Petty Cash Taqueria - Los Angeles

Petty Cash Taqueria had such potential. A petty amount of cash to spend on street tacos on our way up to Griffith Observatory was just what we needed to set the mood for the Star Party. Unfortunately, this experience was anything but celestial.

I wasn't aware that it was traditional to serve just one person at a time, but I can't think of any other reason for them to serve only one of our four cocktails, then the appetizer, followed by the remaining three drinks. The ice in the first drink was mostly melted and the appetizer finished by the time the other three drinks arrived. I have no idea where this tradition came from because I've ever met a Mexican person that rude.

Maybe they wanted us to drink after the appetizer so that we could forget about the lackluster Pig Ear Nachos. A single layer of maybe 12-14 chips, drowning in a slurry of sour cream, with a half-cooked (runny white...ewww) egg was about as pleasant as 6 PM on the 405...Windows down...next to a motorcycle. That averages out to $1 per chip, btw.

Unfortunately for us, the round-robin eating game never stopped. Only one side of the table can eat at any given time is the only rule I gleaned out of all this. The opposite side got their Al Pastor and I watched them eat it because it was starting to get cold. Then they watched me chow down on my Carne Asada, charred chunks of steak dampened by bland beans and guac that wasn't quite ripe.

Then it was their turn again, with the waiter unceremoniously waving yet another tiny taco, shouting "Mushroom!?!!? Mushroom!?!? Who had the mushroom!?!?!!" I'm sure it's hard to keep the orders straight when less than a third of the restaurant is full. My turn! Pork Belly Carnitas, as soft as expected, but totally forgettable.

The other side gets another generic, and then my long-awaited Octopus arrives. This one is good. Really good. Tender, ten-tastic chargrilled chunks with chile and lime which I would have enjoyed more had I not been choking on the ridiculous service.

Wow Petty Cash Taqueria, you are everything I despise in restaurant form. A perversion of street food, you take a culinary unifier, something affordable to and enjoyed by all, regardless of class or race or means, and turn it into an abomination. Some would argue that the significant inflation in price is for the service, but I've had better from every single food truck or street corner stall. Congratulations, Petty Cash Taqueria, for creating the most insulting homage I've ever seen.