La Tostaderia Opens Newest Establishment on Abbott Kinney in Venice
By Michael Vallens
With Mexico just a couple hours drive down the interstate freeway, Los Angeles’ food scene is heavily influenced by our neighbors down south of the border. A staple of the Baja Mexican summer food scene, fresh Ceviche, often served beachside, cool and refreshes while satisfying your seafood cravings. One does not have to drive to Mexico to receive Ceviche, La Tostaderia has become LA’s choice for all things seafood and Ceviche.
With an already popular location in Downtown Los Angeles’ Grand Central Market, Chef Hernando Villagomez proudly opened his newest La Tostaderia location on famed Abbot Kinney in Venice. With tons of foot traffic daily and consistent bar scene, La Tostaderia seems to have that “perfect fit” feeling along with all the posh boutique stores and beach vibes.
Chef Villagomez was kind enough to chat about his humble beginnings and stressed that there were many crossroads where he felt divine intervention from the big guy up in the sky. He mentioned the time he went to look at a potential location for his first brick and mortar, and when he saw the words “Michoacán” , he felt the good lord was giving his blessing because it is actually the state in Mexico where Chef Villagomez was born and raised.
Chef Villagomez first worked on perfecting a carnitas recipe which put him on the culinary map with Villa Moreliana at DTLA’s Grand Central Market; he noticed that he could fill a niche in LA’s Ceviche and seafood scene.
With a little bit of background, I become excite to see what La Tostaderia had to showcase. I started out with a Modelo while glancing over the menu options.
Impressed with what was available for the choosing, I decided to order the Fish Ceviche Tostada and the Taco Sampler.
The Fish Ceviche Tostada is made with chilled white fish, tomato, avocado, cucumber, red onions, lime juice and cilantro. This alone would satisfy the masses. It’s truly refreshing. The fish is tender and marinates beautifully with the lime, red onion and cilantro.
The Taco Sampler consisted of a five taco options and a sample size of the shrimp Ceviche tostada.
The Gringos Taco included grilled shrimps and octopus, radish, chipotle aioli and fresnos green onions. It was spiced just right and texturally enjoyable.
The Octopus Taco was created with charred octopus, aji sauce, ginger aioli, daikon, cucumber, bean sprout, Thai basil and sesame seed; Very scrumptious with lovely Asian essence.
The Fried Shrimps Taco, a local favorite, contains wild shrimps, yellow corn tortilla, slaw, sriracha aioli, sour cream and mango relish. This taco will transport your to the tropics after one bite.
Finally, the Al Pastor is a taco that is prepared with shrimps, pineapple, smoked salsa, cilantro, pickled onions topped with radishes. A sweet and savory marvel to be enjoyed by all.
The Shrimp Ceviche Tostada has choked shrimp, cucumber, parsley, red onion, lime juice and cilantro. The perfect summer bite is found right here.
Fellow foodie Hillary Atkin, of the Atkin Report was kind enough to join in for the festivities and ordered the Mixta Tostada and the Aguachile.
The Mixta Tostada combines octopus, scallops, shrimps, cilantro, tomato, red onion, pepper, radishes, lime juice and habanero.
The Aguachile features raw shrimps in lime, cucumber, red onion, radish, cilantro with charred habanero sauce.
After this experience, I realize that there is no better place to get your Ceviche fix than La Tostaderia. Enjoy the refreshing flavors and smiling faces with the folks at Abbot Kinney’s newest and hottest culinary attraction.
La Tostaderia
1121 Abbot Kinney Bl.
Venice, CA 90291
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