Interesting. This stretch is getting filled up. The Kaarage guy now has a bento vendor next to them. I don’t think the bento stand is offering thai tea, but they are doing grilled skewers. So a possible third asian stand? Wow! I haven’t tried the bento guys yet. The kaarage was still good on my last visit a couple of weeks ago.
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How the hell did I miss the kaarage and bento openings??? Okay, gotta go visit at night…
Both are weekend evenings only. Check their IG accounts before heading over to make sure they are up that day.
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The tacos are the highlight, the karaage is pretty mid
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What meats did you like at the stand in front of Mitsuwa? I generally prefer going to the one catty corner in front of O’Reilley for their tripas and buche.
The Al Pastor is the standout, but everything else is pretty good.
Ahh, thanks. When I’m craving pastor, I usually head over to the Tacos Tamix truck on Venice and Sepulveda. Pre-pandemic, it was hands down the best pastor on the Westside. Currently, they’re still good, but not as good as before. Partially due to not having the volume they used to have. But just like the original in east LA, the marinade was on point, they knew how to cook it right and would slice fresh off the trompo with no flat top cheating. The salsa rojo was also really good, along with the condiment bar having roasted jalapenos and grilled onions.
When they first resumed after pandemic lockdowns, I noticed that if you came late or early, they would cheat with the flat top to warm up. The roasted jalapenos and onions are also not as common.
Another pastor place to try is a stand in the Ross parking lot on National and Sepulveda. These guys also don’t cheat using the flat top. Salsa rojo also solid, they also offer grilled jalapenos and onions. However I found them just a touch below Tamix when comparing both at the top of their game.
Still, I’m happy with either one.
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In front of the mitsuwa I usually do buche and suadero. Sometimes if I’m feeling really hungry I do buche suadero mixed burrito and then bang bang with the tendon from hannosuke.
Have you tried the buche at the one in front of O’Reilly? I like to get the buche and tripas there. I like their salsa a touch more too and grilled jalapenos and onions are available. They also carry the chile oil salsa but you have to ask for it.
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I have not next time I’m in the area I’ll try it out!
On that block, though, THIS will strongly compete for the “Best Total $5 Play” you can make. I give thee: The kansai vegetable gohan bowl with kakiage topping at Sanuki Sandou…
#DoNotUnderestimateTheSomewhatHiddenMenuAtTheDarkHorse
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what’s in it? is that shrimp?
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Shrimp and shredded veggies, dipped in batter and fried together.
Couldn’t help but go last night. There were three vendors last night. One had a trompo, one might’ve been Takuma’s burgers, and I don’t know what the 3rd one was serving. I went to the one w/ the trompo.
Al pastor (I don’t know if they cut it fresh or reheated b/c I was looking elsewhere), stomach, and suadero (looking at the suadero). Not pictured, chicken taco, chicken quesadilla, and the biggest piña aqua fresca you’ve ever seen.
All really delicious. This may sound bad, but I’m not quite sure I could distinguish the suadero from the stomach. One of them was a bit funkier (very subtly so) in flavor, but they both seemed to have a rather similar texture. I think they were also simmering in the same vat, so maybe that’s why I had difficulty distinguishing them? Chicken had a touch of smokiness. Quesadilla was very cheese-forward (I’m not complaining), even for a quesadilla.
$21 for dinner for two was just great. 
Although I cannot tolerate the same level of fat that I could when I was younger… ::sigh::
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lol! those paper plates remind me of my childhood. Looks yummy!
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FIFM:
“… lol! those paper plates remind me of my childhood last few lunches.”
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Yeah, I was like, “Did those paper plates ever go out of style???” 
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Was driving by this stretch yesterday afternoon and saw a pupusa vendor named Mama Amalia’s (I think I got that second part right). Is anyone familiar w/ this vendor?
If it’s the stand in front of the Vons (closer to Washington), it’s solid. I haven’t been in a while though.
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This was right in “front” of the Mitsuwa. But maybe they were trying a diff location as an experiment? I’ll try it out to report back…
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