2056 Hillhurst Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
About this time last year, I got a new boss. We clicked instantly. He considered himself a food guy, but his insane infatuation with Mocha Mix, hatred of shrimp and lobster, and his uncanny ability to always like the least popular of the four cookies we get from Crumbl call his taste buds into question. Needless to say, I was a little hesitant when he suggested that we try one of his favorite LA spots on our day off. He volunteered to drive, so we headed north on the 5 Freeway towards Yuca's.
I was a little ashamed that I had never heard of Yuca's. But, then, as I was doing the research before our visit, I learned that they had opened in 1976 on Hillcrest in Los Feliz. The 8 by 10-foot hut was originally a shoe shine stand before Socorro Herrera opened it at the urging of her friends and family. They had been clamoring for her to share her food with the world. She also opened this place to help pay for her daughter's tuition at Brown University. That daughter, Dora, returned to help the restaurant that paid her way through school and is now listed as president of Yuca's Restaurants, which now has an outpost in South Pasadena.
Since Yuca's opened 46 years ago, they have gotten plenty of positive press for their food, inspired by Socorro's upbringing in Merida, the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatan. Numerous articles have been written about them on the LA Eater website, TV coverage has been plentiful, and they won a James Beard award in 2005, the ultimate prize for a restaurant to achieve. As we were inching along the freeway, I thought I had misjudged Chris's questionable food judgment.
Yuca's menu is divided into burritos, tacos, sandwiches, burgers, and hot dogs. Yes, this is not strictly a Mexican spot. The burgers and hot dogs are holdovers from when they took over this location all those decades ago. Burritos are sold for around $11, while tacos will set you back $4 each. Burgers and hot dogs start at $5 and go up depending on what you get on them. Be advised that Yuca's only offers lemonade, orange juice, and milk, so you might want to get something else to drink next door at the liquor store they share their parking lot with. Now that you have the details let's check out what we drove for over an hour, the food.
Before we got to their Mexican food, I had to try Yuca's Double Cheeseburger ($9.75). This double cheeseburger came with two slices of American cheese, mayo, mustard, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, and onion, all on a toasted bun. This burger was way better than I imagined it would be. The toppings were sparing, allowing the beef and cheese to shine more. I was also a big fan of the toasted bun, which added a bit of texture to each bite. This reminded me of the Double Del Cheeseburger at Del Taco, but way better.
I was slightly disappointed when I unwrapped this Chili Verde Burrito ($11.50). It was flat and rectangular, without any girth to it. However, after my first bite, my mood lifted. The shredded pork with diced green chilies and pinto beans mingled nicely in the first-rate flour tortilla. I'm usually not much for whole pinto beans, but these were wonderfully flavored and complimented the shredded pork. Very nicely done.
My second item was this Carnitas Taco ($4.25). This came with two tortillas as its base and was dressed simply with pico de gallo and shredded carnitas. The tortilla was good, but the pork could not stand alone. It was a little on the dry side and was made better when I poured some salsa over it. I did like that their pico was heavy on the diced onion but with limited tomatoes.
I've been on a carne asada spree lately, and that trend continued here at Yuca's when I got this Carne Asada Burrito ($12.65). This burrito was the better of the two I consumed during this visit. The grilled steak was tender, with plenty wrapped in the tortilla. The pico and beans added just enough moisture here to make this even more enjoyable. I'd be hard-pressed to visit Yuca's again and not get this burrito.
So, here are my thoughts on Yuca's. Are these the best tacos and burritos I have had? Nope, but they are solid, and I can see why they won a James Beard award 17 years ago. The amount of space they have to work with and their origin story make what they do here pretty incredible. Factor in that they have been doing this since 1976, and many people have grown up eating their food, and it's easy to see that people would feel partial to Yuca's. Their Yelp reviews are glowing praise for how consistent the food has been over the decades. I have much respect for them. However, I found their prices a bit high for the amount of food you get. We had little interaction with the staff, but they quickly got the food out. My manager Chris has redeemed himself a bit regarding food, for now.
Out of five laurel trees (because the restaurant owners are from Merida, Mexico, which has a central plaza that features many of these trees providing plenty of shade in its relatively warm climate), five being best to zero being worst, Yuca's gets 3 laurel trees.
Yuca's does not have a website, so check out their Yelp page for more information: https://www.yelp.com/biz/yucas-los-angeles
Hillhurst, not Hillcrest!
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