24 Hours Eating Street Food in Los Angeles YouTube

Not all great food starts in a restaurant. Some of it starts in parking lots, on sidewalks, in someone's driveway, before the sun comes up, before the traffic, before the noise. Just folding tables, coolers, smoke in the air. Today we're spending one full day, from sunrise to the last taco at night, with the people who feed LA, because they chose to. No investors, no backup plan, just bet on themselves. It's barely light out, they're already open. No music, no crowds, just regulars who know where to be before work. This isn't the glamorous part, it's setup, it's quiet sales. It's people grabbing breakfast before the day gets heavy. If you're here at 5 30 a.m, we're serious, and so are they. Yeah, they're homemade, every single day, that's hard work. By the time most of us wake up, half the work is already done. I have a thing for gorditas, gorditas de chicharron, huevo con opales, con camarón, con mole. By 8 30 a.m, it smells like breakfast, and you see something you don't see enough anymore, abuelitas running the kitchen. The abuelitas back there, they have been doing this for years, same moments, same timing, no wasted motion. Slower is always faster. You know, love, spirit. I mean, we cater to the working class. We use chile morita for chicharron rojo, and for our slayer salsa. Freshly toasted, and we also use this for chicharron rojo. You know, people do come for gorditas, but they can also come and get some great flan. We make the mix here, everything homemade, like I said, and this is the finished product, what you get. To prove to you guys that it's cooked perfectly, Silvia, thank you, here you go. All creaminess, look at that. Come on, man, are you serious? That looks pretty good. Sorry, I couldn't wait. Oh, yeah. Oh, it is creamy, yeah. Look at that look right there. She is guilty of making this. You know, I pretty much post everything, how I make everything on Instagram. The only difference is, I have people that are willing to put in the love and effort. We make it through with consistency, so, you know, that's our secret. Chicharron rojo, carnitas, eggs with nopales, mole con pollo. This isn't trendy food, it's dependable. Every day, chicharron is made every day. I mean, we were just making rajas in the back right now. All right, moment of truth. Everything we prep is pretty much from the day before, if not the day of. We're truly blessed, we're super busy, people really love us. Here we're open from 8.30 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, and Fridays we're open until 8 p.m. This is our tres leches cake. Look at that, yes, sexy. When you have made the same thing every morning for years, it shows. The early crowds keep coming back, because the abuelitas don't miss. And that kind of consistency, you earn that. Any time of the day is a good day to have a gordita. This is how he started, on a motorcycle. No trailer, no big setup. Just riding through neighborhoods with everything strapped on. And I told him, he said, look at this. What do you sell here? You have everything, right? Yes, we sell tocho morocho. A corn, but well prepared, well loaded. Okay, a corn with tocho morocho. With tocho morocho. Tocho morocho is with everything, you know? With everything it has. Simple and simple. You take your mayonnaise. Yes, yes. A load of mayonnaise. So that everything else sticks. The cheese. Chilito. Hey, how nice. And then, look at the colors. The cheese is not falling off. And that's because he put a lot of mayonnaise on it. This corn does taste good. These teeth were made for corn. They are corn. Oh my god. Hey. Yes. Now he's got a full trailer. A bigger operation. But during the week, he still rides. Because you don't forget your roots. Elote is simple. Corn, mayo, cheese, chili. But it's the movement that makes it special. He doesn't wait for customers. He finds them. Fruit stands are everywhere in Los Angeles. But every now and then, you run into one with a story behind it. Alejandro is known around here as El Ninja. Not because he sells fruit, but because how he cuts it. Over the last few years, fruit vendors have started turning preparation into a performance. Fast hands, sharp knives, clean cuts. But Alejandro was doing it before anyone else. Now, he's got help. Vamos a ponerle sandia, piña, honeydew. Le vamos a poner también papaya, naranjita, un poquito. El pecinito. When you come here to El Ninja, you don't just get fresh fruit. You get a show. And look at this, guys. And then he got his special chamoy. And this is what I always get. ¿Cómo fue que te hiciste tan famoso? Cuando empecé a hacer las redes. Cuando empecé a hacer tiptoe. Tú tienes a la gente ahí embobada, mirándote cómo es que lo haces. Sí, pues la gente dice que les causa como una relajación. Que les gusta ver cómo pica uno la fruta. Así es como nos comentan, pues. Oye, entonces, ¿por qué fruta? ¿Por qué no tacos, elotes, o algo más? ¿Por qué fruta? Porque cuando yo llegué aquí a este país, empecé a trabajar con mi compadre. Él vendía fruta. Y ahí fue donde, pues, aprendimos el negocio. Ya después, este, conocí a mi pareja ahí con ellos. Y ya nos salimos de ahí. Y, pues, decidimos vender fruta. Lo que ya sabíamos hacer. Y dije, pues, vamos a darle. Most people walk up to a fruit stand thinking it's simple. Just fruit. But here, almost everything is homemade. Even the chamoy. Alejandro wouldn't give us the recipe. But he did tell us one thing. It starts with hibiscus. It's not spicy on its own. But once it hits the lime and the chili powder, that's when it becomes addictive. And that's the thing about fruit vendors in LA. People don't just stop because they're hungry. They stop because someone took something simple and made it their own. ¿Cuántos puestos tienes de estos? Eres, literalmente, el sueño. ¿Cómo te sientes? And when the sun really starts cooking, you look for Marvin. Around here, he's known as the coconut guy. One swing. Maybe two. Then he cracks it open and scrapes out all the meat. Ten bucks gets you two coconuts. First, you drink the water. Cold, sweet, exactly what you need in the middle of the day. A little tajín, some chamoy. Now it's something else. People don't come here because it's fancy. They come here because it's fresh. Because it's fast. Because it cools you down. And honestly, there's something about buying food on the streets. You see it being made. You talk to the person who made it. For a minute, you slow down. Drink the water. Eat the coconut. Then, go back to the day. And then, this. Oysters. Cooked at home. Father and son. You say you're gonna have some for me? Yes, yes sir. Raw ones? Raw ones. We got this mignonette that I created just for you. Green apple mignonette. I extracted the juice from green apples. I cut up green apples. And I finish it off with cilantro and shallots. Best oysters you could get. Finding a bay straight from Colombia, British Canada. Usually, every oyster bar kind of goes for warm water oysters. But we prefer the best. We want to give you a good experience. Something unique. Beginning, I won't lie, it was hard. But it's basically muscle memory for me at this point. I want you to try this first. Just straight like this. Green apple cilantro mignonette. So good. Yes, it's perfect for a refreshing day. Especially refreshing. And healthy. B12s, omega-3. It has so much nutrients that you feel good immediately. It's proven well facts that once you eat it, you feel good immediately. So this is our new oyster shooters. We created this from scratch. I can already taste the flavors of that. You get a little hint of red onion, the cilantro, the cucumber. You guys recommend chewing it or swallowing it? It's pointless to eat an oyster and just shoot it back. You have to chew it. I highly recommend it. It's the only way. So you won't get the nice brine that comes from straight Canada, the North Oceans. It's beautiful. So, don't swallow, chew. Yes, perfect. All right, so we got a delivery for three dozen right now. Three types of chargrilled oysters and we'll do some raws as well. All right, the savory garlic, reds original and the shrimp, right? Yes. All right, correct. They shucked in themselves. I went to culinary school. One of the recipes that I first learned was Clams Casino. Reeled in themselves. No middlemen. This one right here is our reds garlicky chargrilled oysters. We call this one oyster bomb. Full of flavor. All the rest are more textures. None of the bacon bits. This is all freshly made today. Flames flare up. Char, garlic, special sauces, smoke. That's what's perfect about these shells. It just keeps it insulated. Anywhere we deliver to, it's like the cheese is the natural cover and traps all that heat underneath. I didn't create this. This is a dish that's been existing since I think like late 1800s in New Orleans. So, this is a Louisiana recipe. I just put my spin on it. You don't expect oysters to come from a driveway. And then they load up the car and deliver them. It just seems like the word street and oysters kind of don't go together. That's what we want to do so different that we're going to change it up to make it. When you hear street oysters, you think automatically Red's Oyster Bar. How do people react when they see oysters being grilled? We have some have customers went to Louisiana and they're like, we only see this in Louisiana. We have not seen this here, New Orleans. And that makes us so happy because it's authentic. You only see Red's Oyster Bar on the street, grilling it up. And people are just so blown away, especially if they never tried it. It's amazing. We feel good about what we do. And the fact that it's you and your dad, man, that's so cool. People are like, do you have any siblings? Is it only you and your dad? I'm like, yeah, it's just family based. It's me and my dad. When we do events, my mother helps a lot. She's the cashier and speaks to the people and advertises. But overall in the kitchen, me and my dad are knocking it out. I'm the shucker and the cook sometimes. And it feels good, me and my dad doing it. I'm so thankful. It seems like you guys are doing it, but you're so passionate about it. Seeing how my dad was so driven to make something out of nothing, it made me realize we have something good. And it just puts a fire in my heart. And I love it. I put my heart into this and passion. You could taste it in the food. What's up, man? Get the party, bro. As you guys are having beer, I'm right off the grill, guys. Oysters are handed out. Red Oyster Bar. This is how something spreads. One house at a time. So it's crazy because like I don't, I haven't enjoyed oysters my whole life. Guy says he doesn't like oysters. He's always the one guy. I don't even like oysters. I'm gonna try. Let's see something new. So we got the succulent shrimp right here. We got savory garlic. Yes, sir. That looks lit. You know we're gonna mix it up. What do I do? So usually I always tell customers you gotta mix the bread with the oysters. I would get the shrimp and then you can get the edge of the bread. Kind of scoop it up in there. Don't be shy with it. Hey, yeah, man. He takes a bite. I'm about to put a baby in Julie right now. When you can change someone's mind in one bite, that's real. This isn't white tablecloth dining. This is oysters in the neighborhood. Let that breathe. It's good, man. The shrimp was bomb. This is real. It's a real reaction right here. Let's get it, bro. In a real way. Man, give me another piece of bread, bro. Well, I'm like, babe, you gotta try this. The savory garlic. I love it. Look at this. Oh, wow. That's a nice little cheese pull to it. A six blend, six cheese blend right there. Wow. Look at that. Look at that oyster right there. Big bite. That's what I'm talking about. That's a queen. That's a queen pin bite. Thank you for coming. One of the coolest things about driving down the street. You can find stuff like this. Big Mike has been in the same spot for 12 years. Got ribs, chicken. Everything is always fork tender. As you see, it's coming right off the bone. The ribs are doing the same thing. You know what I'm saying? Got this homemade mac and cheese back up in here. Same trailer. Same smoke. Same socks. Not really. Almond wood burning slow. We do everything homemade right here. You know what I'm saying? So we try to keep it real nice and tender. Yeah. He sells one plate. Ribs, sausage, chicken, beans, smoked corn. 20 bucks. No special orders. Unless you're booking him for your 40th birthday. We love messing with the community for sure. So I live right around this block right here, right down the street. We do a lot of stuff with the community. Toy drives throughout Christmas time. Candy giveaways in Halloween. You know what I'm saying? So yeah, all types of stuff. Barbecue takes time. And so does trust. Deep dish. Out of someone's home. And yes, it's legit. It's called Amico Permit. Micro Enterprise Home Kitchen Operation. That's how he runs it. Hello, this is Danziger's Chinatown Pizza. All righty, sir. So how'd you hear about us? I'm on Instagram. Instagram, right on. My wife sent me a... You guys did a video with... Mexipapa? Yeah. Yeah, I seen it. And I was like, oh, we gotta try it, man. Right on. Well, I appreciate it. Have you ever had anything like that? I know. First time? All right, let me know how you like it. I will. All right, have a good one. Thank you. So my family has been doing it for over 50 years. My uncle had a restaurant in Chicago. We had one in Merino Valley. I worked there all through my high school years and stuff. And my uncle decided to close his up just due to some family stuff. And he was just ready to retire. So basically, I really just didn't want to see the family history die, you know, totally. So I had an idea to do it out of my house. So here we are a year and a half later. LA County has came up with this thing. It's called MECOS, M-E-H-K-O. And you're MECOS licensed. They come and they inspect my place. They make sure that I'm up to their standards. And then I pay them their money, their fees, yearly fees. If you want to videotape me making these pans, I got to line them with the dough. The dough gets prepped a couple days at a time. It rises about four times every time it goes in the oven. So it'll rise a couple times once I make it. Then it will rise once I do the dough balls in the fridge. And then it rises again in the pan. This particular machine right here has been in my family for over 40 years. It's the original one that came out of my uncle's restaurant. So my hours are Wednesday through Sunday. Saturday, Sunday. I usually open up around three to eight. But if you call me early and I'm sitting here doing nothing, I'm flexible. I'll make you a pizza, not a problem. You know, it's just me. So it's quality control because I'm the cleanup guy. I'm the prep guy. I'm the cook. You know, so it's just me. So there's a lot better quality control. You know, I'm not in there. I don't have employees that I have to watch, make sure that they're doing it correctly. So, you know, it's more of a of a niche. You know, it's more of a tight niche. You know, me just doing it. He makes his own sauce, every batch. 40 year old recipe right here. I'm gonna make you a pizza. How do you want it? I know it's a little controversial, but can I get pineapple on my pizza? I got something for you. Today he's making something special, a spicy Hawaiian. He's got Canadian bacon, pineapple, jalapenos, sweet, heat, heavy crust. Almost about a half a pound. We don't measure per feel. If I feel it's got enough, then we're good. Chicago stuffed pizza right here. This this last little sauce on top. 30 minutes, 30 to 35. If I'm just doing one pizza, it's 30 minutes pretty much on the dot. When my mom's family came from Sicily, you were either a barber or you owned a restaurant. And all my all her brothers and sisters, they owned restaurants. Spicy Hawaiian. There you go, sir. Ready to go. Cheers, my friend. Look at that, man. Amazing. Delicious. And then tiramisu. When someone cooks for you out of their own home, they care about what leaves that door. Yeah, you never see that. You know, it's always like picking up at a restaurant. You never see someone making pizza out of their home, you know, and come picking it up. So I wanted to give it a try. Ordered the meat lovers and then I ordered the, I think the special that you have. Yeah, special. Yeah, I made the special with no green bell peppers. So two pieces of tiramisu. Yeah, and tiramisu. So, you know, I'm anxious to try it out. You've got a good product, you know, especially returning customers that are still willing to come to your house. Some people, they're, you know, they're a little leery about it. You're coming to somebody's house to get a pizza or you're coming to somebody's house to get food, you know. Them feeling comfortable enough to come to your house and try your food is pretty satisfying. So you can order two ways. You could either call me and then we just find you a time slot that works for you and me. And then I'll send you my address and then you just show up at the time slot that we've chosen. Or I have a ordering website, which is called Goldie. You can find it on Yelp or Instagram. And there it's the same thing. You just go, you follow the prompts and you pay through there. Goldie is going to send you my address an hour before and then you just show up here the time that you've chosen. The only difference between ordering through me and Goldie is there, of course, you could put your credit cards in. With me, it's either Zelle or Cash. As the sun goes down, the stands go up. This is the reset for the night shift. When other cooks finish their day, this is where they eat. Enda says everything. Every time I land back in L.A., this is my first stop. Asada, Al Pastor, all together, Burrito Campechano. Thank you for the assist. Now, now, follow me, watch this. I've been waiting all day for this moment. Yo, nunca he mirado a nadie enojado comiendo tacos. Todos también contentos. Si tú tuvieras que ordenar un taco, tú, ¿cuál taco sería? Uno de cada uno, pa' probar de todo. No, pero tú, tú tienes que coger uno. ¿Cuál sería? Uno de Pastorcito. Al Pastor. Y lo que aquí tú tienes es una experiencia también. La experiencia de, óyeme, aquí parece que estás en México, pero un estilo que tienes de Los Ángeles, aquí. Mira nomás la gente. Mira nomás la gente, todos contentos. You pass dozens of taco spots, but this one feels like home. From 5.30 in the morning to tacos on the side of the road at night, this is how L.A. eats. Out here, nothing is guaranteed. Just a grill, a folding table, and people working because they have to. Family recipes carried a long way. Flavors you can't mass produce. Food that tastes like someone's story. And the thing is, people keep coming back. Not because it's trendy, because it's good. The smoke, the tortillas, the salsa, that's the heartbeat of the city. Out here, every plate is a chance. And every customer is proof it's working. What's your resume like? Bro, Matt Barnes, Paul Pierce, Tony Allen tried it, Kendrick Perkinson. Bro, the list goes on, bro. It's barely the start of it. Low key, that's all the weed smokers, so they love it. Take that out, but I just want to say that this was fire. Thank you, papa. This is fire, man. Fire.