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HBO’s Insecure Shines a Big Spotlight On Leimert Park’s Legendary Taco Spot

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Insecure’s creator showcases some of the neighborhood’s newest and oldest spots

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Worldwide Tacos
Issa Rae’s character at Worldwide Tacos
HBO
Mona Holmes is a reporter for Eater Los Angeles and a regular contributor to KCRW radio. She has covered restaurants, dining, and food culture since 2016. In 2022, the James Beard Foundation nominated her for a Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award.

Insecure season three is well underway on HBO. The show’s lead characters traverse all over Los Angeles, but show creator and lead actress Issa Rae carefully selects locations throughout South LA. On this past Sunday’s episode, Rae’s lead character Issa Dee visited Worldwide Tacos in Leimert Park, while simultaneously sending a tweet about the legendary neighborhood restaurant.

Note: there are light spoilers ahead.

Episode four is “Fresh Like” as Issa Dee wanders through the historic Leimert Park. The neighborhood is full of tree-lined streets, Craftsman and Spanish colonial homes, and restaurants. Dee makes a life-changing stop at Worldwide Tacos, as well as the new joint, Hot and Cool Cafe. As the episode aired, Issa Rae sent a Tweet that’s sure to increase the wait:

That’s correct, Worldwide Tacos can take anywhere from 15 minutes to three hours to complete an order. Owner Frederick Sennie makes tacos and burritos from just about anything on-hand, including salmon, lemon chicken, barbecue lamb, curry shrimp, or even fried chicken. As Rae notes, Sennie might take a trip to the store before fulfilling orders. There’s no seating, and Sennie will call when the order is up.

Worldwide Tacos are part of a unique cuisine from South LA. Barbara “Sky” Burrell of Sky’s Gourmet Tacos, Taco Mell, and the overwhelmingly popular All Flavor No Grease also fall under this category. Even though tacos and burritos are some of LA’s most familiar dishes, the South LA interpretation combines generous down-home ingredients and preparation wrapped in flour or corn tortillas. Insecure airs on HBO on Sunday evenings at 10:30 p.m.

Worldwide Tacos. 2419 W Martin Luther King Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA