Tamales Elena y Antojitos

The pozole verde at Tamales Elena y Antojitos in Bell Gardens is a dish to savor in stages. Start at the baseline, with a spoonful of broth. Maria Elena Lorenzo, matriarch of the family that runs the restaurant, mixes pork and chicken in her pozole

at Tamales Elena y Antojitos, illuminates the Afro-Mexican cooking of Costa Chica, a hilly stretch along the southern coast of the state of Guerrero between Acapulco and the border of Oaxaca. The African heritage among the region’s population is

A new restaurant wants to expand Angelenos’ ideas of Mexican food and culture. Tamales Elena y Antojitos, which opened in Bell Gardens in July, specializes in food from the region of Guerrero, and is being hailed as the city’s first Afro-Mexican

fried taco synonymous with the Costa region of Oaxaca and the neighboring state of Guerrero. I remember relishing the pescadillas at the heartbreakingly short-lived Tamales Elena y Antojitos in Bell Gardens, where the Lorenzo-Irra family illuminated the

, melting beans or a revolving mix of fruits. They can easily be ordered by the dozen to feed a crowd. — B.A. 3337 1/2 W. 8th St., Los Angeles, (213) 427-3508, ordersaboresoaxaquenos.com Tamales Elena y Antojitos Our readers know the regard held by Times

, reminded me recently that her mother’s savory tamales are still the main event at Tamales Elena. She also advises against brushing off its tamales de dulce, offered in pineapple and strawberry. As noted in our Advent calendar, Tamales Elena y Antojitos will

surprise reopening of Tamales Elena y Antojitos. (I would have been very sad to never have a bowl of the restaurant’s pozole verde again.) — Finally, Brasserie Mes Amis debuts, and other restaurant news of the week from Stephanie. Hollywood’s new Brasserie

texture of the masa is almost custardy. Show up in person, or call the restaurant, to order them; there is an online menu but the tamales are never listed there. The closing of Tamales Elena y Antojitos in Bell Gardens this summer was a true loss for Los

restaurants, Tamales Elena y Antojitos in Bell Gardens. Turning to our home kitchens: Ben Mims and former cooking editor Genevieve Ko (We miss you, Genevieve!) saved us all with their series How to Boil Water. One story from Ben I particularly loved this year

Cash, Mezcalero, Chica’s Tacos and Guerrilla Tacos. The family united skills to launch Tamales Elena y Antojitos in Bell Gardens; the menu focuses on regional specialties from southern coastal Guerrero that reflect their Afro Mexican heritage. Tamales

ELENA Y ANTOJITOS Chef Maria Elena Lorenzo and her husband, Juan Irra, have been selling tamales and other dishes in the Watts community for nearly 30 years; their five children have cooked at restaurants across the city, including Rivera, Playa, Petty

. I’ll never adjust to savoring the foods of a chef at the height of his powers from behind the wheel of my parked car. But here we are. Pozole verde at Tamales Elena Y Antojitos, an Afro-Mexican restaurant in Bell Gardens. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times

Guadalupe; I’m trusting Mírame finds the audience it deserves when this crisis abates. Squash blossom quesadilla at Valle in Venice. (Pascal Shirley) On the subject of pozole: Maria Elena Lorenzo’s version at Tamales Elena y Antojitos in Bell Gardens is

Milliken and Susan Feniger (Socalo and Border Grill), Nick Montgomery (Konbi), Steve Samson (Rossoblu) and Wes Avila. To register for this free event, please go to eventbrite.com Our stories— My co-critic Bill Addison on why Tamales Elena y Antojitos is L.A