Take it from a well-fed L.A. denizen with Oaxacan roots: a visit to Expresion Oaxaqueña will lift you from Los Angeles into an oasis of the finest Oaxacan flavor.
Like any treasure in L.A., the place is easy to zip past when racing against the traffic lights, but if you’re smart enough to pull over to the side of Expresion to give it a shot, you’re not going to forget it. On a first visit with a small party, I’d recommend trying out their chicken mole.
In case you’re wondering: yes, it IS every bit as wet and chocolaty as it looks. And yes, when mixed with tender grilled chicken it IS going to dramatically alter the way you like your chicken and sauces.
On another visit with a larger party, I’d recommend the tlayuda, which is basically a little island where the sand is made up of ground beans and queso fresco on top of which there’s sprawled a little village of avocados, tomatoes, chorizo, and a bunch of other goodies just waiting to get wiped out by the waves of a furious appetite.
Again, by the time you’re done, the tlayuda WILL make you rethink about the way you like your Mexican food. It might even make you rethink about your political affiliation through some crazy food-coma induced epiphany. Or about the start of the universe.
Either way, only one thing’s for sure: as any of my friends or family could tell you, these dishes are only THE BEGINNING of what Jerry Seinfeld might call a long and meaningful relationship between you and Expresion.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: it can’t get any better. But of course it gets better.
After you’re done with your meal, sure you can wash it all down with some horchata or piña colada, but doing so would only be smart if you followed these drinks up with some of the finest coffee available in Los Angeles.
Let me put it this way. In all my years of devotedly treasuring hot chocolate, cappuccinos, white chocolate mochas, and other sweet and dark flavors, I often wondered how it was that I didn’t quite take to coffee like so many of my friends claimed to do, quietly believing that most of the coffee generally found in cafes was actually rather bitter and stale despite my peers’ appreciation for it.
At Expresion Oaxaqueña, this suspicion was confirmed RIGHT ALL ALONG. I couldn’t treasure what we generally call coffee in SoCal because I simply hadn’t had the cinnamon-rich sweetness of OAXACAN COFFEE yet!
To put it lightly, ever since I rejoiced in this splendor, my standards for coffee have significantly been updated: Basically, if it’s not Oaxacan coffee or at least within range, then it’s probably not really worth it, to be honest with ya’.
Think I’m just exaggerating?! I can assure you that if you’ve got a sweet tooth like I do, then sippin’ on Oaxacan coffee will drive your taste buds CRAZY! After all, do you think anyone who wasn’t CRAZY would ramble on as long as I have for a single drink?! Of course not. But I’m not crazy anyhow! I’m just in love with the cafesito here!
Seriously though, can someone get me a refill already?!
If you’re in the Koreatown area any time soon, don’t miss out! Rest assured, I won’t.
[…] next time I pick up another cup of fresh tejate there, then, or some chicken mole at Pico Blvd and Van Ness, I’ll think of you, Nury; of how you flew too close to the […]