Sabores Oaxaqueños Review - Koreatown - Los Angeles - The Infatuation

"Some people might recognize Sabores Oaxaqueños as the “old Guelaguetza,” but this place has developed a stellar reputation all on its own. Brothers Valentín and Germán Granja, two longtime employees of the original Guelaguetza, opened Sabores Oaxaqueños in 2011 after the previous restaurant moved to its current location on Olympic Blvd. The duo then successfully recruited Dominga Velasco Rodriguez Velasco, Gueleguetza’s original chef de cuisine and Valentín’s now mother-in-law, to take over their new kitchen. Besides serving various dishes from Oaxaca’s southern Costa Chica region, Sabores Oaxaqueños has excellent tlayuda tortillas that are imported from Oaxaca every week. Their tlayuda mixta is a personal favorite of ours and comes topped with the three traditional meats: Oaxacan chorizo, cecina adobada (sweet/spicy marinated pork), and tasajo (dried and grilled beef). Dominga’s asiento provides a deep savory undertone that pairs perfectly with the creamy bean paste, and the restaurant’s spicy salsa roja offers great contrast to the tlayuda’s mild avocado and hearty meat toppings. photo credit: Andrea D'Agosto Food Rundown photo credit: Andrea D'Agosto Tlayuda Mixta There’s really nothing negative to say about this delicious tlayuda, except that we can never decide whether to use our hands or utensils. But besides the inevitable mess, everything about it hits the mark–from its salty tasajo and spicy chorizo links, to the copious amounts of stringy quesillo and a very good bean paste. Molcajete Costa Chica This molcajete is full of freshly grilled fish, octopus, and shrimp covered in a tangy chipotle cream sauce. It all comes out perfectly cooked with some nice charring, and we’d happily pour that chipotle sauce on absolutely anything. However, the molcajete’s mushrooms and grilled nopales don’t really add much. photo credit: Andrea D'Agosto Horchata Con Tuna Y Nuez It’s pretty hard to find a boring horchata, but the version here gets cut with floral prickly pear juice, which also just makes the whole thing twice as beautiful to look at. The chunks of prickly pear and nuts floating at the top provide some great crunch, and we like to fish them out with a spoon for a post-meal snack. Dos Tacos de Barbacoa de Chivo Con Consome This dish had us sold the moment we read “homemade corn tortillas,” but the excellent goat birria is what keeps us coming back for more. The meat is super tender and the consomme’s smoky dried chile flavor masks the meat’s gaminess and soaks into every bite." - Sylvio Martins