Aunque no nos guste aceptarlo abiertamente, most of us love food. If not food in general, at least a dish or two that tickles our pickle and that makes us go goo-goo gaga. Even religious dieters and health freaks have some sort comfort food. Among the top types of comfort food lie all things Mexican. Just accept it… no te hagas el de la boca chiquita… everyone loves a good taco every once in a while- a burrito, una torta, chilaquiles perhaps… whatever it is pocos se pueden resistir al encanto de la comida mexicana. If that’s your type of food, it’s about time you start exploring other types of Mexican cuisine and give your fave taco stand a break. If you wanna have some Mexican with an edge and a Caribbean flare, you must have food from Yucatan… y que mejor lugar que one of L.A.’s best Yucatan Restaurant, none other than “Chichen Itza”.
Location
While it may be a bit of a hassle to get to this place, you’ll be surprised to learn that “Chichen Itza” is located by MacArthur Park. Now before you make a cara de fuchi because of its location, you gotta remember not to judge a book by its cover, or in this case, a joint by its location.
Sure, the area is deemed a being a little very sketchy, but that has seriously never stopped anyone from enjoying some tacos from a lonchera in the middle of East El Lay.
With that in mind, leave all your MacArthur Park misconceptions behind and prepare yourself to be blown away by some scrumptious comida Yucateca.
“Chichen Itza” follows the hole-in-the-wall tradition. The mid-sized joint can be difficult to find but not impossible.
You’ll be surprised by the Latin-tinged and colorful décor. This place is brightly colored and warm- very welcoming.
Starters
Upon your arrival, you’re greeted by a nice serving of chips and salsa. They’re not your typical c&s though… es todo lo contrario.
They are home-made chips covered in a bean paste with pico de gallo and a side of habanero salsa, which is Yucatan’s chile du jour. Beware, it’s as delicious as it is spicy… and oh so addictive. Fortunately for you, you can purchase a bottle to go of this delicious spicy nectar.
Si no tienes suficiente with the chips and salsa, you can always start with an Antojito Sanpler, which will further introduce you to Yucantan cuisine and give you una probadita de lo que está por venir. El Antojito Sampler comes with panucho, codzitos, salbut and kibi.
If you’re wondering what all of the above are, here’s the 411: Panucho is a handmade crispy corn tortilla, split and filled with black bean puree, topped with lettuce, shredded turkey, tomato, pickled red onions, tomatoes, and avocado. Salbut is a handmade fluffy corn tortilla, topped with lettuce, shredded turkey, pickled red onions, tomatoes, and avocado. Codzitos are petite crispy taquitos served with light tomato sauce and a sprinkling of aged baby Edam cheese. Kibi are ground beef and cracked wheat patties seasoned with mint and spices, fried golden brown and served with pickled red onions.
An Antojito Sampler is the way to go if you’ve never had food from Yucatan. Not only is it a great intro, but you also get variety and you get to try some of the most antojitos típicos de Yucatan.
La comida
You can’t go to “Chichen Itza” and not have some cochinita pibil, el platillo típico de Yucatan. Whether you’ve had cochinita pibil before or not, it doesn’t matter… la de “Chichen Itza” está deliciosa.
If you have no idea what cochinita pibil is, it’s sliced marinated pork charbroiled and garnished with pickled onions with a chunky fire roasted tomato sauce served atop a banana leaf. This entrée is beyond delicious- it’s succulent. The meat is flavorful and tender and the sauce made with achiote, sour orange juice and spices is very rich and is greatly complimented with some of the habanero sauce.
Now if you don’t eat pork, the have pollo pibil, que si bien es cocinado de igual manera y con los mismos ingredientes, a diferencia de la carne, it’s just not the same.
Instead you can cose from their vegetarian menu, where you’ll find papadzules, a great choice for the non-meat eaters.
The papadzules consist of four rolled corn tortillas moistened with ground roasted pumpkin seed and epazote sauce, stuffed with hard boiled eggs and topped with tomato sauce.
“Chichen Itza” will definitely give you a much needed Mexican food mix, plus you’ll seriously appreciate and maybe even fall in love with Yucatecan cuisine. Give it a try, no te arrepentirás.
Chichen Itza Yucatan Restaurant2501 W 6th St
Los Angeles, CA 90057
213.380.0051
