Over the years, I’ve heard a lot about Loteria Grill, and all of it was good. I’d seen their location atFarmers Market the last time I visited, but I had a different target in mind that day. So when I visited again earlier this week, I was pleased to find no line and plenty of seats. I decided on tacos, allowing me to taste more than one thing. Onecimo, the person behind the counter, was very helpful in giving me the rundown of what was available. Oh, the choices!

After some thought, I decided on one pollo blanco and one calabacitas taco. Later, I also got a chicharron(not shown). The chicken taco was fantastic. Really great. Deceptively simple, it is all about the chicken, as it should be. The light marinade only enhances the flavor of the meat. And it was the right size, allowing for three or four good bites (okay, two for some folk). The hand-made tortilla’s held it all together without getting in the way.

The taco calabacitas was also quite good, with squash, corn, peppers and more, all topped with crumby cheese. Though it didn’t have the explosion of flavor I hoped for, it was a nice non-meat choice. The unseen taco chicharron was okay. I’ll talk about it more later.

I sat at the counter, enjoying the meal. It was apparent that many of the customers are regulars. It’s this kind of casual good food which often makes eating in Los Angeles so fun. Farmers Market in particular is a great place to experience this, and Loteria Grill is a perfect example why. Tacos $3-$3.25 each.

Text and image by ~db~