Well It’s a matter of degrees. Dommy grew up in a Yucatecan Household. Some of the things which are better elsewhere are made by her mother. These things are not available to the general public and the versions you’ll find a Chichen Itza are the best publicly available in LA. Some things which are better elsewhere are in the Yucatan. The best tortilla I’ve ever had by far, including comparing the tortillas at Tacos Maria etc, are the tortillas from the tortilleria around the corner from the house where Dommy’s father grew up. These are also not available in LA. I’ve also talked about the Kibi I had in a 7-11 parking lot on the road to the real Chichen Itza, Those are not found in LA. Chichen Itza offers up most of the best Yucatan food publicly available in LA. Her family has been going there [and Flor de Yucatan] off and on since they got here when Giberto Sr was running the place and not Chino. and I think Chino has stepped up the cooking there to another level.
One last note Chichen Itza almost hosted our LA Wedding reception at their now closed 6th St restaurant. Unfortunately our party was too big for the space and we had to go elsewhere.
Go to Chichen Itza. Enjoy the food and avoid the Kibis. One of these days I’ll have to ask them to cook the Octopus which everyone here who’s had it has raved about it. Oh and make sure you go on a weekend when they have the awesome Leçhon available.
Very nice and satisfying texture for the soup. Tripe is really tender. Great acid balance, nice spice. The bread that tortilla that comes with it insufficient for soaking up the goodness though.
To me, I feel it’s useful when people give context like this to their statements.
Personally, I award point to things that are publicly available in LA. I don’t totally get the point of dissing a place based on having eaten a better version of something in another city/another country/etc… For example, recently I greatly enjoyed the pierogi at Otium. I talked highly of them. I suppose I could have trashed them for not being the best pierogi I have ever eaten, since I’ve eaten some that are better across the country.
As you point out, if people are saying something sucks, and by that they mean that their mom makes a better version at their house on weekends… that’s great for them, but it’s at least a little perplexing how that is supposed to help a community of others all collectively trying to discuss and find the best food to eat that is publicly available.
But in this case, it seemed to me like the last time Chichen Itza came up Dommy said everything was better at Flor de Yucatan, which at least is available in LA lol I was surprised by the Chichen Itza rec because of that.
Off topic, but… you asked once a few weeks/months ago why people on the board sometimes have a strong negative reaction to your posts. I think it’s b/c of miscommunications like the one above, where you stated that Dommy “hated” Chichen Itza.
I just re-read the thread since my own recollection was that Dommy had stated that there only a few items she likes there and that she likes Flor De Yucatan for most everything else. And, in fact, that’s what she actually said:
I’ve been reading Dommy’s posts for years, and I’ve never seen her use the word “sucks” (or anything remotely close to that).
As for the context, Dommy had already told you in another thread that she had spent summers in the Yucatan.
When you remember everyone else’s posts as being very binary (even though they clearly aren’t), you might expect that other posters will have similarly black and white reaction to your own posts (which I generally enjoy, except when you twist people’s words around). I don’t think you’re doing it on purpose, but it does happen pretty regularly. If you want people to have a more nuanced opinion of your posts, it might be helpful to show them that same courtesy…
To me, saying I liked everything better somewhere else is the same as saying I hate the first place. I would never go eat somewhere when I liked everything else at a different place doing the same stuff.
Context seems to be relevant to me. I am sure no one on the planet hates a restaurant in a more literal sense, like they want to burn it to the ground or something. So that’s not really the type of thing I imagine the word “hate” to connote on a food forum.
Communication is messy, you can only try to elaborate on the intent when misscommunication occurs I suppose.
To me, it really depends on how MUCH I liked everything better at some other place. If the Restaurant A is a 10/10, but Restaurant B is an 8/10, then I certainly wouldn’t say I “hate” Restaurant B. I wouldn’t even say that I dislike it. I might even prefer to go to Restaurant B, if it’s way closer to me (sorry, I’m a little lazy).
If Restaurant B were like a 5/10, then I’d probably say I’d hate it.
Oh, no, I’m pretty sure there are people here (including me) who have or do hate a restaurant in a more literal sense and wouldn’t mind seeing 1-2 places burn to the ground (or at least go out of business). Although I’ve never felt that way based on the food (but more on service issues from perceived racism, etc). Don’t underestimate the power of emotions. Bwahahahahaha.
What you’re saying is probably true… but no one takes the time to say “I thought stuff at restaurant B was like an 8/10, but the stuff at restaurant A is 10/10” They just say “I don’t like anything at restaurant B, because restaurant A does it better”. Not much to work with really in practical contexts… no one would love more detail than me, but I doubt anyone else agrees with me on that hah
i have been reading this board since it started, and before that, that other place since it was just
a bunch of text on the screen. i don’t recall ever reading anything like this.
this notion you automatically dislike something solely because someone else “does it better” is foreign
to me.
messi does most things better than ronaldo, and you know what? i prefer ronaldo.
i thought it was great. while i can’t speak to what makes a great authentic bowl of menudo, i will mention that i was the only non-mexican there and every table had at least one bowl of menudo. following the lead of the person who took me there (originally from mexico city), dump in the onion, ask for an extra slice of lemon to raise the acidity, and add a lot of oregano to taste.
eat the handmade tortillas brought to the table piping hot (i saw a few folks blowing on them before eating them) with a sprinkle of salt and a drizzle of salsa.
you can watch the staff making the tortillas as well as tamales while you order. i’d go back, though if i went without my friend i’d expect to get marginalized a bit.
Not popular with Yelpers and never mentioned on Eater LA. No one on FTC but me has mentioned this place.Popular with locals. It is literally in a neighborhood and not on a commercial block.
