry—ruining the
ocean. Portland, Oregon’s
Erizo got us amped about
these alternatives.
—ALEX BEGGS