Eating Adventures in Los Angeles, Part I: Taco Maria, Shibumi, and Mian
Mussels, clams, lima beans, cherry tomato and chile — a third-course on the Taco Maria prix fixe.
I may have been in Los Angeles last month for only four days, but I did some major eating in that short time. Come along for a taste.
Taco Maria
In a building inside SoCo design complex in Costa Mesa is the OC Mix, a mini marketplace of fun trendy shops and small cafes.
It is here you will find Taco Maria. Its artsy locale is fitting because this is high-concept Mexican food by a chef who used to cook at Coi in San Franciso and Commis in Oakland.
Nope, this is not your standard enchilada- or burrito-drowned-in-cheese kind of place. While it serves a la carte lunch, it turns into prix fixe-only at night. And what a fine parade of dishes you’re in for with the $75 four-course meal (wine pairings are $35 extra), which is quite reasonable for what you get.
Sitting at the counter, you are up close and personal with the cooks preparing your food.
Each course offers a choice of two dishes. So if there are two of you dining, you can order the entire menu and share tastes of everything, which is what my husband and I did. Sit at the counter in front of the small kitchen, and you can watch the cooks in action.