Find the Best Chilaquiles in LA at This Pico Rivera Taquería | Eater LA
"Tucked into the rear left corner of the Rosemead Arma Center strip mall beneath Duran’s Bakery, this small, spartan taquería has reintroduced Mexico City–style tacos a la plancha to Los Angeles. The modest space offers a few unfinished wooden picnic tables and a menu of thin-strip meats — pechuga (chicken breast), bistec (beef), chuleta (pork chop), costilla (New York strip), and chopped chorizo — served as single tacos, campechanos (combinations of two meats), or the special “Taquearte” (three toppings, a choice of meat, plus chopped bacon and fried cheese). True to CDMX practice, all tacos come on a pair of corn tortillas that overlap end-to-end, concentrating depth of flavor. Start with the chicharrón de queso, a fried-cheese canopy made from mozzarella, gouda, and cheddar placed over folded tortillas, served with four house salsas: a spicy salsa macha with toasted garlic and peanuts, an even hotter guacachile (jalapeños, green habaneros, and avocado), a salsa de pepino (cucumber with mostly chile de árbol), and a salsa asada de siete chiles ground in a molcajete. The costilla-and-chorizo campechano is loaded with aromatic spices and ground chiles, while the quesataco of chuleta, bacon, and fried cheese is a sweet, fatty combination best brightened with a squeeze of lime and a dash of salsa de pepino — roll up your sleeves and grab it with both hands. For breakfast, Quinto’s chilaquiles are the highlight: made with thin tortillas fried in-house, four salsas (verdes clásicos and rojos, plus the spicier verdes picositos and rojos picositos blended with guacachile), layered with salsa, crema, and queso, then topped with chopped red onions; the chips stay crisp while the salsa separates into a flavorful pool streaked with crema, and steak-and-eggs or other meats are recommended add-ons. Chilaquiles are available in the morning (and all day), tacos start at noon, and the taquería’s hours are roughly 7 a.m.–9 p.m. Monday–Thursday, until 11 p.m. Friday–Saturday, and 8 a.m. Sunday." - Bill Esparza
