User:Bigsleep/Esdras Ochoa
Esdras Fide Ochoa (born December 18, 1981) was born in Mexico City and grew up in the US/Mexico border towns of Mexicali and Calexico. After graduating from The Art Institute, Ochoa worked in Southern California's fashion industry and the casino business before starting a popular taco stand in downtown Los Angeles, cooking northern-Baja inspired al pastor tacos in 2009 (part of a movement of chefs "re-imagining the taco"[1]). Ochoa later opened his casual dining restaurant Mexicali Taco & Co., the Mexican barbecue restaurant Salazar, and appeared as a semi-finalist on the Netflix cooking show, Final Table.
Esdras Fide Ochoa | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 18, 1981 |
| Education | The Art Institute |
| Culinary career | |
Current restaurant(s)
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Television show(s)
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| Website | www.mexicalitaco.com |
Early Life and Career[edit]
Ochoa was born in Mexico City and grew up in the Mexican border town of Mexicali. In Mexicali, with its large population of ethnic Chinese in Mexico[2], Ochoa observed the use of soy sauce to marinade carne asada by the taqueros[3]. A technique he would later incorporate into his Baja and Sonoran inspired dishes.
During the recession of 2009, Ochoa was laid off, and with a wife and two small children to support, he decided to open a taco stand on a parking lot on First and Beaudry at the edge downtown Los Angeles[4]. Through early reviews on Yelp and food bloggers, Ochoa's taco stand became a hit and he would form relationships with customers that would lead to his later restaurants.
In 2009, Esdras started Mexicali Taco & Co. as a catering company before partnering with Paul Yoo in 2012 to open a brick and motor location in Los Angeles' Chinatown, before opening a second location in the San Gabriel Valley in 2020[5]. Two years later, the original Chinatown location was included in The Los Angeles Time's 101 Best Restaurants list.[6] Ochoa's next restaurant, Salazar with partner Billy Silverman, launched to critical acclaim when it opened in 2016 inside the revitalized Los Angeles River adjacent neighborhood of Frogtown[7]. Inhabiting a former auto body shop, Salazar brought Sonoran-style desert barbecue, cooking vegetables and proteins on a giant Santa Maria-style grill, with a picturesque dining area mostly outside. The Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic, Johnathan Gold, in his review of the restaurant, noted Ocha's use of flower tortilla verses the more well known corn tortilla, and the unusual choice of soy sauce as a marinade component in the carne asada[8].
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References[edit]
- ^ Wang, Andy; Wang, Andy (2020-10-19). "How Esdras Ochoa and a Creative Band of LA Chefs Are Reimagining the Taco". Robb Report. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
- ^ "The Chinese-Mexican Cuisine Born Of U.S. Prejudice". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
- ^ Wang, Andy; Wang, Andy (2020-10-19). "How Esdras Ochoa and a Creative Band of LA Chefs Are Reimagining the Taco". Robb Report. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
- ^ "Esdras Ochoa's Crew Keeps Building Their Next Great LA Taco Spot". Zagat Stories. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
- ^ "About - Mexicali Taco - Los Angeles - Baja Tacos". mexicalitaco.com. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
- ^ ballots.latimes.com https://ballots.latimes.com/lists/101-best-restaurants-jonathan-gold-2014/. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Src='https://Www.gravatar.com/Avatar/D41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e?s=80, <img Class='guest_author_avatar Avatar' Style='width:20px;height:20px'; d=mm; Rodell, r=g'/>Besha (2016-09-27). "Restaurant Review: At Salazar in Frogtown, the Tacos Are Good but the Mood Is Magical". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
{{cite web}}:|first=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Facebook; Twitter; options, Show more sharing; Facebook; Twitter; LinkedIn; Email; URLCopied!, Copy Link; Print (2016-07-15). "Review: At Frogtown's Salazar, Jonathan Gold finds a Sonora barbecue joint, steakhouse and evolving tortillas". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help)
External links[edit]