Loteria!

For Mexican Food

I wonder how many of my fellow Angelenos, they of the chocolate sauce complexion, and vanilla extraction, or those whose parents migrate from the East, and those gentle people of the South, have had fideo? Is this just a pasta known only to us Latins and we, therefore, are the lucky ones? Even as I sat there, eating a plate of it at the Loteria grill in Hollywood, I thought: would anybody enjoy this if they were to try it for the very first time? It has such a comfort feel if you grew up with it as I did and to chew it, slowly, aye! It has this subtle power, not spicy, but far from bland, it is a marinara sauce with a flamenco kick. I suddenly recall East LA, uncle Herb, grandma, that house on the hill in City Terrace, St. Lucy’s church, and the pan dulce man. I take my plate of fideo and I stand on top of the garage. From here, I can see the Cal State LA sign. This barrio is a strange brew of smells: exhaust, chicharrones, burnt beans, and those purple flowers growing wild in the yard. And what is that other smell buried underneath all that? Ah, the rest of the fideo in the pot! I go get seconds, of course. Growing up out here, you think about those tamales, you think about chorizo con papas, you think about menudo and posole but you cannot forget a great plate of Mexican pasta. Loteria’s fideo flat out brings it. You will eat it as an appetizer and you will look at the décor of this joint with admiration. Remember “Loteria,” that little bingo game you played as a kid, with the little cards of different images like the devil “El Diablito,” the bird “El Pajaro,” etc.? Oh, you don’t? I think it’s a Latin thing. Well, those little cards are here, anyway, grand renditions of them plastered to the wall. Talk about reminiscing! This place just does it right. And if you are smart, you will leave room for the carnitas burrito after your plate of fideo.