Got the Munchies? It’s Time for La Fiesta!
Beachhead Restaurant
Review:
By Rex
Butters
Someday, someone will write the
Official Guide to the Ultimate SoCal Beach Town Small Indie Eateries, and when
the research team hits Venice I predict they will highlight La Fiesta.
You can eat great food for two days with
the money you can carry in the smallest secure pocket in your trunks. They have
a lemonade capable of restoring your salt and sand encrusted throat back to
normal hydration. From their outdoor aluminum picnic tables, you can feast for
cheap while watching Valleyites of all directions drag their low blood sugars by
the busy intersection of Windward and Pacific, trying to remember where they
parked.
The interior of fishing
murals, pinatas, and sequined hats connects to the sun-dazed delirium of their
hometown. Their large fare board/menu over the counter neglects the breakfast
menu and other specials, so it’s good to be observant. Basically a
taqueria, La Fiesta offers soft and hard tacos, burritos, tortas, and tostadas,
all grandes, with prices ranging from $1.75-$6. Finally, a place to eat out
after filling the gas tank.
Of course,
cheap means nothing without quality, and La Fiesta finds a way to fill these
intimidating portions with captivating flavors. Case in point-the salsa cart.
After ordering, prepare your portion cups with eye opening homemade salsas
including a bright, hot, finely chopped picante, a chipotle that brings plenty
of smoke and fire, and the biggest surprise of all, a tomatilla sauce that sits
up on the tongue and says hello. Not the usual innocuous green mush for timid
taste buds, La Fiesta’s tart tomatilla comes alive, and like its sisters,
holds your tongue’s attention with a sneaky after burn.
While two veggie tacos may set you
back $3.50, they’re a full lunch. The soft chewy corn tortilla rises to
the task of hoisting a handful of savory beans, shredded cheese and lettuce,
tomatoes and creamy guacamole. The light complimentary chips form the basis of
the mountainous nachos, piled high with cheese, moist seasoned chicken, lettuce,
and the addictive beans.
The burritos
are strictly two handed, wrapped in a tender flour tortilla that, like its corn
cousin, renders dinnerware superfluous. A garden of delights, the veggie burrito
swirls rice, beans, lettuce, and guac, while the Breakfast Burrito adds
scrambled egg for a protein rich start to the day. The Fiesta Bowl mixes it all
up into a large single serving, with your choice of machaca, carnitas, al
pestor, lengua, chicken, or steak.
Besides the excellent above mentioned
lemonade, La Fiesta boasts a majorly yummy horchata, the original rice milk.
Creamier than it has a right to be, and with a surprisingly tangy, almost
cinnamony kiss, it’s a tasty version of the popular favorite.
Amenities include an ATM machine and
three pay computer terminals. Their weekday hours (10-Midnight) expand to 3am on
Friday and Saturday to offer you that late night snack that might avert the
morning after spike in your head from all that blue vodka. Remember the daily
Happy Hour: between 3-5 pm chicken and beef tacos and tamales fly out the door
for just 99¢.
Posted: Fri - June 1, 2007 at 05:34 PM