Bricia Lopez

A Mezcal and Food Guide to the Hola Mexico Film Festival La Gran Parrillada Event

This year's Hola Mexico Film Festival, which is taking place on May 15 to May 22 in downtown Los Angeles, is suddenly looking a lot more appetizing. This is thanks in no small part to the efforts of Guelaguetza's Bricia Lopez and a few of her friends. On Thursday May 16, Lopez is opening up her rest ... More >>

A Plea for Pulque, Mexico's Lost Beverage

Lately the thought of pulque, a fermented beverage of Mexico made from sap of the maguey cactus, has been haunting my dreams. It wasn't too long ago that a friend introduced me to a vendor selling jugs filled with pulque for a few dollars a pop at one of those Eastside street fairs that crop up on ... More >>

Salma Hayek's Got Milk Campaign Top 5 Easy Breakfast Ideas

Recently, actress Salma Hayek was announced as the latest celebrity to be milk-mustached by the Milk Processor Education Program, otherwise known as the "Got Milk" people. Hayek's ads will promote the new The Breakfast Project campaign, which touts milk as key to a good breakfast. In the commercial, ... More >>

The Tasting Kitchen's Justin Pike Named L.A.'s Best Bartender

Steven ArmstrongThird-place Devon Tarby pours a thirsty spectator some love​ On Sunday, Table 20 hosted its second annual L.A.'s Best Bartender contest at Elevate Lounge in Downtown Los Angeles. Five of L.A.'s top bartenders arrived to compete for the title of L.A.'s Best Bartender before six ... More >>

Jonathan Gold Recommends Elvirita's Cemitas

I'm Back From the War: Now Where Can I Get Cemitas?

Anne Fishbeinthe invisible restaurant critic​ Dear Mr. Gold: My brother called me last night to say that his deployment is almost over, and he can't wait to taste the cemitas from Pal Cabron again. He's been talking them up to his friends, and has built them up in his head as the perfect cure ... More >>

What to Read Now: Eating Bugs in The New Yorker

Anne FishbeinDonaji​If you have not yet picked up the latest issue of The New Yorker, you may want to. Turn to page 38, dear reader, and you will find a Dept. of Gastronomy piece by Dana Goodyear on bugs. You will also find happy mention of John Sedlar (Rivera, Playa), Bricia Lopez (Guelaguetz ... More >>

Eat Real Fest: Photo Gallery

Round up the usual suspects. Anyone who's been to a certain Los Angeles food festival can be forgiven for feeling a certain déjà vu at this weekend's Eat Real Fest, held at the Helms Bakery complex in Culver City. The vendor list read like it was cribbed from Artisanal LA: Cast Iron Gourmet, C ... More >>

CLOSED: Pal Cabron (& Natura Oaxacan Juice Bar)

Guzzle & NoshOne of the paintings on the wall inside Pal Cabron.​ If you've driven past Pal Cabron in Koreatown this week and wondered why the doors are closed and the gate is locked, it's official: the Oaxacan cemita and clayuda shop has closed, along with its next-door neighbor Natura, a Oax ... More >>

Top 5 Ways to Eat & Drink This Weekend: Donuts, Mezcal, Mole, Beer

We've already mentioned tonight's special National Donut Day menu, an annual tradition at Grace and now at BLD. But we can't write about donuts and bacon all the time. 5. Salad Days: To celebrate its three-year anniversary, fast-casual salad chain. Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop will be giving diners ... More >>

Bricia Lopez: Mezcal & Mole

Kevin ScanlonBricia Lopez​Bricia Lopez was 17 the first time she was fired -- by her father. She had stayed out late partying and, afraid to come home, crashed at a girlfriend's house. His wrath was swift. Though the family restaurant business had always been her safety net, she got a job as ... More >>

Bricia Lopez: Mezcal & Mole

Bricia Lopez: Mezcal & Mole

10 Cinco de Mayo Alternatives to the Margarita 2 Cocktail Recipes

Espolón TequilaThe Varnish's Bebida de Puebla ​ Sometimes you just want a quiet place and a well-done cocktail to celebrate the Mexicans' victory over the French in the 1862 Battle of Puebla. Thankfully the cocktail-savvy need not fret, as the following L.A. bars have alternatives for those s ... More >>

Food News Roundup: Talking with Diana Kennedy, the Mad Men Cookbook How to Make Bacon Roses

-- Bricia Lopez interviews Diana Kennedy at Loteria Grill. [LA>FWD] -- Making bacon roses. [My Last Bite] -- David Lebovitz on the art of food blogging. ("If you are writing for search engines, you are cheating readers.") [David Lebovitz] -- How to survive eating everything at In-N-Out. [Grub ... More >>

L.A.'s Best Cocktails

Our 55 favorites and where to find them

Pal Cabron Hosts Baja Chef Diego Hernadez for 3 Nights

Courtesy of Pal CabronChef Diego Hernandez of Baja​Pal Cabron, which recently hosted former Bastide chef Joseph Mahon and sommelier David Haskell's restaurant-surfing Magnum pop-up, will bring chef Diego Hernandez all the way from Baja for a three-night stint. Hernandez, who made his LA debu ... More >>

New Location

Same old Pal Cabron

First Bite: New Location, Same Old Pal Cabron

Jonagold apple, portions missing​The original Pal Cabron was one of those pop-culture miracles we have come to expect in Los Angeles, a Huntington Park sandwich shop specializing in overstuffed versions of Puebla's beloved cemitas, run by a young Oaxacan woman, Bricia Lopez, and splashed with ... More >>

It's Party Time as Pal Cabron Opens on 8th Street

Barbara HansenBricia Lopez​ Bricia Lopez just turned 26, and her restaurant, Pal Cabron, just moved to its new digs on West 8th Street. Two such epochal events happening simultaneously called for a celebration to shake the galaxy. And that was last Friday's grand opening party at Pal Cabro ... More >>

Last Night at Loteria Grill: An Evening of Oaxacan Food with Diana Kennedy

N. GalutenStuffed jalapeños​ Diana Kennedy, the highly-esteemed cookbook author and Mexican cuisine authority, was at Loteria Grill in Hollywood last night for a special event to promote her latest (and supposedly last) cookbook, Oaxaca al Gusto. The event, costing $100, included two drinks, ... More >>

West L.A. Guelaguetza to Reopen as Mitla

e*starLASome of the moles that have made Guelaguetza famous.​More big news from the Lopez family. As this Friday's opening of the second Pal Cabron location wasn't keeping them busy enough, they will reopen the long-closed Guelaguetza location in Palms as Mitla, a more upscale Oaxacan restaura ... More >>

Pal Cabron to Open in Former Guelaguetza at Normandie & 8th

If you've read Jonathan Gold's raves about cemita shop Pal Cabron but didn't feel like heading to Huntington Park only for a sandwich, things are looking up. Late next week, Pal Cabron will open its second location, this one in the original Guelaguetza space at 8th and Normandie in the heart of Ko ... More >>

Test Run

Supper Liberation Front & Pablo Moix Invade Guelaguetza

First Bite: Test Run, or Supper Liberation Front & Pablo Moix Invade Guelaguetza

C. BishopJonagold apple​Just the way we like it, really, a restaurant that doesn't really exist stuffed like pureed huitlacoche into a favorite restaurant that does, complete with a mystic mezcalero pushing liquor, Piedra Almas Mezcal, that you couldn't buy even if you wanted to (which I did), ... More >>

Supper Liberation Front Invades Guelaguetza

Supper Liberation Front​For one rare night, chefs Josh Gil and Daniel Snukal take their semi-underground, pop-up restaurant legit, bringing Supper Liberation Front to Oaxacan stalwart Guelaguetza. Think of this as a taste of things to come. What things? We can't say. Gil, who earned his Miche ... More >>

The Thursday Edition: A Roundup of Newspaper Food Stories

SapphireBlue22stack of newspapers​What's the country reading today food-wise? Here's a roundup of some of the food-related stories from other newspapers, many of which print their food sections mid-week. And remember, even if you don't actually buy papers these days (or not; this paper is free ... More >>

Last Night at La Descarga: In Celebration of a New Cocktail

N. GalutenBrisa de Oaxaca​ Something new has arrived at the Cuban themed rum bar La Descarga, in honor of someone who goes there a lot. Bricia Lopez is something of Oaxacan restaurant royalty in Los Angeles, with her family owning Guelaguetza and she and her brother Fernando owning the recent ... More >>