If we were to make a checklist of our favorite things, a surprising number of them would be on Cacao Mexicatessen's inventory: duck carnitas tacos, huge bowls of hot Mexican chocolate, thickly cut french fries arriving in vats of mole sauce, a huge breakfast menu (huevos with venison! Blue corn pancakes!), excellent cochinita pibil, to-go staples like bags of crisp, house-made tortilla chips and chalky disks of that chocolate. We could go on. But it might be easier simply to head over to this family-run Mexican deli in Eagle Rock, maybe do some shopping at the Trader Joe's next door, find a chair on the pretty outside patio — and start eating. This is the kind of happy place where you can take your kids (see: fries in mole) for lunch, stop in for a weekend breakfast on your way to Ikea in Burbank, or just check out the specials as you watch the cars disappear into the night, immeasurably glad that you're digging into a fish taco in the manner of Ensenada and not in transit on the 134 nearby. 1576 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock; (323) 478-2791, cacaodeli.com. Tues.-Fri., 8:30 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sat., 8 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun., 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Entrees $3.10-$19.95. Beer and wine.

 

Besha Rodell's Introduction

Anne Fishbein's Photography

The Google Map

 

The 99 Essential Restaurants List:

A-Frame
Alma
Angelini Osteria
Animal
Attari Sandwich Shop
Bäco Mercat
Bar Amá
The Bazaar
Bestia
BierBeisl
Bludso's
Cacao Mexicatessen
Canelé
La Casita Mexicana
Cemitas Poblanas Elviritas
Chichen Itza
Chung King
Cole's
Coni'Seafood
Cube Cafe & Marketplace
Din Tai Fung
Eva
Father's Office
Fred 62
Gjelina
Golden Deli
Go's Mart
Il Grano
Guelaguetza
Guisados
Hatfield's
Ha Tien Quan
Hawkins House of Burgers
Hayat's Kitchen
El Huarache Azteca
Huckleberry
The Hungry Cat
ink.
Jar
Jitlada
JTYH Heavy Noodle II
Kang Ho Dong Baekjong
Kiriko
Kiyokawa
Kogi Truck
Krua Siri
L&E Oyster Bar
Langer's
Little Dom's
Lucques
Ludo Truck
Lukshon
Mariscos Jalisco
Matsuhisa
Meals by Genet
Mélisse
Milo and Olive
Mo-Chica
Musso & Frank
Nem Nuong Ninh Hoa
Nickel Diner
Night + Market
Oinkster
Osteria Mozza
Pann's
Pa-Ord Noodle
El Parian
Park's BBQ
Philippe the Original
Picca
Pink's
Pizzeria Mozza
Playa
Pollo a la Brasa
Providence
R&R Soul Food
Ración
Red Medicine
Ricky's Fish Tacos
Rivera
Rocio's Moles de los Dioses
Salt's Cure
Sapp Coffee Shop
Savoy Kitchen
Sea Harbour
Shanghai No. 1 Village Seafood
Soban
Son of a Gun
Sotto
Spago
The Spice Table
Superba Snack Bar
Tacos Leo
The Tasting Kitchen
Tavern
Tsujita LA
Vincenti Ristorante
Wurstküche
Zam Zam Market

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