¡Loteria Grill! Westlake

¡Loteria Grill!

180 Promenade Way

Thousand Oaks, CA 91362

Though I'm of Mexican descent, I'm so far removed from Mexico that no one would ever mistake me for being anything other than what I am-a white guy that tans well. In my younger days, I would be asked if I spoke Spanish, but my parents grew up in a time when speaking Spanish in school was frowned upon, so my grandparents didn't really teach them. My parents don't speak Spanish, and I only know what I learned in my high school Spanish class.

Growing up, I didn't really feel the need to eat Mexican food, and so I really didn't. My Mom was pretty good in the kitchen, but her mother wasn't, so she didn't really cook Mexican food particularly, nor did her sisters, so I don't have that comfort food association of Mexican food that some people have when talking about their mother's specialty. So Mexican food was nothing special. My dad liked crunchy tacos, so going out for Mexican food was a place that my Dad liked in East LA that served big, fat crunchy tacos with shredded beef, lettuce, cheese and tomatoes, with so much grease that it would drip down your arm. It was good, but not special.

When I was in my late 20's, I had a girlfriend who was a little older than me and made more money. I'd take her to eat, but that meant going to funky, cheap places like the Apple Pan (which is still there and still has no website) out on the Westside, Tommy's on Beverly and Rampart or if I had a bit more money, Gorky's in Downtown. But she had more money and had a been around a bit, so she could and would take me to places we couldn't go to on my budget. She was the one who took me to Tamayo's, an art gallery/restaurant that was only 10 blocks from the barrio that my mother grew up in. I remember looking at the menu and thinking that there were places in between there and my grandmothers where we could get the few dishes I recognized for half the cost. Up until that night, I had no idea that people would pay that much money for gourmet Mexican food-it hadn't occurred to me that Mexican food would be served in a 'fancy' restaurant.

I'd like to go into vivid detail of what I ate and how good it was, but honestly after almost a quarter century I don't remember. What I do recall is that it was pretty early on in our dating, and I was intimidated that she wanted to go out with me, and I was intimidated in the restaurant itself. I also remember that whatever I had was really good, and the margarita I chased it down with was excellent. We dated a for a few years, so if my nervousness showed, it didn't bother her. I really need to eat at Tamayo's again some time.

Wanting tacos in Westlake Village on a Friday night, I saw ¡Loteria! and remembered reading about their location in the LA Farmer's Market and how good it was, so I walked in. They brought me a menu and some chips, and the first thing I noticed was that this was not going to be the dollar tacos I had "Taco Tuesday" at the Oxnard Whole Foods Market-not that those were bad, and I'm going to have to write about my Whole Foods obsession soon. Tacos at ¡Loteria! are almost four times that cost, so the question becomes, "Are they worth it?"

I was going to get the Carne Arrachers plate, but the waitress recommended the tacos carne arrachera, which she said was pretty much the same but $8 less, which made sense to me. I ordered a beer, which I sipped while waiting. The chips were fresh and the salsa seemed to be a smokey tomatillo, but I can't be sure. It had a bit of heat, but not much.

The the tacos came out. Small pieces of beef on hand made tortillas, smothered in onions and cilantro, it smelled delicious. White rice and black beans filled out the plate. I started with a bite of the beans. I could taste the bacon, which added to the flavor. Then I tried some of the rice, which had a hint of cilantro and some other flavors. Both the beans and rice had unexpected tastes which made them better than what I expected.

Then it was time for the tacos. The beef was tender, with a hint of lime and a taste of beer. The tortilla was moist, and the onions and cilantro were freshly chopped, making for one great taco. And the best part-there were two more after the first. As the tortilla collapsed under the weight of the beef, I discovered that it all tasted better if I could balance some beans, rice and a bit of beef on my fork and get them all into my mouth at one time-that was delicious! A bit of Mexican beer, and it turned into a really great meal-reminding me that the cuisine of Mexico is more than a dollar taco.

It was expensive, but worth the cost.

On a side note, I was eating there toward closing time, and one by one the kitchen staff came out with meals and ate them at the counter. I thought that pretty cool.