black beck meets el cholo. i had the fear. el cholo holds legendary status in the memoirs of my life. it had been 8 years since i'd last passed through those doors and when that much time has passed all you can do is cross your toes and hope for some heroics. that being said, we felt that bringing a fresh palate to the situation would also lend perspective. thus, we engaged the infamous "black beck" for our late afternoon soiree. black beck had never made it this far up wilshire blvd. before. as he says "if it aint on the boardwalk, i dont need it." but my powers of persuasion are strong, and imagery of tequila flowed strongly through his mind. armed with just these thoughts, we made the trek in ancient mercedes #2.
seated at one of our usual 6 tables the wife dialed us in for a trio of l.a. lemonade margaritas. these are the margaritas by which i have measured all other margaritas in my life. black beck was impressed. as he said: "dis sh*t is good." aint that the truth. it was around this time, right after we had placed our order, that we began trying to unravel the mystery of the man in the framed photograph. the black and white image was adorned with a name printed simply in wide tip sharpie; george welsley. who was this mysterious george welsley? of what importance was he to the history of this institution that he merited a likeness on the wall for all time? black beck did some investigating and came back with this; "he aint on the google, so he probably just a make believe fella. thats what i reckon". it was at the moment of this epithany that the senorita arrived with the food.
being married has its advantages. for instance; perhaps there are 2 dishes on the menu that you want but you obviously cant order both. so you simply tell your wife that she will order one of them and that you will then eat most of it. this is exactly what i had been doing not only to my wife, but various women throughout history since id been coming to el cholo. saving face, i go macho with the burrito dorado while the ladies order my secret crush; the chicken chimichangas. black beck told us "i want some of that mexican steak." we were sure to order for him.
we all started sawing away at our plates. first bite, there it was; a flair in some back corner of an undisclosed cavern in my brain saying "its a bit foggy back here but that sure tastes familiarly delish-io" i elbowed my wife aside and got into the chimis. hence; brain explosion #2. and how was black beck faring with his carne asada? "dis stuffs more special than gold, and a right bit cheaper too." sounds like high praise to these ears. after the initial ravaging we settled into a more refined gear and enjoyed the subtleties that each dish had to offer. then it was over. we lay there bloated and blissful. black beck broke the silence. "whats dis plate about?" indeed, there were two side plates clustered together like an oyster shell. he worked them apart and within were the tortillas that he had never known. "i wish i had of scooped them beans and steak stuff inta these" he remarked "my fingers sure would be the better for it" it was true, black beck was known for taking a 'hand on' approach to eating, as seen in his latest video: "black beck goes to tommy"s" cloth napkins are generally sent to the car wash when he is done with them.
and suddenly, it was time to go. or perhaps we were asked to leave. i cant really remember, the margaritas are good that way. but what i do remember and what i can say with confidence, is that el cholo, after all these years, still serves some of the dankest mexican food this side of mexico south. and that aint nothing to shake a lambs tail at. black beck says so.
grade: a (take it to the bank)
-----18 sep, 2009-----
we miss you el cholo. i used to live in venice and would try to get to el cholo at least twice a month. its the best mexican food ive ever had in my life. i cry just thinking about this place now that i live in new mexico. the chicken chimichangas will change your life. the la lemonade margarita will bankrupt you. we miss you el cholo!!