Every region of the United States seems to have their own idea of what comfort food is. For Southern Californians I believe that our comfort food is Mexican food. Now I'm not talking about authentic Mexican like the kind you would find in say...Mexico. I'm talking about the greasy, cheesey, lardy, combination plates and burritos kind that you find all over Southern California. The kind that we Southern Californians were raised on.
As a kid growing up in Manhattan Beach my friends and family had two go to Mexican establishments, El Sombrero and El Tarasco. Both great and both places are full of memories and good times for me. I can't tell you how many times I came up from the beach without a shirt or shoes, covered with sand, to eat chips and salsa at El Sombrero. It's amazing that they didn't mind that salty, dirty, sun-tanned kids took over the restaurant on summer afternoons.
My wife, who is from San Juan Capistrano, was also blessed to grow up in a community with fantastic Mexican restaurants. In fact we had our wedding reception at one of these San Juan institutions, El Adobe. I can't tell you how exciting it was for me to eat enchiladas at our wedding.
On birthdays and other special occasions my family would go to Arturo's in Harbor City. Arturo's is where my mom went with her parents growing up. When my wife and I moved to Old Torrance we needed to establish new local Mexican restaurant traditions. Luckily, Arturo's is just a few miles away from the Casita. What was an old family tradition for me now has become a new family tradition for my wife and me.
No comments:
Post a Comment