Los Dorados LA

After reading about Los Dorados LA I decided to check them out. They run a small trailer and set up shop at many locations throughout the week. This location happened to be just outside of Brewjeria in Pico Rivera.

The menu is simple, only tacos dorados, which are pretty much flautas, that come in four flavors.

  1. Barbacoa (lamb)
  2. Chicken
  3. Chorizo Potato
  4. Potato

Opted for the barbacoa, chicken and chorizo con papa Each order comes with 2 flautas.

And because it was at Brewjeria, nabbed a michelada because why not?

At first glance, these are pretty gigantic flautas, definitely more “flute” shaped than most flautas I have had. They are dressed in salsa, crema, guacamole sauce, and cotija cheese.

Chorizo potato flauta was just lovely, nice delicate crunch from the fried tortilla and a creamy potato and meaty chorizo texture to follow. But the flavor was just wonderful, every ingredient coming through and the perfect amount of heat from the salsas. What I also love about these is that you literally get all the toppings and the flauta in every bite, nicely plated dish is pretty convenient to eat while getting toasted with craft beer.

Chicken flauta was pretty spectacular, spiced in a what tasted and looked like tinga. I really enjoyed the chunky pieces of chicken as opposed to most tinga I have had around town where it is stringy and overcooked. This came in the same toppings as the chorizo potato, which just tasted great.

Barbacoa flauta the spiciest of the three and came with a much more robust dark salsa. Just a just flavor all around, my only slight critique is that I wish I had more lamb flavor as the salsa was quite a dominant flavor. Still tasty nonetheless.

Overall, just another great addition to the ever growing Mexican eateries around town. Be sure to check this place out.

Be sure to check their Instagram page for hours and locations.
https://www.instagram.com/losdoradosla/

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Do they deep fry or pan fry these gems?

I believe they deep fry, I saw a bunch of fryer baskets in their kitchen so I can only assume deep fry.

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Great review @A5KOBE. :slight_smile: Definitely agree.

1st Visit:

We had heard about Los Dorados LA from a local news article around Christmas or so and couldn’t wait to try it. Great Flautas are always something I’m seeking out. :slight_smile:

Walking up to the tiny food trailer (it’s like 1/3 of the size of a standard food truck), they have a simple menu of just 4 types of Flautas: Pollo (Chicken), Barbacoa (Lamb), Chorizo con Papa (Chorizo Sausage with Potatoes), Papa (Potato).

Barbacoa (Lamb) + Pollo (Chicken) Flautas (Simple):

We wanted to try their Flautas in its purest form, and then the same ones with everything on it (their usual style), so they were happy to oblige and gave us 1 Lamb and 1 Chicken Flauta with just their Housemade Salsa, and then later, 1 of each with everything on it. :slight_smile:

One interesting aspect is that Los Dorados LA makes their Flautas with Handmade Corn Tortillas, but these are much larger than any usual Corn Tortilla you might expect from Tacos. Around L.A., our previous experience with Flautas (literally “Flutes” in Spanish), the deep fried rolled cylinder stuffed with various fillings, was that Flautas were usually Flour Tortillas cylinders deep fried, larger and more delicate, while the Taquito used Corn Tortillas and were smaller. The Chef-Owner at Los Doradas LA explained that it wasn’t always the case, and his style is considered a Distrito Federal (D.F.) / Mexico City Style of Flauta. Interesting. :slight_smile:

Taking a bite, super crunchy, piping hot. Every order of Los Doradas LA’s Flautas are fresh fried to order (awesome!). :blush: The Barbacoa (Lamb) Flauta was meaty and tender, but we agree with @A5KOBE’s experience as well, that the Barbacoa didn’t have as much Lamb flavor as we would’ve liked. It was very mild, but still delicious. :blush: With just a bit of their Housemade Salsas, this was quite tasty.

The Pollo (Chicken) Flauta was also quite crunchy, freshly fried hot, and the Chicken morsels within were delicious! Nicely seasoned, not overly salty and quite savory. Our favorite of these 2 meats. :heart:

Barbacoa (Lamb) + Pollo (Chicken) Flautas (Everything On It):

Then in a back-to-back taste test, Los Dorados LA was able to dress 1 Barbacoa (Lamb) Flauta and 1 Pollo (Chicken) Flauta their standard way, with everything on it. So in addition to the Housemade Salsas, they also add Cotija Cheese and Crema (Cream).

One interesting thing is that they didn’t give us that new darker Salsa that @A5KOBE got, but this 1st visit was from 2020 (before Christmas), so perhaps they’ve changed it up?

Regardless, their “everything on it” style was excellent: You got the immediate funkiness from the Cotija Cheese, some cooling Crema, then the crunch of the freshly fried Flauta and tender meat within! Delicious! :heart:

With the fully dressed version, we noticed the Lamb Flauta to be even more understated (what little Lamb flavor there was now dominated by the pungent Cotija). But it was still tasty. The Pollo Flauta fully dressed was our favorite. :blush:

Los Doradas LA appears all over the city, and our 1st visit was in Echo Park.

2nd Visit:

For our 2nd visit, they popped up at Overtown Brewing Co., a tiny brewery in Monrovia that I had no idea existed! Lost among commercial warehouses, when you walk up, initially it looks like you’re entering a simple 1 story warehouse office at first. :sweat_smile: But then someone takes your order at the front and you walk through the brewery to the back open patio with socially distanced tables outside.

Since we were at a brewery it felt like a good chance to try a fresh brew from them and enjoy our Flautas at the same time. :slight_smile:

Deep Amber - Amber Ale - Overtown Brewing Co.:

This was a tasty Amber Ale, venturing into Porter territory. I liked the malty Caramel notes. Pretty balanced overall and something I’d be happy to order again.

Pollo (Chicken) Flautas (Simple):

I really enjoyed their Chicken Flautas flavor the most last time, so we went with a simple version - just the pure Flautas with their Housemade Salsa - to really bask in the flavors. :wink: It was as tasty as our first visit: Freshly fried to order, crunchy, moist, tender Chicken, a nice bit of heat from the Salsas.

Chorizo Con Papa (Chorizo Sausage with Potato) Flautas:

But the surprise winner was their Chorizo Con Papa Flautas: Taking a bite, you get this beautiful Potato Puree (almost like a great Mashed Potatoes), dotted with bits of Chorizo Sausage here and there. Add on the punchy Cotija Cheese, Crema, their Housemade Salsas and you have an absolutely delicious bite of happiness! :heart: :blush:

Los Dorados LA is a great surprise: A D.F.-style Flautas specialist that delivers freshly fried Flautas for every order in a variety of delicious flavors. It’s a simple menu of just 4 types of Flautas, but they are excellent. Our favorites were the Chorizo Con Papas (Chorizo Sausage with Potato) Flautas and their Pollo (Chicken) Flautas. They change their locations every week, so be sure to check their Instagram for where they’ll appear next.

(Note: They accept Venmo, Zelle or Cash Only (exact change). At certain pop-ups, the host business (like Overtown Brewing Co.) will take Credit Card and you pay them for Los Dorados’ food and any drinks you order.)

Los Dorados LA
https://www.instagram.com/losdoradosla/

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Tremendous. Thanks.
:cowboy_hat_face:

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