Memo Torres returns with his curated list of where to eat around Los Angeles for Apple Maps. Torres says that the first food he fell in love with was mole. The thick and nutty sauce is nuanced with both spicy and sweet notes. No two of the hundreds of versions available in Mexico are the same. Rocío Camacho helps other restaurants build their menus but La Diosa de los Moles in Bell Gardens is her spot.
With multiple locations, 101 Noodle Express is known for their, well, noodles. But it's their beef wraps that have Torres coming back. The flat bread, a cross between a lavash and a tortilla, gets filled with marinated meat and slathered with an onion and cilantro paste chopped so finely, "It's almost like a paste." Before the wrap goes on the griddle, it's dipped in a pancake-like rice flour that produces a perfect toastiness.
We're Pouring is a taproom in the north Glendale area. The kitchen is serving a great Nashville-style hot chicken sandwich, pizzas from an oven out back, burgers, and fried pickles. With 30 beers in rotation from California brewers, there are plenty of options to wash it all down.
Admitting he isn't well versed in the food of Louisiana, Torres says everything he knows about the cuisine, he learned from Stevie's Creole Cafe in the Pico/Fairfax neighborhood. Order the gumbo with plump shrimp, chicken, and sausage in a thick seafood stock and served with toasted slices of French bread.
Finally, Jonathan Perez of Macheen has dreamed up a sandwich menu at Birote Deli. Using the specialty bread of Guadalajara, Mexico (the salty sourdough depends on the humidity in the air to get it right), Perez serves a Oaxacan pastrami with a honey chipotle slaw and chicharron bánh mi.
Body Photo: For Memo Torres, it's the beef wraps that make a return visit to 101 Noodle Express a requirement. Photo by Memo Torres.