Mexicali Taco Vet Opening Mexican Barbecue Joint Salazar in Frogtown

Frogtown continues to bear the brunt of change, as the river-edging warehouse district adapts to a whole lot of new eyeballs. Mostly the rehabbing of the once-forgotten enclave started when talks of an expansive new LA River revitalization project took hold with the mayor’s office.

Now it looks like one of Mexicali Taco's founding fathers, Esdras Ochoa, is coming in with his own plans for the neighborhood, cooking Mexican-style barbecue under the restaurant name Salazar. Think of a typical barbecue joint, but instead of brisket, you'll get Mexicali and Sonoran-style grilled meats, plus handmade flour and corn tortillas. It's a brilliant concept that's in some ways logical progression from Mexicali Taco & Co. At the moment, an opening is slated for late August.

Ochoa has been hinting at dishes for weeks now on his Instagram, as his business partner Billy Silverman (who was previously the editor of Huffington Post Los Angeles) shows off the work in progress with his own photos.

Project M+ is behind the rehabbing of the location; they’re the ones who also did L&E Oyster Bar and the short-lived Lucky Duck in Silver Lake.

As for the restaurant, The Eastsider first hinted at what was to come late last year, as one Rio Nuevo, LLC picked up the property and discussed with the Atwater Village Chamber of Commerce how they planned to use it. The roughly 5,000 square foot restaurant space will hold around 175 seats across the indoor portion and outdoor patio.

Salazar
2490 N. Fletcher Drive
Los Angeles, CA