Great Mexican Food Under A Pointy Roof
1266 S. Glendale Ave. (@ Cypress)
Phone: 818-549-4167 | map

Maybe it was a Pup 'n' Taco in a previous life, but the tall red roof of Taqueria El Tapatio (#2) cannot be missed as you're driving up Glendale Blvd. past the cemetery.

The place just feels right, like a hole in the wall on Olympic or Western: the bulk of the customers speaking Spanish, a shadowed face behind a screen taking your order. Aluminum tables where you place your bottle of Tapatio sauce (of course) on top of your pile of napkins because they'll blow away otherwise. At least you're sitting under the massive peaked roof, and aren't getting hammered by the Glendale sun.

I judge a place by how good their pastor is, and it's very good. It's minced fine and burns your lips slightly. The carnitas are even better, with thin slivers of pork falling away from each other.

The burritos please me immeasurably. The tortillas are thin, flaking away with little burn marks on them, strong enough to hold their contents yet thin enough to show the orange-tinted meat and pinto beans inside. The cheese is molten.

This is also a place to go for tortas! Soft bread with grill marks, and plenty of lettuce and cheese. I'd recommend you go easy on the mayo, though, on pain of going through more napkins than you expected.

A large horchata with it all and you are feeling benevolent and slow, just like I am at the moment, trying to type with my fingers on the correct keys.

It's cash-only, but not expensive at all. There's about four parking spots, and the street is usually busy.