It's 10:30 in the a.m. My cell phone rings -- it’s my friend, Natascha. “Remember Baz?
Well, he bought these tickets to a wine tasting with sommeliers at the LA Food and Wine Festival. He can’t make it so he gave them to me. It’s at the J W Marriott downtown. Wanna go?” “Sure,” I say, “I’m in.” “Okay,” she says, “Thing is, it’s happening right now.”
“Oh! Okay!” and I’m moving around the house, throwing wallet, sunglasses, cell phone,
into my bag. Lately, I’ve been determined to jump and run at a moment’s notice. In this
town, you never know who you’re going to meet, or where. Best to be ready on the spot.
Natascha calls when she gets to my place and I fly downstairs and jump into her car. She hands me the tickets. As I look at them, I can see two things. First of all, they each cost $75! Whoa! No deal here! I would clearly not be attending this event were it not for Baz. Second thing I notice is that the whole shebang ends at 11:45. This means we’ve got thirty minutes to get to the downtown area, park, locate the room, and get our butts into our seats.
We arrive at the scene and spot $5 parking right across from the Regal Theater but
neither one of us has any cash! This calls for a quick consultation which results in our decision. The only possible way we’re going to save the $150 Baz spent on these tickets and avail ourselves of the opportunity to enjoy this event is for her to drop me off. We decide I’ll go in and try to secure our places while she gets cash for parking.
She drops me off in front of the amazingly opulent JW Marriott and with hope in my
heart, I sail into the lobby and up the escalators to the Diamond Salon on the fourth floor. After a few quick instructions from the helpful staff, I enter the conference room where the tasting and presentation is taking place with fifteen minutest left to spare – long enough to secure a lineup of eight glasses of white wine tastings for each of us.
In the end, we have a great time, taste some nice wines and even get a mini presentation from one of the sommeliers who’s still hanging out chatting. Unfortunately, and, I thought, unbelievably, the $75 ticket doesn’t include admission to the festival itself! Obviously, this is not the deal I am writing about now.
Returning to the car, we realize we could really use a bite to eat. Well, so happens, Tacos El Gallito is right next to the parking lot, which, by the time we left, had become $10 rather than $5. It was here that we found the deal of the day.
Tacos El Gallito sports a yellow sign with a chicken in a cowboy hat that looks a lot like
the Pollos Hermanos logo on “Breaking Bad.” Their tacos are amazing.
We each got a chicken taco. They were only $1.50 each! They have several other kinds including pork, chorizo and, yes, brains. No thanks for me on the brains, but a lot of people like them,
including my Dad. All types are $1.50 except for the lengua (tongue) and tripas (tripe).
Those are $1.75. They also have burritos, quezadillas and tortas – all for $5 each.
The thing about these tacos is that they are really rico (delicious). They have plenty of
meat and it is all lean. One thing I really hate is to get a big bite of gristle in your meat. Actually, even a small bite is too much. None of that here at El Gallito.
The toppings are fresh and plentiful. We got radishes, onions and cilantro. We also got
some tasty salsa, both green and red. They’ve got all the usual drinks – sodas, water,
juices. I don’t think I’ve ever really raved about food from a truck before; and, I wouldn't have guessed this would be the one. The truck isn't one of those fancy painted outfits you see around a lot these days. Just the regular old white truck ... except for the logo. Just Tacos El Gallito.
It’s a great deal in an expensive part of town.
NEED TO KNOW:
Tacos El Gallito has trucks throughout the city.
You can locate one near you at www.tacoselgallito.com
The one I visited is located right across from the Regal Cinema at L.A. Live.
W. Olympic and Georgia St.
Hours: 8 a.m. 'til 2:00 a.m.
(Jennifer Caldwell is a an actress and an active member of SAG-AFTRA, serving on several committees. She is a published author of short stories and news articles and is a featured contributor to CityWatch. Her column at www.RecessionCafe.wordpress.com is dishing up good deals, recipes and food for thought. Jennifer can be reached at [email protected]. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jennifercald - Twitter: @CheckingTheGate)
CityWatch
Vol 10 Issue 65
Pub: Aug 14, 2012