Epic! Revolutionario's North African Tacos

I really enjoyed my lunch here today. I either had or sampled the majority of the menu as well as the goat & pumpkin special and only the black eyed pea falafel was a miss. Everything else was very good and more than worthy of a return trip.

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Sweet! Glad to hear you enjoyed lunch there.

Did you try some of the homemade salsas as well? Any favorites?

I did and enjoyed them all without any real favorite as well as all of the pickled condiments.

Damn…beautiful pics. I am so there.

A few thoughts:
The tacos are amazing. different tortillas for different tacos, depending on the ingredients.
my vegetarian friends love this place too…
You must get a brik. They are incredible.
Chef zadi is amazing. he will spend as much as you want explaining his exact cooking methods or talking up politics.
And lastly, has no one mentioned the posters on the wall that zadi’s wife created? revolutionary sayings by angela davis, che, malcolm x and others with a focus on tacos as the key to their movements…

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Update 3:

Kicked off the New Year with a return visit to Revolutionario.

Cilantro Yogurt Chicken Taco:

This Cilantro Chicken Taco has been on my radar since @Dommy recommended it way back when. This time it was back on the menu.

It is fantastic! :smiley: The Chicken is tender, juicy, and has this great herbal note. Really great flavors and yet another hit with Chef Zadi! Thanks @Dommy!

Lamb Tagine Taco (Chickpeas, Collard Greens, Preserved Lemon):

There’s an awesome bold herb & spice note that is perfect with the Lamb, which is tender as well.

Goat Tagine Taco (Green Lentils, Lemon, Roasted Tomatoes):

Just awesome! It’s got this deep Goat funk, moist, soft & tender, and the Green Lentils really match well with it.

BTW, their Beef Brisket Barbacoa Taco was just another total WIN again! SO good! We devoured it in seconds and I forgot to take another picture. :laughing:

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thanks for the reminder. it went on my list for 2015 but i never got there.

Update 4:

Chef Zadi has started doing Algerian Mechoui Whole Roasted Chicken and Lamb on Weekends now! :slightly_smiling: I couldn’t wait to see what this was like so we rushed over.

Started with a few specials of the day.

Shrimp Taco (Shrimp, Pesto, Ras el Hanout, Garlic, Lemon):

Really delicious flavors! It’s slightly tart from the Lemon, but then the spice mixture and Pesto really bring it back around. Nice.

Fish Taco (Cod, Sweet Peppers, Parsley, Jalapeno, Lime):

Probably the only disappointing dish I’ve had from Chef Zadi so far. The flavors are pretty solid, but the Cod wasn’t fresh. It tasted rather like tough frozen Cod, but at these prices it’s understandable. If it was fresh Cod this would be an amazing taco based on the flavors otherwise.

Algerian Boreks (Samosas) (Winter Greens, Feta Cheese, String Cheese):

This was slightly oily, but otherwise, the filo dough made the Boreks really crispy and appealing. The Feta Cheese was a salty burst, but the Winter Greens really balanced it out.

Algerian Mechoui Roasted Chicken (Pitman Farms Roasted Chicken served on Arugula and Bread Salad with Tortillas and Charcoal Roasted Potatoes with Garlic, Parsley, and Parmesan Cheese):

The Roast Chicken was juicy and moist. But sadly the skin wasn’t crisped. The white meat was perfectly cooked (not overcooked), and the dark meat was also fine. The major weakness was that there just wasn’t a lot of deep smoky flavor. It tasted like, a nice Roasted Chicken, but nothing more.

It’s served with a side of their fresh Tortillas, so you can construct your own Roast Chicken Tacos (which when paired with Chef Zadi’s homemade salsas (at the condiments bar up front)) become really stellar.

The Potatoes were fantastic, though! Crisped, tender on the inside. Delicious. :slightly_smiling:

Algerian Mechoui Whole Roasted Lamb:

The star of the menu was the Algerian Whole Roasted Lamb. Wow! Fragrant, wonderfully gamy, real flavorful Lamb (not the bland, barely taste anything type of Lamb found in a lot of places these days). Really amazing!

Tender, fantastic Lamb! You can order by the pound, or a Medium or Large Plate with sides. Chef Zadi said you can call ahead and reserve certain portions of the Lamb if you want (we didn’t know). Next time for sure. :slight_smile:

Like the Roast Chicken, their Lamb is served with a side of their fresh Tortillas, to construct your own Lamb Tacos if you desire.

I can’t wait to go back for more of this Alergian Whole Roasted Lamb.

Note: Whole Roasted Chicken on Saturday and Sunday only, from 12 Noon and on.
Note: Whole Roasted Lamb (order by the pound if you want) on Sat / Sun only, from 4:00 p.m. and on.

Revolutionario
1436 West Jefferson Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90007
424-223-3526

http://revolutionario.com/

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As always, thanks for the pictorial report. Despite how soft the chicken skin was, those hues of golden brown on roast chicken always makes me hungry. :stuck_out_tongue:

What portion of the lamb did you end up getting?

Hi @noddles,

I forgot to ask. :slightly_smiling: But I know it wasn’t the ribs.

I also forgot to mention that for both the Roasted Chicken and Lamb that it comes with a bunch of their fresh Tortillas, so you can construct some pretty fantastic Roast Chicken or Roasted Lamb Tacos. :smile: (Don’t forget to add the various Algerian salsas / toppings from their condiments bar up front.)

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From their website/blog (which really needs some kind of UI assist), whole chicken with tortilla is $17, with fixins $24. This is a friggin bargain considering they’re using Mary’s chicken, which runs $3/lb at retail, and each bird is about 3.5+ lbs.

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I didn’t even know they had a website! LOL!! Anyway, I don’t think they use Mary’s Chicken. They did mention it being good quality Halal chicken though.

–Dommy!

Their blog post from the 9th of this month says their chicken is from Pitman Farms, which is Mary (Pitman)'s chicken.

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Not totally clear if Revolutionario is closing. Doesn’t sound like he’ll be full time up in Malibu but does he have much staff in the South LA shop?

Thanks @theoffalo.

I just called Revolutionario, and they said that Chef Zadi has an agreement to be at the new Malibu restaurant for dinners only (but not all nights).

Revolutionario will remain open (yay!), and Chef Zadi will be there for lunch and most likely cooking the stews in the morning / before opening, and it’ll still be open for dinner as well.

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Wooohooo!

Blackboard Eats has a deal right now: https://www.blackboardeats.com/sp/revolutionario-north-african-tacos-mid-city-los-angeles

BBE exclusive “Taste of Revolutionario” ($12 per person) one each of the following:

Yellowtail or tuna ceviche cup
Ras el hanout cauliflower taco
Fish taco with green harissa and shakshouka
Smoked lamb tagine taco
Duck hash taco

Tuesday-Friday only. Eat-in or take out! I don’t know if Revolutionario’s prices on its website are accurate or not, and the tacos don’t seem that expensive to begin with, but I’m pretty sure $12 for a ceviche and 4 tacos (with yellowtail, lamb, duck amongst the mix) is a pretty good deal!

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Yay! Just nabbed it!

Update 5:

Chef Zadi has been busy, adding a variety of items to his menu, including interesting takes on Breakfast (North African-style) and some more fantastic-sounding items. Time for a revisit! :slight_smile:

Fish Taco (Asian Sea Bass, Sweet Peppers, Parsley, Jalapeno, Lime):

Chef Zadi’s take on Asian Sea Bass (or Barramundi) is an interesting mix of flavors. The Barramundi wasn’t overcooked, but it didn’t have as much fat / lushness as its Chilean cousin. Overall, it was fragrant, peppery, slightly piquant and it was a nice alternative to the usual Fried Fish-style of Tacos.

Mushroom, Kale, Feta Cheese Taco:

It was great to see another vegetable-based offering, as Chef Zadi’s previous vegetarian mainstays are all excellent. The Kale and Mushroom combination was OK. It didn’t wow us like his previous vegetable gems.

Hothouse Tomato & Lemon Basil Salad:

This was excellent! It starts with great ingredients and the Hothouse Tomatoes used here are sweet, tasting of being in-season, and the Lemon Basil Pesto he makes from scratch really shines through! It’s fragrant, bright and refreshing. :slight_smile:

Ginger Lemonade:

Their new Ginger Lemonade is spicy, fresh and really thirst-quenching. It’s not too sweet, either, which is great. :slight_smile:

Algerian Roti Canai + Potatoes, Zalouk (Smoked Eggplant):

A new Breakfast item, It’s an interesting idea using puff pastry sheets to stuff it with a variety of items. It’s very similar to their previous “Briks” that they served, but these are thicker layers of puff pastry. The issue is with the execution: Chef Zadi’s kids are helping out from time-to-time, and they cooked this at the wrong temperature, as the oil was saturating this dish.

The filling itself, Zalouk (Smoked Eggplant) with the tender, mashable Potatoes, was delicious. Especially when topped with their Housemade Salsas and various Pickled Vegetables:

Algerian Roti Canai + Potatoes, Beef Brisket Bacon, Eggs:

While the outside was still too oily, the combination of Scrambled Eggs, Potatoes and Chef Zadi’s Housemade Beef Brisket Bacon was pretty tasty. It was a bit too thick for us (not as thin as classic slices of Bacon), being made from slices of Beef Brisket instead, but it worked to give it a nice twist on the classic Breakfast “Burrito.”

63 Degree Egg:

This was interesting in that they were offering a 63 Degree Egg (sort of fancy), and the Egg was just barely cooked through, still runny, with a luscious Egg Yolk.

Charred Vegetable Scramble Taco:

This was pretty nice: A quick saute of a variety of Seasonal Vegetables scrambled with Eggs. The seasoning was light (in a good way), and augmented by the Housemade PIckled Veggies (really like that “Pineapple Kimchee” that @secretasianman recommended).

Lamb Pastrami and Scrambled Egg Taco:

I was most excited by this dish when I read about it online: Chef Zadi making his own version of Lamb Pastrami! :open_mouth: It sounded better than the actual taste though. :frowning:

The Lamb Pastrami was salty, lightly smoky, and gamey, which sounds great, but it wasn’t tender enough. Then again “Pastrami” is so all over the board in restaurants these days, maybe I was expecting too much (for it to be as tender as Langer’s Pastrami). This was very meaty, had some chew, but lacked the tenderness of long cooking to make it really amazing.

But as a Lamb alternative (if one didn’t eat Beef or Pork), you could do worse. It matched well with the Scrambled Eggs (and tasted pretty nice with the Green Harissa Sauce).

Beef Brisket Bacon and Scrambled Egg Taco:

We had the Roti Canai version earlier, but wanted to see how it tasted in a more open, pure form. The Beef Brisket Bacon is salty, slightly fatty, has a nice char from the flat top, but is just too thick to be “Bacon” in my mind. It also lacks the crispiness that great Bacon has.

Signature Burger (5 oz Grass-Fed Beef, Brioche Bun (Toasted with Algerian Creole Butter), Harissa, Mayo, Tomato Jam, Onions cooked in Chicken Schmaltz, Arugula):

I was really excited about this one: Chef Zadi said this is just a test run for the Hamburgers until he can find another storefront that is focused on Non-Tacos (something outside of Revolutionario).

And the Grass-Fed Beef Patty is spectacular! The chef sources it from an old-school French butcher. It’s so beefy, gamey, aromatic, and the Onions cooked in Chicken Schmaltz is ridiculous in adding some umami taste! :slight_smile: In fact, I would say this would’ve been a Top 5 Burger in L.A. if it wasn’t for one shortcoming:

The Bun. :frowning: They get it from a local baker, so at least it’s local, but it’s too dry. It’s sufficiently airy, but really dry. Overlooking that, the rest of the Grass-Fed Beef Burger and its flavors / components are pretty delicious. If they can sort that out, then this is one Burger worth trying.

Smoked Chicken Taco:

Besides their fantastic Cilantro Yogurt Chicken Taco that @Dommy recommended, they added a new Smoked Chicken Taco. Chef Zadi smokes his own Chickens in the back, and it is stellar! Super juicy, tender, smoky, and easily the best Chicken Taco I’ve had throughout my Taco journey. :slight_smile:

Smashed Fries! (Smashed and Fried Roasted Potatoes, Algerian Creole Butter, Feta Cheese and Creole Seasoning):

This is pretty spectacular. It’s funky from the Feta Cheese, yet deeply satisfying from the Smashed and Fried Potatoes, these crisped wedges of deliciousness. :slight_smile:

On another visit, we started with:

Chickpea Tagine Taco (Spinach, Sweet Potatoes):

One of our favorites, it had been a while. It was still as earthy and soft and delicious as ever. :slight_smile:

Fried Cauliflower, Spiced Salt:

They have a new version of Cauliflower on the menu, in Taco form or just as a Side Order. It’s perfectly fried (not oily), and the Spiced Salt mixture they added on top was just right. Top it with some of the Housemade Algerian Pico de Gallo, and it’s magic. :slight_smile:

Couscous with Chicken, Preserved Lemon and Olive Tagine:

Being offered for Today and Tomorrow Only (July 2 / 3, 2016), Chef Zadi is making traditional Algerian-style Couscous with Chicken in celebration of his Birthday! We were so excited to try this.

This is the type of cooking that I fell in love with from Chef Zadi when he was in Culver City. It is fantastic! The Chicken has this real depth of flavor, the marinade he uses permeates the chicken to the core. You are treated to a deboned full Leg and Thigh of Chicken (a lot of food), on top of fluffy, perfectly cooked Couscous and the Preserved Lemon and Olive Tagine flavors are subtle, but just savory enough to dance off your tongue.

This is SO good! :heart:

I wish he opened a restaurant just focused on more traditional North African dishes in a more sitdown setting. This is worth seeking out if you’re in the mood for a delicious Tagine.

Housemade Merguez Sandwich (6" French Roll, Harissa, Mayo, Arugula):

And then we got to this: Also offered for Today and Tomorrow Only (July 2 / 3, 2016), in honor of Chef Zadi’s Birthday, he decided to make some Handmade Merguez from scratch! :open_mouth: He said he missed the classic Merguez he had growing up in North Africa and France.

And? Wow. The combination of high quality Leg of Lamb and Beef Brisket ground down and marinated with Chef Zadi’s personal recipe, it is fragrant, juicy, gamey, with just the right amount of fat and lean meat. The spiciness was spot on, and so exotic. This was better than the Merguez I had in Paris. :slight_smile:

Chef Zadi offers this in Burrito form as well (for the local crowd), but he recommends it as a Sandwich (on French Roll), and he’s already dressed it the way he likes it (he recommends eating as is, with the Red Harissa, a touch of Mayo and Arugula).

The French Roll is nice and toasty and crunchy, and the Red Harissa and Mayo mixture works.

I can’t wait to go back just for this.

I really hope Chef Zadi decides to add this on the menu permanently (along with the Couscous Chicken Tagine), but for now, it’s only served today and tomorrow.

Grass-Fed Beef Burger served Tues - Thursday Only.

Couscous Chicken Tagine and Housemade Merguez Sausage served Today and Tomorrow Only (July 2 / 3, 2016) from 12 Noon - 9:00 p.m.

Revolutionario
1436 West Jefferson Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90007
424-223-3526

http://revolutionario.com/

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who knew you could fit a 12 inch sausage into a 6 inch roll

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