Standing up with Oaxacan L.A.

It’s been … a week. On Sunday, Los Angeles woke up to the appalling revelations of leaked audio from a meeting in which top elected city officials exchanged racist, dehumanizing remarks at the expense of nearly every possible subgroup within the canvas of our collective culture. It was the worst possible way L.A. can look at itself. But the moment, in the days that followed, demonstrated the best possible ways that Los Angeles can be.

I’m Daniel Hernandez, Food editor at The Times, and in this week’s Tasting Notes, we touch base once again with the glories of “Oaxacalifornia,” we dive into the maturing scene at Damian by Enrique Olvera and we get serious, so to speak, with a new power ranking by Lucas Kwan Peterson.

Former City Councilmember and President Nury Martinez, who resigned on Wednesday, offered most of the fodder for the awful things we heard in that leaked tape at the Fed (that’s local lingo for the L.A. County Federation of Labor). It was triggering and horribly racist, particularly when she threw some words at her colleague Mike Bonin’s son and family.

But as the hours and days went on, the news somehow got worse; it came out that she had gone for the Oaxacans. Big mistake. You all should have heard it by now — a disgusting display of colorism and anti-Indigenous sentiment that is unfortunately far too common among white and mestizo Mexicans and Mexican Americans.

This is a food newsletter and we’re staying focused here, but let me just say, I feel privileged and honored to have heritage from the northern and Baja Californian Indigenous populations of Mexico. My lineage is for all to see in my brown skin, which I’ll have you know is absolutely my most prized possession. I stand, unequivocally, with Indigenous and Black Mexicans, Black L.A., immigrants, African Americans, and Afro-Latinos and natives of every nation throughout this hemisphere.

I also knew, as I listened to Martinez and (still sitting?) Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León laugh at “Oaxacan Koreans” in Koreatown, that I would be eating Oaxacan food this week. In L.A., we convene and heal around our delicious food. Oaxaqueños have made our city the capital of Oaxacalifornia with their contributions as laborers, creatives, restaurateurs, organizers, entrepreneurs and community members, and because Oaxacan cuisine (a collection itself of various distinct cuisines, languages, nations and cultures) happens to be the richest by far in all of Mexico.

My favorite dish, which I have whenever the possibility arises, is the revelatory tlayuda by Alfonso “Poncho” Martinez of local pop-up Poncho’s Tlayudas. In 2018, while relaunching the local food and news platform L.A. Taco as its editor, I wrote a long-form feature about Martinez and his partner, Odilia Romero, and their remarkable path toward making what I believe is the best tlayuda in L.A., in “An Ode to Oaxacan L.A. — Friday Nights at Poncho’s Tlayudas.”

Restaurant critic Bill Addison would seem to agree with me, writing of Poncho’s in his review in April:

“Martinez’s masterwork coaxes all the senses into play. You pick up a hot, fin-shaped section of tlayuda with fingers dancing to keep from burning. The tortilla smells of corn warmed by sunshine. Your eyes gauge the best starting point to dive in; it’s at the crease, where you’ll find a density of tastes and textures. A two-toned crackle-crunch rings in your jaw; your taste buds register layered spice and earthy depths from the beans and threads of half-melted cheese. You’re aware of your serene surroundings in a shrubbery-filled yard, in a grove of tables filled with diners in similar states of elation. But you’re also very focused on the tactile marvel that is yours alone to savor.”

Read it all here. On Saturday, thousands of Oaxaqueños and their allies and supporters from across the state are expected to rally at City Hall to call upon Cedillo and De León to, rightfully, step down from public office so the city can begin to heal. We need that healing, and there are signs of hope. All week, younger leaders have stood up to express solidarity and seek positive solutions to move forward. Until those resignations happen, we can keep supporting and celebrating the wonders of Oaxacan L.A. by sharing a tlayuda and more at any of the incredible restaurants we are lucky to have.

Read our full team’s list of places to do that here.

The vegetarian tlayuda by Poncho’s Tlayudas.

(Paul Argumedo / For The Times)

The week in Food

A detail of the tlayuda at Damian in the Arts District.

(Shelby Moore / For The Times)

Here are other stories you shouldn’t miss this week:

— Addison reviews the Enrique Olvera outfit in the Arts District, two years in. Damian is here to add to the conversation and has matured into a worthy player in the world of Mexican fine dining in California.

— “The Bucket List: Dumplings” with Jenn Harris goes all in on wonton dumplings. After watching this, you’ll nod in agreement that game respects game, and speaking of racism and intolerance, we also should note that Food stands with the AAPI community against the stupid acts of racial trolling that some restaurants — as you’ll see in Harris’ video — have had to endure.

— The official fast-food burger power rankings by Peterson. Choose your fighter!

— What happens when a small restaurant or food business is affected by fire? Stephanie Breijo examines the challenges and tragic consequences of one blaze at a strip mall in Palms.

— Oh, and, did you hear the L.A. Dodgers finished their season with the best record in Major League Baseball and are in the postseason? In the event the Dodgers host another game this season, I’ve broken down for you the new items available, for now, at Dodger Stadium.

The Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger by Carl’s Jr. Where did it land in the power ranking?

(Los Angeles Times)