Tacos Chabelita

I first read about Tacos Chabelita in the L.A. Weekly. Jonathan Gold is an excellent restaurant reviewer and I usually agree with him. His review from 1999 made me want to drive directly to 2001 Western Avenue, just north of the SM Freeway.

Chabelita has a taco stand, a seafood restaurant and a taco truck on what I fondly call "Chabelita Corners." There used to be a juice and ice cream shop associated with Chabalita too, but that closed awhile back. Many people have written about the tacos, burritos, mariscos, etc. here. Some like the food, some do not. I REALLLLLLY like the food at Chabelita. My favorite is the fish taco plate, served with rice and beans ($5.95). The fish is crispy, not oily, the rice has a chicken-stock flavor and the beans are creamy, dreamy. Last week I tried a carne asada (steak) taco and a carnitas (pork) taco ($1.80 each). I prefered the carnitas taco, but both were yummy.

Fish Taco Plate

Tacos de Carne Asada (left), Carnitas (right)

For me, one of the major attraction of going to Chabelita's are the colorful paintings on the side of the building. I always like paintings of food, including flying burgers and floating, dancing shrimp.

This place is next to a fire station, so be prepared to cover your ears during lunch.

Across the street from Chabelita is a beautiful mid-century modern A-frame church...nice building....great tacos.