LOS ANTOJOS
We at ELV* are embarrassed to admit that Los Antojos has been open for fifteen years and we just “discovered” it last week.
Had not Sarah Feldberg written about it as Alex Stratta’s favorite hole-n-the-wall, in the Las Vegas Weekly, three weeks ago, we still would be in the dark about this Mexican marvel.
The name roughly translates into: “The Cravings,” and it’s a fitting title.
Regardless of its “discovery” by us gringos, the fact remains that a gem is a gem is a gem, and the South Of The Border folks who love this place do so for good reason — those reasons being because the tacos suadero and the consomme “loco” and the huarache and the alambre and the al pastor and the adobo and the corn tortillas and the chicken mole and the carne asada taste just like they do in Mexico City!
As for that consomme “loco,” we would have never discovered it had not a clean-cut-auto-salesman-dude remarked to us (whilst we were shoveling mole into our piehole and grunting and groaning with glee): “If you think that’s good, you’ve gotta try the soup….it’s amazing and I get it every day.”
And he did, and we did, and he was right. The rich chicken broth is full of shredded chicken, loaded with fresh cilantro, and becomes instantly addictive from the first bite.
Oh yeah….and we defy you to tell us if you’ve ever had a better chipotle salsa or tomatillo-based salsa verde either.
This is a family-run operation, with matriarch Carmen Ruiz running the kitchen, and son Francesco Martinez working the (tiny) front of the house. She makes everything from scratch (including a magnificent dark mole), and the always-busy kitchen occupies about 75% of the restaurant’s space — giving you an idea how seriously they take the cooking of their homeland.
As for the restaurant proper, it seats about twenty happy souls at a time, and by 12:15 pm every day, a line snakes through it with folks of all stripes waiting to place their orders for what might be the best Mexican food in town.
It’s so darn good, that even if it did take us fifteen years to find it, we plan on eating at least one meal a week here for the next six months.
Our two meals for two here (with enough food for four) came to about $30 each, including a small tip. (Cash only)
LOS ANTOJOS
2520 South Eastern Ave. (at Sahara)
Las Vegas, NV 89169-1800
702.457.3505
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* Best caption of this picture of our staff wins a prize to be named later from ELV!
Restaurant reviews, quips, picks and pans-with some seriously salivating history-from the man who eats his way through Sin City every day.
July 28th, 2009 at 10:24 am
The other day, I was wondering if there were any good local “whole in the wall” Mexican joints, Taquerias, etc. in Las Vegas. It seems that there is at least one. Did you have tacos there?
July 28th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Sorry, but I can’t come up with any good caption for the “We at ELV” link. All that came to mind was “Child Star of ‘Leave it to Beaver’ Becomes Sumo Wrestler.”
July 29th, 2009 at 1:30 am
The irony of using a picture of the worlds heaviest human after he lost some weight for a story on luscious lard laden latin lunches is not lost on me. So here goes,
“Jared after his new endorsement deal with Taco Bell.”
Or…
“He just achieved another milestone and I’m so proud of him… He can touch his knees!”
July 29th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Raku’s newest restaurant competition … Mi Sumo Gordito
October 27th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
Fucking ugly torta that had only offer two bits of avocado and neither had lettuce, its cost was almost 7 bucks!! All bread was rolled, the breaded meat all greasy and only had a bit of cheese. However they have not quality on their products nor the way to treat customers. Therefore the place was very dirty including the bathroom, in any Hispanic market are served better cakes and more economical. My recommendation is do not waste your money there.