Chicharroland - Review - Historic South Central - Los Angeles - The Infatuation

"Pork is (literally) the name of the game at Chicharroland, where chicharrones and carnitas are the house specialties. At this South LA shop, you can enjoy pork rinds by the bagful or in a spicy guisado de chicharron, and nicely-seared gorditas stuffed with their signature carnitas too. If you’re lucky enough to stop by on the weekends, you can also try their popular caldos, including an excellent pozole verde that–contrary to everything we just raved about–is made with chicken. Food Rundown Gordita de Carnitas There’s nothing quite like a freshly grilled gordita and these are just that–nicely golden brown with a great char and chewy texture on the outside, yet still soft on the inside. They’re filled with tender carnitas, crunchy green cabbage, and a generous amount of crema and queso cotija for some tang and saltiness. Guisado de Chicharron en Salsa Verde All of the salsa verde’s bright tomatillo, chile, and cilantro flavors get soaked up by big wedges of freshly fried chicharron, creating a perfect bite. The rehydrated pork rinds are spicy, super soft, and rich with the fatty bits dissolving in the warm sauce. We like to order a stack of fresh corn tortillas with this to make our own tacos. Pozole Verde This pozole is tart, spicy, and brimming with cilantro, onion, and tomatillos. The chicken stock is super light and wonderfully salty, making this pozole very easy to devour without feeling like you just ingested a half cup of rendered pork fat." - Sylvio Martins