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Food|The Border Is Front and Center at This Los Angeles Taquería
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/dining/restaurant-review-taqueria-frontera-tacos-los-angeles.html
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When Taquería Frontera opened last summer in Cypress Park, I walked in with my baby tied to my chest and ate on my feet, swaying, hoping she wouldn’t wake as I tried a taco al pastor.
The tortilla was gently toasted in the crimson fat that dripped from the vertical spit. Still pliable, still intact, it held thinly sliced pork, lavishly spiced, frizzled to a crisp at its very edges, and the finest rubble of onion and cilantro. Then, it deviated slightly from the local archetype.
Two salsas with competing interests moved through it — one creamy, white and mellow; one theatrically, radiantly hot — and they mixed in places, animating each bite a little differently. The baby wiggled, but it didn’t matter. I was back at the register for more.
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Every day, there’s an ebb and flow of movement across the border with Mexico as Tijuana remakes the appetites of Los Angeles, shaping its tastes from 130 miles away. When Tijuana-style birria de res took off a few years ago, it owned the algorithms, hyping demand for birria while reshaping its perception. And at Tijuana-style taquerias across Los Angeles, trompos spin and smoke billows, carrying the scent of carne asada.
