Mai Supertacos Restaurant

 

2

2

Dylan G.

Los Angeles, CA

Just adjacent to LA Cafe I wouldn't have seen it except this was a Yelp recommend and I wandered over based on the other two reviews.  It was said better already but I'll confirm - this is the real deal and $5.10 for three of the best carnitas tacos ever produced in this city.  Hot little shack with the small menu painted on its walls in spanish taking up about all there is of the one larger wall that's not the kitchen.  Real enough that the easy going woman working there paused to have a go at following up the total in English but stalled out immediately, instead prompting me in a  friendly way me to remind her how to say the number five.  If you find yourself checking out some of the more authentic stuff downtown this is more than worth the time.  Great place!

Was wondering about name - I think I heard that "mai" is a shortened way of saying 'mami' - correct?

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0

5

michael l.

Los Angeles, CA

I moved from Huntington beach to downtown LA.

My first mission was to find my neighborhood mexican food joint. Bar none, this is key to survival. I moved away from my all-time fave Super Mex and the always epic Chronic Taco.

Mai has fit the bill. I can walk there in 3 minutes and the food is epic. and cheap.

I would have given it 5 stars but although it is about as authentic as it gets (it's basically a shack with the menu written on the walls in spanish), but NO CHIPS AND SALSA!!!????

ahhh.... I know that's an american expectation but that's what I want and expect. I want to sit and eat my chips, salsa and meal. This, to me anyway is a tasty take home place.

I still have yet to find my home away from home that I can go to every saturday for lunch, chow on some chips and salsa and grind on great mexi food while enjoying a good read.

the search continues...

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Elite '08

57

161

Steph L.

San Diego, CA

I think we walked by this place several times without even knowing it existed.  It is a *tiny* little 1-story building attached to a larger loft building on South Spring Street (The bottom floor of the building is the LA Cafe, which is good also).  

This is the BEST taco place on the planet. If you are thinking lettuce, cheese and salsa fresca in your tacos, then this isn't the place for you.  We are talking tiny double thick tortillas, with flavorful stewed chicken, carnitas or beef ladled on top of the tortillas, a simple yet generous sprinkling of raw chopped onions and raw chopped cilantro, and finally topped off with a generous ladle of hot sauce.  The hot sauce is indescribable -- the best I can do is say that it isn't like any other hot sauce I've ever encountered at a Mexican restaurant. It's super hot, a little thick, and has flecks of black from roasted chiles.  It is so hot it will make you sweat, but you won't be able to stop eating these tacos. (You can also get the hot sauce on the side, but you won't be able to resist putting too much on your tacos, trust me.)  

I find myself craving these tacos all the time (nothing matches it in San Diego). If you ever find yourself in downtown LA for any reason, definitely come by here, you won't regret it. Tacos are $1.70 each.  They are open every day -- the family and people who work there are super friendly; you can get tacos until 9 pm every day but Sunday, when they close at 8 pm (they actually start cleaning an hour before they close, but they'll still make food for you).  I have to say there are also a variety of other items on the menu, and they have specials that change daily.  The burritos are huge and tasty, but the real draw of the place is the tacos.

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