Best I Continued to Eat Everything in Los Angeles

Monday. What a day. I've heard substance-abusers talk about hitting rock bottom. By Monday night I knew what it meant to hit rock bottom with taco consumption. But that doesn't happen until the night time.

The day started out so innocently with breakfast with Grandma at the Central Park Cafe, a Pasadena favorite for Grandmas and their friends or guests.

She had a very nice Belgian waffle.

I had the very nice "Alaskan Benedict" with little patties of salmon and shrimp beneath those poached eggs.

At lunch time I went with Cher to the Japanese part of Chinatown,

To revisit the Frying Fish, the first place I ever ate sushi just some, err, 13 or 14 years ago?

It's a conveyer belt sushi place. I'd had conveyer belt sushi with Cher once before. It's a shame that New York doesn't have any (or many?) conveyer belt sushi places. If you're going to serve so-so sushi, why not put it on a conveyer belt?

A sampling of our eatings. I tried not to hit it too hard because I had more plans for the afternoon.

Plans did not include jalepeno and cheese hotdog rolls so I did not have a jalepeno and cheese hotdog roll.

From the Japanese part of Chinatown we headed East. East towards East LA, past places I'd love to eat someday.

To a place that I would eat today: Guisado's.

This place serves slightly fancy tacos right in the middle of Boyle Heights. All the toppings are stewed, hence the name, which means stew. I think that's a smart way to keep a restaurant running all day, just stew the meats. The griddle is only used to cook their lovely handmade tortillas.

I had the six taco sampler.

Here I am, thinking about tacos I've eaten and tacos I'm about to eat.

I couldn't possibly, wall painting.

Walking back to the car, passing a place with sumo wrestler chickens on their sign.

Drive a bit more this way and that and wind up at a real winner of a restaurant, "Cemitas Poblanas Elvirita."

You know you've chosen wisely when they've got Street Fighter II: Champion Edition and Puzzle Bobble right inside the door.

Or a gigantic picture menu above the cashier.

We split one Cemita de Milanesa but really we should have split 3 (so we each could have one and a half). If you aren't familiar with cemitas, but are familiar with tortas, a cemita is like a torta but comes on a sesame seed bun (from there comes its name) and has avocado, chipotle peppers, papalo (that's an herb), and shredded white cheese (but I said something wrong when I ordered and we got blocks of queso fresco instead) on it. This thing kicked.

Don't let this chilled-out photo fool you, Cher was still talking about it the next day. Call her now and check, she might still be talking about it.

For the record, I also ordered a tostada de tinga from them because they seemed like they'd really know how to make one there. They were all out of tinga. I think this proves that my suspicions were correct.

Then, a few hours later, I reunited with Don after far too many years and we had dinner at King Taco in Pasadena where their insidious red salsa taught both of us a little lesson.

(This is me trying to look like Don. Did it work?)

We had four tacos a piece.

And sopes.

Now this would have been a good place for me to stop and still have eaten a ton that day.

But I just had to keep at it.

A few more hours later, I was eating at Del Taco with Collin. Why Del Taco? BECAUSE IT TASTES JUST LIKE IT SMELLS . . . DELICIOUS!

In this photo I'm supposed to look like "Woooo! I love tacos I eat so many of them!" But instead I just look like how I felt with all those tacos in me and many more still to be eaten.

Then we went to Jack in the Box because Collin wanted to force me to eat some of their 2 for a $1 tacos. Mercifully, I did not get a photo of one of those. The memory is too painful.

Aaaand one thing lead to another and we wound up here. What can I say? I was on a bender. I'm not proud. But I'm putting it on the internet. So I am proud.

Woke up Tuesday with one more day in LA to go. Promised myself I'd take it easy. Grandma and I went over to Houston's for lunch.

We both had a bowl of their famous chicken tortilla soup.

And I had their Hickoree Burger because it was the first burger to ever make me look down at my burger and say "Whoah." And I had the cole slaw. Because I like it better than the fries.

We also had the bread service.

Then, oddly, I don't think I ate again until 9 that night when Cher and I went to Top Round after going to Doug Loves Movies. At Top Round we met up with this hero, Lucas from High School.

I liked their Beef on Weck but really expected much more meat than it came with.

But what I loved: Their Dirty Fries.

We also loved their Crispy Chicken Sandwich. Loved it so much that we wound up sharing two of them three ways. If you go to Top Round, let me recommend the chicken sandwich more than the roast beef.

Then, because it was my very last night, I just had to go down the street for one more plate of tacos from Tacos Leo. 

OPRF Varsity 200 Yard Medley B Relay forever.

Early, early, early the next morning I flew away from California.

And landed back here where it is cold and there are almost no tacos. 

Seriously, guys, I ate so much in California I promise you I won't have a taco for a week. If you see me eating a taco within the next week slap it out of my hand . . . then please hand it back to me, because it just wouldn't be right to let it go to waste.