El Indio Northridge

Sometimes I think the sign out front ought to read:

EL INDIO: PROUDLY HELPING DRUNKS SOAK UP THE ALCOHOL FOR OVER 30 YEARS!

24-hours a day, this Northridge taco stand buzzes with a steady stream of policemen, students, and blue collar joes. But El Indio really starts hopping after the bars close down. Everyone in the valley knows this is the hotspot for post-party tacos. I secretly enjoy eavesdropping on packs of club-hopping young men drunkenly nursing their bruised egos with a hefty side order of sour grapes, "That chick wasn't even that hot. I wouldn't have gone out with her anyways." Personally, I think they're far better off with the carne asada tacos.

I often wander up to the window early in the morning, somewhere between 3am and 6am. At this hour, when restaurants usually stick me with last night's leftovers, El Indio is still willing to freshly cook up anything on the menu. They also patiently put up with my mangled Spanish. (Please understand that all of the conversations I am about to recount here took place in broken Spanish).

The menu has the usual tacos and burritos, along with homemade sopes and gorditas. For fillings, there are the obligatory carnitas, machaca and carne asada, but nothing here is just run-of-the-mill. El Indio's carne asada never has a trace of fat or gristle. The carnitas manage to hit the perfect balance of crispy and moist, but sometimes they can be just a little dry depending on the hour. The machaca, or shredded beef, is served straight up for tacos, and scrambled with eggs for the breakfast selections. I have also found the machaca taco a tad dry at times, but it's nothing smothering them in frijoles wouldn't fix. The Milanesa is a pounded steak, breaded and deep-fried, kind of the chicken-fried steak of tacos. Again, El Indio kicks ass in this department. Their Milanesa is peerless.



Another place where El Indio rises above the herd is with their refried beans. Frijoles are such a humble ingredient, yet such a critical element for building the perfect burrito. One night I was complimenting the cook on the creamy consistency of the frijoles. I mentioned that they must use a lot of manteca. He said, "Without manteca, they're not beans." They cook the frijoles up in the biggest pot in the world.



El Indio, like Michoacan, is a very common name for taquerias. I also frequent an unrelated place called El Indio on Artesia in Redondo Beach. It's almost like saying, "Mom's Place" or "Joe''s Diner". There are three restaurants in the Valley called El Indio. There is an El Indio Azteca on Roscoe off of Tampa and another on Devonshire near Haskell in Granada Hills. Do not be confused by look-alikes. I am talking about the El Indio at 17019 Roscoe Blvd, just East of Balboa. One day I asked one of the workers, "There are three El Indios? With one jefe? One dueno?" He insisted, "There is only ONE El Indio." I asked about the ones on Roscoe and Devonshire. He repeated, a little pissed off, "There is only ONE." I asked, "Solamente?" And he proclaimed, "Solamente!".

Front to back: tacos milanesa, machaca, carne asada and buche:


El Indio's piece de resistance, the one thing that keeps me coming back 24 hours a day, is the chile relleno burrito (Imagine a choir of angels singing here). A perfectly cooked omelette wraps around the cheese-stuffed chile like a lover's embrace. The creamy fat in the beans makes them so much more than the perfect foil. If this were a Hollywood-style burrito love story, this is the part where the burrito would tell the frijoles, "You complete me." The chiles are not too hot, and there are never any seeds. Many a chile relleno has been ruined by the lazy shortcut of not scraping out the seeds. On my recent photographic expedition, I asked the cook to cut the burrito in half so I could take a picture of the beautiful inside. I was surprised to find something orange. The chile was orange. I asked the cook about it and he said, "Yeah, it's usually (he tried to think of the color in English and then just pointed at his red shirt). I said, "But it's supposed to be (and pointed at my green sweater). Chiles change color as they ripen, so really, you never can tell. I asked "Pasilla?" and he nodded. I could tell he was just humoring me. He was clearly at the point of, "Look, lady, it's just a chile. Let it go."



Amongst taco connoisseurs, El Indio is known for their fantastic buche, which is something you can't find at just any old taco stand. Buche is fried pig's stomach (although I am told that in some areas the term is used to refer to beef cheeks or throat). In spite of the fact that the flavor of organ meats is often too intense for me, I'm willing to try anything once. Buche kind of looks like pig's ears. The meat is neither soft like lengua and sesos, nor tough like cabeza. The taco tastes pretty average at first, like any old taco. As you continue chewing, the sinister gaminess of organ meat slowly rises up and carries you over to the culinary dark side. Compared to other foods I have eaten, I would say it reminded me the most of ox heart. A very pork-y ox heart.

Buche


As I was leaving, I stopped to say goodbye at the window. I asked the cook if I could see one of the chiles they use in the rellenos. When he brought out a bell pepper, I was floored. I couldn't believe that all this time it had been sweet bell pepper, not even the semi-wimpy Anaheim green chile. I'm not into sesos or buche, and now I discover that my favorite chile relleno is a stuffed sweet bell pepper? I think the Minutemen said it best:

I Felt Like a Gringo






El Indio
17019 Roscoe Northridge (Just East of Balboa)
(818) 765-9259
Open 24-hours. Cash and credit accepted.

All photos by Elise for LAist

I Felt Like a Gringo from Ballot Result by the Minutemen

Where to Eat in Northridge

The San Fernando Valley rivals the Westside and the Fairfax District in the deli department. In Northridge alone, there are three competing delis: Brent's, Abe's and Weiler's. Each one has its own fans.

Brents 19565 Parthenia St. Northridge (818) 886-5679



For a long time I was strictly into Brents, a local institution since 1967. They are definitely considered the frontrunner by most people. My friend insists their matzoh balls are the best, and that they are "the size of my head." Their pastrami and corned beef sandwich, pictured above, has to be eaten with a fork before it can be made small enough to fit it in your mouth. They open at 6am, and serve most menu items early. They are famous for their catering, and have just opened a location in Westlake.




Abe's 19626 Nordhoff St Northridge 91324 (818) 701-5563



Abe's is open until 11pm on Friday and Saturday nights, which is convenient. They used to be a Solley's, until Solley's twin brother Abe took over. Which makes this delivery truck an obvious prop. Their cream puffs are freakishly large, the deli guys are friendly, and their pastrami is spectacular. And who can resist free pickles while you wait? But even the people I met there said they chose Abe's because it was easy to get into on a Sunday morning.






Weiler's 9046 Balboa Boulevard Northridge 91325
818-892-8663



Lately Weiler's on the corner of Nordoff and Balboa has started to win me over. They opened in 1962, although they have changed locations. In spite of their un-deli-ish "country charm" decor, they do have some excellent pastrami and a definite neighborhood vibe. Servers greet customers by name and hardly anybody needs a menu. Plus they have these scary cookies that remind me of an unforgettable episode of Gumby:




Really, I am just into the sign. But admit it, you love mojo potatoes. 10340 Reseda Blvd, Northridge (818) 360-2151




A&W Seafood 9306 Reseda Blvd. Northridge 91324

A&W Seafood is known for its Hong Kong-style dim sum lunches. It may not be Monterey Park, but it's pretty darn good. The hostess alternates between being kind of angry and sugary-sweet, which I find a scary combination. Otherwise, the service is friendly, and the ambiance is refreshingly cool and elegant on a hot day.




Colleges always attract good, cheap eats and CSUN is no exception

Cupids 9039 Lindley Av, Northridge



Cupid's hot dogs can be a little bland, so I recommend you go heavy on the toppings. But the snap of the skin and the fat content are in perfect balance. The bun is soft and fresh, and the price can't be beat.


My Hero 9514 Reseda Blvd # 15 Northridge (818) 349-4255

I once walked into a classroom on the first day of class at CSUN and the instructor had written on the board:

How to survive CSUN:

1. Attend class
2. Study
3. My Hero

Their subs are first-rate, but the secret is the tomato salad. Even when I was vegan, I would just get a tomato salad sandwich. The Italian-style dressing is not overpoweringly vinegary, and the the crunch of the celery is just right.


Falafel Palace 9255 Reseda Blvd. Northridge (818) 993-0734



This is the place for vegans. They even have vegan baklava. But carnivores can feast on shwarma with all the trimmings, and it wouldn't kill you to have a falafel once in awhile. In fact, this is the place where even the most avowed meat-lover should have a falafel.


Mongolian King 9545 Reseda Blvd # 20 Northridge 91324 (818) 886-9711

Before every mall in the world had a Mongolian BBQ, I used to love the novelty of this place. Now I go there because the sauce is a million times better than the sauce at the place in the mall. They also have big, bread puffs that will burn the bejeesus out of your hands, so be careful.


Las Hadas 9048 Balboa Blvd Northridge 91325 (818) 892-7271

I always thought Las Hadas just looked like an an Acapulco's kind of office-lunch place until Frank Black told me it was his favorite Mexican place in Northridge. It turned out they have fantastic enchiladas and huge, dangerous margaritas that make the girls from the office tell you all of their secrets.


Bakeries

Delicious Bakery 9147 Reseda Blvd. Northridge (818) 349-5700



Delicious Bakery, hidden in the corner of the Vons parking lot is a secret, so don't tell anyone. This is where all of the delis get their baked goods. Go straight to the source and get your black-and-white cookies fresh out of the oven. Just look at the size of that hamantashen!


Weinie Bakery 9250 Reseda Blvd. (818) 886-7331



Hidden in the corner of a strip mall, the Weinie Bakery is the place for all things bao. They offer all types of Chinese buns and baked goods. Buns come will fillings like barbecued chicken, vegetarian tofu, and yes, they even have a roll with sliced hot dogs baked into it.


24-hour Party People

El Indio 17019 Roscoe Northridge (818) 765-9259



El Indio On Roscoe just west of Balboa, is a late-night mecca for cops and cars full of drunk partiers. Good tacos make for strange bedfellows. After the bars close down, the place fills with drunk guys nursing sour grapes about how the chicks who wouldn't go home with them "weren't that hot anyways." 24-hours a day, El Indio has killer carnitas tacos and the best chile relleno burritos I've ever had.


Yummy Donuts 7555 Balboa Blvd Northridge (818) 780-2204





Yummy Donuts has acceptable donuts, but the pan quesedilla is killer. So are the little twisty cream puffs. Plus they have sandwiches and ice cream. Where else can you get an ice cream cone at 4am?