Mole, Tacos & Tamales: A Few Mexican Eateries in the East Bay

12 / 17 / 1311 / 30 / 18

Yup, still love Mexican food. Here are a few places in the East Bay that I’ve become quite smitten with this past month.

Los Moles in Emeryville
Walk into Los Moles on Sunday morning and you’ll find six shades of moles simmering in copper pots, pozole and menudo steaming in clay cazuelas, pinto and black beans, orange and green rice, crispy carnitas, and warm churros by the stack. Behind the buffet in the kitchen, cooks whip up classic Mexican egg dishes, whisk cinnamon-spiced Mexican hot chocolate, and press balls of masa into fresh corn tortillas. If a village in Jalisco hosted an all-you-can-eat brunch, I’m pretty sure it would look something like this. Here are some beautiful photos my friend Laila Bahman took.

Sunday brunch is from 10 am to 3 pm, and $15 will get you as much as you can eat and drink (except for Mexican hot chocolate). I loved the pipian mole, a pumpkin seed mole that rarely makes it to American plates, as well as the carnitas, and the pinto beans with corn. Don’t forget to leave room for churros and cafe de la olla.

Pipirin in Fruitvale

There’s a parking lot, a truck, some white plastic chairs under a tarp, and some damn good $2 tacos soaked in a light but not wimpy salsa. The woman running the show knows everyone’s order who walks up (sin crema, con cebolla, etc.) and I hope she’ll soon get to know mine: one barbacoa (shredded beef) and one pierna (which I think is pork shank). This place specializes in tortas ahogadas from Guadalajara, which means Mexican sandwiches “drowned” in salsa. There’s a sign for Las Autenticas Tortas Ahogadas de Guadalajara in front and the real message is that you’ll need napkins. 34th Ave & Farnam St, right above International. Thanks to my editor, mentor, and taco-scouter, Rick for this recommendation.

Mexico Tortilla Factory in Newark

This is a little far for me to drive to on the regular, but if you live closer or happen to be in the area, this all-in-one restaurant, tortilla factory, and Mexican market is most definitely worth a stop. While the menu features typical taqueria fare, the star of the menu is the masa, made the old fashioned way with just corn, water and lime (the factory is just behind the restaurant walls). Its most triumphant form is the tamales. I had a chile rojo pork tamal that was moist (aggghh how I hate that word) and was heavy on the filling (my preference when it comes to tamales). The pozole was also good, and the refried beans and orange rice were on the salty side (also my preference when it comes to many things).

The current owner, Sucy, took the business over from her dad, a Mexican immigrant who started making tortillas as a side hustle while working at GE in the 1970s. She greets multiple customers with hugs, and knows most everyone’s business (from back surgery to new hairdos). She’s also on city council, volunteers for an organization that provides scholarships for latino youth, and puts on community Day of the Dead and Christmas celebrations. After my trip, someone asked me why the heck I would go all the way to Newark for lunch. I said for the good Mexican food, and for a hug from Sucy.

Read full articles about Los Moles and The Mexico Tortilla Factory on the Vision Hispana website.

Los Moles
Pipirin
34th Ave & Farnam St, right above International
Mexico Tortilla Factory

Five Things to Do in LA

9 / 7 / 1311 / 29 / 18

I recently went to LA and mostly stayed in Topanga Canyon, a village-like community nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains. While I was visiting, the cops found 5,000 tons of marijuana plants growing in Topanga State Park, probably not far from where we hiked that same morning. I don’t think anyone in Topanga was surprised, there’s kind of a green haze floating over the entire place. Maybe that’s why once you’re up there it’s hard to leave. When I did go down the hill, here are a few things that I would recommend doing (most of them scouted out in advance by my bff).

Eat breakfast at Old Place

I love a man behind a bar with a husky voice and good arms. It’s all the more fitting when he’s serving me coffee in a tin cup in a restaurant that resembles an old western saloon. Old Place was converted from an old country store in the 1970s, and it feels like a time capsule in the middle of nowhere (or more specifically the Santa Monica Mountains). The beer tap in front of me was made with some kind of animal horn, country music played in the background, and the 20-foot bar runs parallel to a number of wooden booths hidden by their high partitions. The porch outside feels weathered. The food isn’t amazing, but it’s good and worth the experience. The granola comes in a giant bowl of fresh berries and melons, tasty almonds and pecans, and creamy yogurt, and it would easily serve three people. The fritata, which came out in a mini cast iron pan, was fine. The bacon was super thick, but wouldn’t cowboys want it that way? Go early to avoid a wait.

Chill at Point Dume Beach

You have to walk down some steps, cross a slightly hairy bed of rocks, but it’s worth it. Point Dume is a quiet strip of beach past Malibu hidden by the dramatic cliffside above it— from the top all you see is blue waters and the view doesn’t change too much from the sand. There were a few wet dogs running around, a couple playing early 90s rock (could have been worse), but otherwise the crowd was minimal and low key.

Shop at Melrose Trading Post

$3 gets you in to this antique/flea market that doesn’t feel much different from any other antique market in California except that it’s smaller and more manageable, and amongst the booths of dyded cutoffs and costume jewelry there are actually some good deals.

Grab an ice cream sandwich at Coolhaus

Outside of the Trading Post is an ice cream truck, which isn’t normally my thing, but I was hot and the bullshit green juice I had at some pristine salon-looking juice shop wasn’t satisfying me. The gluten free coconut almond cookie was chewy and soft but held up well as I ungracefully munched my way to the chocolate cointrea ice cream.

Get some sample dresses at Shopaholic Sample Sales
This one is for the ladies. Find beautiful, affordable, samples from a range of designers. They had a huge selection of dresses from formal to casual, and some great leggings and casual tops. It’s a small store so it’s not so overwhelming, but every time I went back to the rack I was damned to find something new. The dressing room is one big shared room, so remember to wear cute underwear.

Old Place, get there early
Point Dume There’s a sign and a small parking lot on top of a cliff, best to park in the residential area. This should get you there.
Melrose Trading Post , Sundays from 9-5, $3 entry
Coolhaus , Follow on Twitter for locations
Shopaholic Sample Sales