In 2016, North African tacos caught LA’s Taco Madness event by surprise. There, Revolutionario Tacos defeated heavyweights Mariscos Jalisco, Carnitas El Momo and Ricky’s Fish Tacos. Since that time, Revolutionario Tacos’ chef Farid Zadi caught my attention through his weekend Halal Chicken and Rice specials and most recently his mention of a Hanukkah menu.
It might seem odd that a restaurant selling tacos has a Hanukkah menu. It may also seem strange that they don’t serve carne asada, carnitas and fish tacos. Instead they feature many North African specialities served as a taco or as a bowl.
Revolutionario Tacos is located on Jefferson Blvd. just west of USC. If you haven’t been there before, the place isn’t easy to find. There is no name on the building and the name on the front window is barely noticeable from the street. Only its yellow exterior makes it different from the surrounding businesses. Outdoor seating is available in front of the restaurant.
The minute you step inside, you forget that you are in South LA. There are dollar bills taped on the walls with handwritten messages and compliments to the restaurant. Ceiling fans provide the ventilation and Zadi plays homage to his heritage with the flag of Algeria mounted to the ceiling.
The regular and the Hanukkah menus were handed to me. I selected exclusively from the latter: two tacos, duck fat latkes
The complimentary toppings bar is unique and quite popular with their customers. The selections vary and include offerings such as green harissa, mango salsa or creamy habanero. The flavors are quite remarkable and worth trying. Since I was there to have the North African Hanukkah experience, I did not use any of their toppings.
Dafina is a popular Moroccan Jewish beef stew served on Shabbat for lunch. This includes rice, chickpeas, potatoes and eggs. A generous portion was served on my taco and was quite tasty. The lamb shawarma taco was prepared with a flavorful spice rub. Since the taco only contained meat, I should have topped it off with some pickled vegetables.
Maaqouda is a popular North African potato fritter. Zadi modified the recipe ingredients to make Duck Fat Latkes. In France, duck fat is commonly used to prepare fried potatoes and resulted in a latke that is both pleasurable and has an unforgettable taste. Latkes were also available topped with braised kimchi.
Sfenj are North African donuts. They are made with cardamom cream and orange molasses. Zadi makes them in-house by cooking sugar and oranges for over a week on their stove top. The donut had a crisp exterior and wasn’t heavy. The warm semi-sweet molasses topping made this an exceptional dessert and I couldn’t believe that it was only $1.50!
Beverages include soft drinks, bottled water and and fresh fruit juices: Ginger Lemonade, Hibiscus Lemonade, Mint Tea, Lychee Passion Fruit Lemonade, and Blood Orange Orangina.
Revolutionario Tacos’ prices are quite affordable and they are conveniently located near USC. My tab including bottled water was only $16.00.
On Dec. 10, Zadi coincidentally tweeted “We’re getting a fresh coat of paint and exterior lights today! Thank you for your support for the past 3.5 years that we’ve been open without any signage in a non-descript building on a sleepy stretch of Jefferson Blvd!”
Revolutionario Tacos, 1436 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007; 424.223.3526
revolutionario.com