Joe Avella: Guerrilla Tacos is a popular taqueria
in downtown LA known for unique and innovative tacos.
Its high acclaim got Guerrilla Tacos
featured in an episode of "Taco Chronicles" on Netflix.
Today, we're doing the omakase menu,
a Japanese phrase that means "I'll leave it up to you"
where chef Avila and his team decide that day
what they're serving.
Seven courses!
What will they be?
I have no idea.
You'll find out when I find out.
Wes Avila: What sets Guerrilla Tacos apart from other tacos
is that we're uniquely Angelino,
meaning, like, our ingredients are pretty broad.
We use a lot of stuff that is local.
A lot of local seafood.
Like, you'll see later today,
I've brought in some local halibut.
We get sea urchin.
We play with a lot of stuff like that
but take other techniques,
using Mexican techniques, French techniques,
whatever, under the melting pot of Los Angeles
that I like to use.
That's what makes it uniquely Angelino.
Customer: This is my second time here.
When I saw this spot on Netflix,
I was like, I have to come check it out.
And I like the decoration, the colors; it's art.
And the food is art.
Customer: We were just kinda asking some locals
where we can get some really good food,
and they recommended that we come here.
We got a variety of different ones,
and I feel like each one kinda had its own kinda, like, DNA.
Its own kinda, like, vibe.
Wes: Well, we started our omakase menu back in June
as a way to let my chefs and my cooks
be able to express themselves.
We'll do seven courses.
Whatever it is that comes in,
whatever it is that we have that we're playing with,
and we'll just do something special.
On the menu, it just says "just trust us."
And that's what we mean. Just trust us.
Joe: I don't think I've ever done any sort of, like,
"Chef, surprise me" or "I trust you" sort of menu.
I'm Mr. Decision Fatigue when it comes to
going to any restaurant.
I as an adult cannot make my own decisions,
so let that adult do it for me.
The omakase menu is $75 for seven courses,
two of which will be desserts.
All right, it's an oyster.
He told me what type.
I instantly forgot.
And it also comes with a shot
that I'm assuming I drink,
so I don't know if I gotta pour it on here
or just take the hit and then drink up,
so I'm gonna do the latter. I'm gonna go boom and then boom.
No, I think I was supposed to pour that on there.
That's excellent.
First one down, and I'm already very happy.
Halibut, heirloom tomatoes, cilantro.
For him to have this window where he can kinda be creative
and do whatever he's feeling that day,
it really makes it exciting.
If this was just on the menu,
maybe as a starter or something,
no way I'm getting it. No way I would think, like,
"Oh, I wanna start out with a ceviche."
I like ceviche, I just never would have thought...gotten it.
I would have gotten, I don't know,
mozzarella sticks or something.
No tacos yet, but hoping that they'll start coming out soon.
[crunching]
Oh, man, that's so good.
Have you had fava beans before?
I've never had them before.
All I know is the reference from "Silence of the Lambs."
And Hannibal Lecter knows what's up with the beans, man.
These are great.
And this blue-corn tortilla chip with the olive oil,
this thing is excellent.
All right, look at this thing.
I don't know how I'm even picking this thing up.
[crunching]
Yo!
This is the type of taco that people are coming here for.
The soft-shell crab is, like, really firm,
really crisp, you know?
It's fried to, like, perfection.
The tortilla itself is also a lot firmer than it looks,
so it's not falling apart at all.
And just a little bit of heat to it,
so the whole thing works so well together.
I mean, look at this thing.
It's a sturdy taco.
OK, so this will be the first taquito I've had
not from a 7-Eleven,
so I'm excited about that.
Deep-fried shrimp taquito, yo.
I absolutely love it. This thing is packed with shrimp.
Joe: Really great. Now I get it.
Now I get why they're so popular.
Every course is better than the last one, definitely.
[singing] Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, it's a strawberry doughnut.
Joe: Oh, I thought we were starting. I'm sorry.
This is about as fresh as they come.
Perfect. Mm.
Perfect way to end this.
Strawberries are fresh. The doughnuts are fresh.
Perfect.
Looks like we are ending this delicious meal
with fresh melon.
I didn't catch which melon this was, but....
That's not cantaloupe, is it?
Joe: I don't know. I don't know a lot about melons.
What are the good names of other melons?
Joe: OK.
Joe: Maybe honeydew.
Joe: Definitely not watermelon.
Is a mango a melon?
Joe: Is that a melon?
Joe: This was excellent. It was, like, a soup-to-nuts meal.
I can't say soup to nuts.
There's no soup or nuts.
I don't think anything that I was served today,
besides maybe the taquitos,
was something that I would be like,
"Oh, that sounds great, I'll get that."
But I'm glad that I did it
because everything that came out was better
than the thing that came before it.
$75 is a little out of my price range,
but, I mean, it was really good.
It's definitely worth $75.
I probably wouldn't have done it,
but I'm glad I did.
Now, these tacos are known for having
some of the most inventive flavors,
combinations... [truck roaring]
He uses a lot of seasonal...
[truck roaring]
But I'm trying their
omakase menu... [truck roaring]
How many trucks are in this city?