Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

Around this time of year, we start to yearn for restaurants that put their smoke in the meat, not in the street . . .

Comments (0) By Jonathan Gold Wednesday, Aug 19 1998

Taste of Texas

Taste of Texas serves up probably the best fajitas in Los Angeles - not the soy-soaked kind that sputter on superheated metal platters, but chewy, well-marinated strips of skirt steak, grilled simply with onions, tasting of citrus and beef and salt, served in a heap alongside a little dish of soupy beans, handmade flour tortillas thick enough to stop bullets, and an iceberg-lettuce salad. Carne guisada, bits of beef or pork stewed in a thick gravy, resonates with musky dried-chile flavor but is mild enough for a toddler to eat. Chile-soaked picadillo tastes like taco meat with a university education. And the barbecue is pretty good too, with slices of brisket, soft, juicy, slightly oily, practically vibrating with the campfire flavor of mesquite smoke. 301 N. Azusa Ave., Covina; (626) 331-2824. Open Mon.-Fri. for lunch and dinner, Sat.-Sun. for breakfast too. Dinner for two, food only, $13-$18. Beer and wine. Takeout, banquet rooms and catering. Lot parking. AE, MC, V.