Carnitas el Momo
Mexican restaurant · Monterey Park
1470 Monterey Pass Rd, Monterey Park, CA 91754
Highlights
Popular for carnitas tacos, birria, and comfort foods
Popular for carnitas tacos, birria, and comfort foods
"If you love tender, fat-simmered pork as much as we do, we’re here to say that no one does it better than Carnitas El Momo. The experience of eating a drippy taco on your feet at the original Boyle Heights truck might be a classic LA taco experience, but spare yourself the mess by having a quick lunch at Momo’s brick-and-mortar in Monterey Park. This casual counter-service restaurant has seating so you can handle a giant “aporklaypse” torta with two hands, plus the same simple tacos that come with sweet, jelly-like skin and crispy pork belly piled high onto warm tortillas. Embellish each one with salsa verde and extra limón because these carnitas are obscenely rich." - cathy park, sylvio martins, brant cox, andrew ryce
"Sure, your old friend from acting class is excited to be making shrimp fajitas with her husband tonight, but you just logged on with a pound of Carnitas El Momo on your counter and shut the whole game down. The legendary Boyle Heights taco truck serves a kind of carnitas that you can’t find anywhere else in town - a combination of pork shoulder and crispy skin. And right now, they’re selling it by the pound for $12, including tortillas, salsa, onions, limes, and cilantro for all your taco-making needs. Pre-orders only, text (323) 627-8540 or DM their Instagram." - brant cox
"The best way to have carnitas at Romulo “Momo” Acosta’s shrine to Mexican confit-style pork cuts is to skip the onions and cilantro, and squeeze in some juices from a pickled jalapeño, chasing each bite of moist pork with some chile — that’s the way it’s done in Salamanca, Guanajuato. For more than half a century, Momo has been making artisanal carnitas, a trade he’s passed onto his children, ensuring the best carnitas in the U.S. are here to stay." - Bill Esparza
"Mixta torta If you love tender, slow-cooked carnitas as much as we do, then there’s a good chance you’ll agree that no one does it better than Carnitas El Momo. Pork belly, pork shoulder, and pork skin are all on the menu, but the move is to order all three (the “mixta”) in the form of a torta. The gelatinous, chewy skin plays perfectly with the shoulder and fatty belly that come dripping in juices. All of it goes into a soft bolillo roll with onions, cilantro, a dash of salsa roja, and plenty of that brown cauldron sauce." - the infatuation los angeles crew
"If you love juicy, fat-simmered carnitas as much as we do, there’s a good chance you’ll agree that no one does pork better than Carnitas El Momo. This Boyle Heights curbside operation has expanded to Monterey Park with a full counter-service restaurant (complete with a giant pig mural). At both spots, you'll be greeted by the same incredible porky aroma. Though you can order tortas and quesadillas stuffed with their caramelized Michoacan-style carnitas, the standard tacos shine the brightest on the menu. They're so obscenely rich they require little embellishment beyond a dab of salsa verde and some pickled jalapeños. Pick your cut (shoulder, belly, skin, burnt ends, or, our favorite, the mixed “Aporkalypse'' style) and watch the people cooking heap melting bits of meat onto warm tortillas, then do your best to not drip any of those precious pig juices on your shirt. " - sylvio martins, garrett snyder, brant cox, nikko duren
