Cacao Mexicatessen - Eagle Rock, CA

On their website, it says "Cacao Mexicatessen is a family owned and operated specialty deli. We are dedicated to bringing you indigenous and modern variations of flavors spanning thru most regions of Mexico." I've never been to a Mexican deli, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it seemed like it was a restaurant, coffee shop and speciality food store rolled into one. As soon as you walk in, there's a counter with some spices, coffees, Mexican candies and chocolates and a refrigerated case with their dessert specials. They also had an extensive coffee menu. We were there for dinner so I didn't really look carefully at their drinks. I have to assume anything with chocolate would be their specialty, given its name. Further back, there are more refrigerated cases of cheese, salsa and other food items for sale. Apparently, they sell handmade tortillas, rice and beans, tortilla chips and salsa as well.

You order the food first, they give you a number and bring the food to you. A guy brought us a bowl of chips and salsa to munch on before the meal. The tortillas were hot and crispy, but the salsa was a bit bland and watery. I'm partial to chunky salsa, so it was a bit of a let down.

My friend wonster heard good things about their Carnitas de Pato (duck confit with avocado, vinegar, onion, radishes and chile oil) and Camarones Enchipotlados (shrimp in chipotle citrus sauce) tacos so she ordered the two tacos and got their daily special, a carne asade tostada.

I didn't try her shrimp tacos, but I tried a bite of her duck taco and it was good. It was tasty but a bit on the greasy side. I got their 2 taco special with a Cochinita Pibil (roasted pork in achote and citrus) and a Flor de Calebaza (squash blossoms, poblano strips and queso fresco) taco. My dish came with a side of rice and beans. The pork tacos were alright, but again kind of greasy.

Look at how cute the mound of rice is with the Mexican flag. The rice and beans were tastier than the tacos.

Here's a close up of the squash blossom taco. I think there were only 1 or 2 squash blossoms in there and it wasn't very flavorful. All I tasted was the poblano strips. I would definitely pass on this next time.

Here's the carne asada tostada that wonster got. I thought it would be shaped like a bowl, but it was on a flat round piece of tortilla with carne asada, lettuce, creama and cheese. The tortilla was hot and crispy and it added a nice crunch to each bite. Wednesdays are fish taco nights and on Thursdays, they have tostadas for $3.50.

I just found out that the owner was in the mortgage business for over 12 years and he converted his old office space into a restaurant and deli. The flower store next door, which I accidentally went into thinking it was the deli, is apparently run by his parents. Isn't that adorable? I think I love this place a little more now after hearing this fun fact.

CaCao Mexicatessen

1576 Colorado Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90041

www.cacaodeli.com