Rollin' Deep

Chicago and LA have more in common than you might think. We're both situated adjacent to massive bodies of water (ours is bigger, #winning); we both have gangster DNA in our bloodline (Capone for them, Cohen for us); we both figured out a way to make hot dogs even more artery-anihilatingly awesome (they deep fry 'em til they burst, we slather ours in bacon and grilled peppers.) But where those similarities end is in the pizza department. Our Midwest brethren gave the world the ever-delicious Chicago deep-dish, while we gave the world... some shitty franchise that you eat at the airport.

Luckily for us Angelenos, Masa of Echo Park exists. A funky little joint with an old-timey European cafe feel and a bed-headed eastside crowd, Masa serves up Chi-town style pie that's every bit as much an event as it is a meal. A few minutes shy of an hour is what it takes to make a single one of their signature concoctions, so don't be afraid to call and order it in advance. The pizza comes out thick as a brick and round as a 45 rpm record (and that's if you order the small), and the layers contain multitudes: perfectly crackly-chewy cornmeal crust; a steaming layer of chunky-crushed tomato sauce that seems to have been born with garlic coursing through its veins; slices of tender mushrooms; a spicy, fennel-infused disc of Italian sausage; and beneath it all, an almost subliminal sediment of molten mozzarella. One slice is enough to stop you in your tracks. Two or more is tempting fate.

Later, when you walk out of Masa and find yourself not in the wind-blown lakeshore cold of Chicago, but in the balmy begonia-scented night of Echo Park, you can't help but think: "who says you can't have it all?"

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• WHAT: Chicago-style deliciousness at Masa Of Echo Park
  
• WHERE: 1800 West Sunset Boulevard, LA 90026
• WHEN: Mon-Thu 11am-11pm; open til midnight on weekends
• $$$: $14 for a small pizza (that will feed four -- ka-ching!)
  

Highway to the Taco Zone

Submitting food for an LA-based blog is a risky proposition. Asking Angelinos where to get a decent taco will undoubtedly lead to a messy condiment war where delicious salsas end up anywhere but our mouths. This, my friends, is a tragic waste. Don't stubbornly stick to your preferences, let IntrepidLA guide your taste-buds. Submitted for your approval as some of the best damn comida this town has to offer is: Taco Zone.

I first learned of this taco mecca through none other than comedian Aziz Ansari. When Ansari sidetracked a Q + A session question about the best piece of advice he’s ever followed to reference Taco Zone, I took note.  When he mentioned it in every other interview he’s done, I got in my car and prepared myself for meaty goodness.

I was not disappointed. Taco Zone makes its home off the Von’s parking lot near Sunset and Alvarado. Do not be fooled by the cart’s humble set-up, for it conceals the great wonders within. The range of fillings is fairly wide, and for a newcomer to authentic tacos, full of cow body parts that I was not aware could become meats.

Once you bite in to their sublime creations, however, you will wonder how you ever ate any other tortilla-based food. The cabeza is so tender you'll forget about the word’s translation. The lengua is supremely flavorful, and the asada is seriously satisfying. Aziz has been kind enough to share another off-menu secret with the taco-loving community: get a mulita. This mini quesadilla is perfect for those who demand cheese with every meal.

Throw on some onions and cilantro, mix yourself up some of the red and green salsas, and you will be in taco paradise. There’s no seating, but you will be too busy joyously smiling at your friends, finally knowing how Patton Oswalt felt in Ratatouille, to care.   

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• WHAT: Unbelievably good tacos

• WHERE: Alvarado and Montana in Echo Park 

• WHEN: Open from 8:30 PM to 3:00 AM, 4:00 AM on Fridays and Saturdays

• $$$: About $1.00 a taco (?!?!??!), $2.00 a mulita

So You’ve Decided to Travel Back in Time!

Time travel is no joke.  Sure it can be fun to hang out with an eldery scientist in a mall parking lot at 1 AM, but make no mistake, temporal displacement is srs bizness.  One anachronistic slip up and you’ll find yourself fading from reality while the town bully sexually assaults your mother (which is doubleplus ungood because that was your plan to unite her with your father… you sick weirdo).

So if you’re planning a visit to the past or the future, make you sure stop by the Time Travel Mart in Echo Park where you can prep for your trip with products like Viking Odorant (“for the viking who cares how he smells”) and nano-bots (!!!).  Beyond the jokey little knick-knacks you’ll find there, this weird, funky little storefront is worth visiting solely for the amazing screen prints advertising different historical periods in the style of 1920s travel posters.  This one is by far my favorite.    

But it gets even better:  The Time Travel Mart is home to 826LA East, the non-profit headed by Dave Eggers, author of Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and one of the founders of McSweeny’s Magazine.  826LA runs free creative writing workshops for the kids of Los Angeles.  The workshops are led by volunteers from the community. Hey, even you! could volunteer if you wanted, e-mail 826LA at iwanttohelp@826la.org for some info on volunteering.  And of course, all the money you spend there (which you know you will, because who doesn’t want a goddamn raygun?) will help fund their programs.

Also make sure to visit their events page for upcoming fundraisers they might be holding.  These are usually awesome and have in the past featured guests like Sarah Silverman, Bob Odenkirk, Judd Apatow, Michael Cera and any other comedians you probably like (in this century at least). 

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• WHAT: Fun knick-knacks & amazing creative volunteering opportunities at The Time Travel Mart (part of 826LA East).
• WHERE: 1714 West Sunset Boulevard, 90026.
• WHEN: Open 12 - 6 PM every day.  Consult the website for volunteer workshops.
• $$$: $5 - $20 for most items.  But volunteering to help kids... that shit is priceless.