Michele StuevenIf you’re anywhere near the Mar Vista or Hollywood farmers markets on Sunday, it’s worth queuing up in line for Oscar Ochoa’s fresh roasted El Machete 1924 salsas, slow cooked beans, lentils and rice to take out.
Weekly specials include a bright cilantro jasmine rice and chile ancho, arbol and fire roasted tomatillos salsa, with caramelized onions and garlic, agave nectar and sea salt. Made weekly and ranging from mild to hot on the Scoville scale of heat units, flavors include a mild and tangy avocado salsa de aguacate, a medium molcajete salsa roja with jalapeno and poblano and a hot fire roasted salsa verde, boosted with charred orange habaneros and toasted chile arbol.
Oscar Ochoa (Courtesy El Machete 1924)
Personal favorite: The Spanish romesco-style almond salsa with a subtle heat and crunchy toasted almond texture which makes the perfect accompaniment to a shrimp tostada or scrambled eggs. Ochoa also carries fresh tortillas, chips and a line of bottled sauces like Black Rooster Chili Paste and Habanero Dijon Mustard that are also available curbside at their DTLA kitchen. (Check website for dates and times.) Load up for a safely distanced and stress free Cinco de Mayo.
Inspired by the socialist Mexican newspaper, El Machete, published from 1924 to 1929 in Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution and headed by prominent artists and labor union organizers, they used the paper as a forum for debate on political and social issues.
Launched in 1924 by the workers’ union SOPTE, the Sindicato de Obreros Tecnicos, Pintores y Escultores (Union of Technical Workers, Painters and Sculptors), the paper’s authors included muralists like David Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera and Xavier Guerrero who focused on the convergence of art and politics.
The L.A.-based brand operates out of a kitchen in the arts district and is fueled by Ochoa’s love for his mother’s cooking as well as the early 20th century history of Mexico and Los Angeles.
Courtesy El Machete 1924
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