Chicano egg-breakfast bliss at La Carreta in East L.A.
Gustavo Arellano, 07/29/2019
View on The San Diego Union-Tribune
Huevos divorciados at La Carreta, an East L.A. Cal-Mex classic
Food lovers have long haunted La Azteca Tortilleria in East Los Angeles for their flaky flour tortillas and oozing chile relleno burritos. It’s a righteous choice, but nearly everyone misses the gem next door: La Carreta, a small diner open for breakfast and lunch that’s been around since 1955 yet consistently functions as Guadalajara’s Atlas soccer club to La Azteca’s Chivas.
Indeed, most people mistake this Carreta for the same-named (but not related) taqueria south of downtown with the tacos de tripas that Jonathan Gold once described as “the taco to have when you’re only having one.” The Eastlos Carreta instead is a local hangout, one patronized mostly by Mexican American locals. That means that while the customers are brown, English is the lingua franca and the television flashes CNN instead of Univisión.
Though they have a regular menu of enchiladas, burritos and a fine beef-tongue plate, La Carreta focuses on the glories of the Chicano egg breakfast. The most famous dish from this strata of Cal-Mex cuisine is huevos rancheros, and they’re saucy and runny here — and just one of 14 ways to enjoy their huevos.
You can get them your way accompanied by ham, chorizo, bacon, luscious carne asada or chewy machaca. Huevos a la Mexicana are scrambled with smoky salsa; the mysteriously named Huevos Flameados — meaning flambéed — are tossed with cheese to create a sort of omelet.
But La Carreta’s best egg breakfast is the huevos divorciados (divorced eggs), which most Mexican restaurants usually serve by splitting the plate with equal parts red and green salsa. La Carreta amps up the Chicano factor by instead smothering their eggs with chile verde and chile colorado.
La Carreta usually gets overlooked by its more-famous neighbor, La Azteca Tortilleria(Gustavo Arellano / Los Angeles Times)
These are stalwarts of Cal-Mex cuisine, slow-cooked pork or beef stews drowned in a salsa that’s more gravy than spicy. Chile verde and colorado were found on some of the earliest Mexican restaurant menus in Southern California, but they’re now slowly disappearing from restaurants as immigrants bring their own culinary traditions.
But La Carreta huevos divorciados reminds you why chile verde y colorado have lasted so long. The green is perky and relishy; the red, deep-toned and thick. A barrier of chilaquiles and runny pinto beans separates the two — and, like all walls, it inevitably falls.
Pictured: La Carreta, 4538 1/2 E. Cesar E. Chavez Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 261-1365
L.A.'s street art pioneers paint a colorful history
“Art in the Streets” is also meant to be a historical show...
— Jori Finkel
Chicano: What Does The Word Mean And Where Does It Come From?
Lots of people use the word “Chicano,” but what exactly does it mean?...
— Roque Planas
A Mexican Physicist Solved a 2,000-Year Old Problem That Will Lead to Cheaper, Sharper Lenses
Yep, that looks like it all checks out....
— Andrew Liszewski
What does it mean to be Mexican-American?
More than 30 million Americans trace their roots back to Mexico - but what does it mean to be Mexica...
— Aztlan Oldies
Joe Arpaio tells George Lopez to 'go back to his homeland.'
That would be Los Angeles, by the way...
— Bill Goodykoontz
Chicano Rap Pioneer FROST Beats Cancer & Open Heart Surgery
This is for The Raza...
— Aztlan Oldies
Baby Bash & Frankie J Take a Look Back at 2003 Hit 'Suga Suga'
Chart Rewind interview...
— BILLBOARD
'A LIGHTER SHADE OF BROWN' - REMEMBERING RAPPER DTTX
Bobby was a Latino rap pioneer...
— Aztlan Oldies
Every Single Thing You Need to Know About Mexican Street TACOS
The Most Common Street Tacos and Their Origin...
— wikipedia
Carnitas, Deliciosa Receta!
Como Hacer Unas Deliciosas Carnitas, Receta Paso Por Paso...
— Chef Rogelio Lara
Can Menudo Really Cure a Hangover?
Menudo for the crudo....
— LATINLIFE
What Goes Into a Tamale?
More than 9,000 years of social, cultural and religious history combine to wrap up one of Mexico and...
— NATE BARKSDALE
Discada norteña
The dish popular in the northern states of Mexico...
— Mely Martínez
Officials looking to curb cruising on Whittier Boulevard once more
ENFORCEMENT ALONG WHITTIER BOULEVARD...
— BRITTNY MEJIA
Andy Ruiz Jr. TKOs Anthony Joshua to claim heavyweight titles
Ruiz scored one of the biggest upsets in modern heavyweight history...
— Brian Campbell
Be You: Sailor Gonzales
Camaraderie, jam skating and representation in the roller derby community....
— BESE STAFF
Cuco Redefines The Role Of A Teen Idol With 'Para Mí'
Cuco is unlike the perfectly coiffed — and usually white — teen idols of yesteryear...
— Miguel Perez
Chicano groups are embracing undocumented immigrants. It wasn’t always this way.
New alliances are forming in the face of racism and an unprecedented political moment....
— Gustavo Arellano