A breakfast taco from Macheen Tacos, served inside Milpa Kitchen in Boyle Heights.
Photo by Merrill Shindler
Boyle Heights—One hard and fast lesson learned through many meals is that the term “special occasion restaurant” is code for stuffy, joyless and overpriced. Am I generalizing? Of course I am. But I grew up in an age of tie and jacket. Of maître d’s and white tablecloths. Both the service and the food were wooden. Salt was my favorite flavor. And I came to love the world of food in Los Angeles because “special occasion” more often means ceviche rather than caviar.
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This is a realm where our best meals are eaten with plastic utensils and paper napkins. Consider Holbox and Komal in Mercado La Paloma. Roast Duck by Pa Ord in Thaitown. Quarter Sheets in Echo Park. And the Russian Matryoshka Doll of Milpa Kitchen, Macheen Tacos and Café Café in Boyle Heights. A storefront inside a storefront with a tarot card reader next door. Going here is always a “special occasion” – from 8 in the morning till 4 in the afternoon.
The relationship between Milpa Kitchen and Macheen Tacos is symbiotic. Macheen is open from 8 am to 2 pm Monday through Saturday. Milpa from 10 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday. Go in late morning on weekdays, and you’re in both restaurants. Not that you’ll notice any difference. You order from the counter, perhaps for a feed more likely to go than consumed at one of the few tables, or the single seats near the bookshelf with an eclectic selection of reading that includes Studs Lonigan by James T. Farrell. A cult classic from the 1930s, now long lost to memory.
Milpa Kitchen’s Boyle Heights storefront, home to Milpa Kitchen and Macheen Tacos
Photo by Merrill Shindler
What is most memorable is the food – unforgettable in fact – especially the Macheen breakfast tacos and burritos. Macheen is a permanent pop-up, born at Downtown’s Smorgasburg, created by Guatemalan-American chef Jonathan Perez, a Compton native with a passion for skateboarding – and for his mother’s recipe for the stock used in his birria. He also likes to put Tater Tots in his burritos – along with softly scrambled eggs, chipotle aioli and Swiss “queso.”
The choice of meats – along with the beef birria — run to fried chicken, brisket, crispy pork belly and Filipino longaniza sausage. There are vegetarian options of dried chile-macha Brussels sprouts and mushrooms al pastor. But it’s the birria that cries out – a reminder of the gedempte fleisch of my youth.
The dishes from Macheen have a new wave edge: There’s a hibiscus slaw with the fried chicken taco. The long-cooked brisket is a confit. The sauce in the birria taco is a guajillo demi. The food from the Milpa Kitchen side of things is more classic old-school LA Mexican café. The enchiladas are filled with cabbage and pico de gallo, with cheese, pork guisado, chicken or veggies.
There are taquitos and street tacos. The sides run to black beans, rice, grilled veg, salad and grilled corn. There are bowls built around beans and corn. Soups and salads. And coffee from Café Café – what must be the only latte in Boyle Heights flavored with strawberry matcha, and a choice of oat milk and almond milk. This is a café that makes every visit a special occasion. A tie and jacket would be so out of place.
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Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beyond Sublime⭐⭐⭐ Worth Every Penny⭐⭐A Good Neighborhood Destination⭐ Might As Well Stay At HomeMilpa Kitchen (Macheen Tacos)2633 E. Cesar E. Chavez Ave., Boyle Heights323-354-490breakfast and lunch, every day.Inexpensive.
A recent bit of criticism in Britain’s The Guardian observed that the tweezer-intensive world of Michelin three-stars guarantees bank account-busting bills…and a lifetime of gout. Shindler don’t play that! You can pay for your meal at Milpa with pocket change…and walk away with a soothing sense of culinary contentment. This is downhome Eastside Eating that defines our world!
If you know of a standout but overlooked neighborhood restaurant, please submit the details here.
Grilled corn is one of the simple, satisfying sides at Milpa Kitchen.
Photo by Merrill Shindler
Grilled zucchini, peppers and squash from Milpa Kitchen in Boyle Heights.
Photo by Merrill Shindler
A wooden mask adds character to the casual, colorful interior at Milpa Kitchen.
Photo by Merrill Shindler
A sticker-covered wall inside Milpa Kitchen reflects the neighborhood spirit of Boyle Heights.
Photo by Merrill Shindler
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