Potato Taquitos: A Revelation!

Good news: I have a new friend, and she can cook!

The first good sign: last week she invited us to a little Cinco de Mayo fiesta. On a Monday. At 2pm. The second good sign: walking in and finding
the feast she prepared. Homemade taquitos with an array of fixins, including maybe the best guac I've ever had, chipotle salsa, and arroz verde. The third good sign: when I offered to make micheladas, she and her brother practically threw their arms around me, asking how the hell I knew about those too. A match made in heaven!

The most amazing part of all this is that she's a vegetarian. Meaning so were the taquitos. Oh yes: potato taquitos. Do not let the humble tuber fool you. This thing was rich enough to rival any stewed pig or cow, and texturally a wonderment, the crisp outer edges of tortilla (oh yeah, she hand-makes those too--I don't know whether to laugh or cry about that) against the smooth, creamy, cumin-scented potato. Daubed with some guac and a little smoky chipotle salsa, it was downright perfect, and certainly the best mexican meal I've had since my last foray to the Zone.

A spring day off doesn't get any better than this: sitting on a folding chair, michelada in hand, watching my new friend carefully pin down each taquito in the boiling oil and gabbing about life while the breeze waves the palms and echo park lake shimmers out the window.