By Joshua Lurie
For dineLA.com
Journey to the center of Los Angeles and you’ll find Olvera Street, which was founded by 44 Mexican immigrants in 1781 and renamed in honor of Judge Agustin Olvera over a century later. By 1930, the winemaking center had grown dilapidated, but Christine Sterling redeveloped it into a vibrant retail corridor. Olvera Street still serves as LA’s center of Latin culture with many of the same enduring restaurants.
The northern entrance of Olvera Street is flanked by two of Dianna Guerrero Robertson’s restaurants. Grandmother Aurora Guerrero served food in front of an Olvera Street bar before opening her casual spot, Cielito Lindo, in 1934, specializing in shredded beef taquitos that are pan-fried to order and doused in a tangy green avocado-garlic-chile sauce. Eat them immediately and they crunch. Let them sit and the taquitos develop a casserole-like consistency. In the ’40s, the Guerreros catered to Orson Welles, who ate a record 44 taquitos in one sitting.
E-23 Olvera St., Los Angeles, 213.687.4391,
cielitolindo.org
In the ’40s, Ana Natalia Guerrero struck out on her own, founding Las Anitas on Main Street, serving as a de facto commissary for performers at the Mason Theater. Guerrero lost her lease in 1951, but Christine Sterling was able to place her in the former Italian Hall. Current owner Dianna Guerrero Robertson promises can-free Zacatecas-style home cooking. Popular dishes include carne asada and Caldo 7 Mares, a seafood soup loaded with mussels, octopus, crab legs, shrimp and basa fillet. Las Anitas can’t sell tequila, so they substitute agave wine in their margaritas.
W-26 Olvera St.,Los Angeles, 213.623.1153,
lasanitas.com
Like many merchants, Rey Salazar practically grew up on Olvera Street. He used to sleep inside the bright yellow booth while grandfather Frank Martinez sold candies to late-night revelers. Martinez came from a long line of candy artisans and opened the shop in 1940. Salazar took over in 1994 and features several candies popularized in Mexico, including jamoncillo - a bar made with sugar, vanilla and milk - candied camote (sweet potato) and biznaga (cactus).
C-26 Olvera St., Los Angeles
Juanito Guerrero (yes, another Guerrero) founded Juanita’s in 1944. “The food here is incredibly authentic Mexican food,” says current owner Eddie Flores, Juanita’s grandson. “It’s not like Taco Bell.” He specializes in taquitos, enchiladas and burritos. Flores has fond childhood memories of Olvera Street. When he wasn’t at Juanita’s, he was on the corner with a monkey and organ grinder. “He was a smart monkey,” says Flores. “If he saw a penny he’d toss it. He wanted to see a nickel, dime or quarter.” The monkey is long gone, but Flores still recognizes “the same charm and flavor.”
E-20 Olvera St., Los Angeles, 213.628.1013
East LA native Andy Camacho celebrated special occasions at El Paseo Inn as a child. In 1984, he purchased the restaurant, which Elena Pelufo and Frank Webb founded down the street in 1930. Son Don Luis worked at El Paseo Inn as a teenager and currently heads the family’s far-reaching food and beverage company, which extends to LAX and Dodger Stadium. What might be the oldest bar in LA hosts wine racks that date to the building’s winery days. Now, most people order margaritas. Tile floors used to host folklorico dancers. Now they’re just depicted on a wall mural. El Paseo Inn’s diverse menu includes enchiladas with mole Poblano and hearty tortilla soup. Near the entrance, you’ll find a comal, where craftspeople make fresh tortillas daily.
W-11 Olvera St., Los Angeles, 213.626.1361,
www.elpaseoinn.com
Before Consuela Castillo de Bonzo founded “The Swallow” in 1924, Mexican restaurants were known as “Spanish” in Los Angeles. Current owner Vivien Consuelo de Bonzo - Consuela’s granddaughter – has kept LA’s first brick building bustling. Pan-Mexican dishes include banana leaf-baked cochinita pibil and chicken breast slathered with rich mole. La Golondrina’s margaritas are available with fresh mango, strawberry or coconut. On Friday nights, mariachis show up in force and norteños visit throughout the week.
W-29 Olvera St., Los Angeles, 213.628.4349.
www.lagolondrina.com
La Luz Del Dia sprouted out of a grocery store that debuted along the plaza in 1915. Owner Jack Berber and cousin Francisco Cazares opened the restaurant in 1959 and it’s still Berber-owned, by Henry. The casual restaurant features sun imagery, decorative blue tilework and fresh-pressed tortillas. Order at the counter from an elaborate chalk-drawn menu. Options include beef stew, carnitas tacos and Friday-only chiles rellenos, almost everything served with rice, beans and those still-steaming tortillas.
W-1 Olvera Street, Los Angeles, 213.628.7495
In the fall, the Camachos plan to open Café de Camacho in a former Bank of America, featuring coffee drinks flavored with dulce de leche and Mexican hot chocolate, plus pan dulce and a “robust menu” of tortas, salads and soups. The café will also host Latino art exhibitions, poetry readings and book signings.
“The essence of Olvera Street has never changed and I don’t think it ever will,” says Don Luis Camacho. “It’s all about celebrating the Mexican culture…That’s at its soul and it’s never going to go away.”
calleolvera.com
