Old School Surf Spot. Old School Tacos -- El Porto and El Tarasco

While I love going down to El Porto because it has its rough edges and can still be kind of old school (although that's being threatened on a daily basis, unfortunately), I have yet to get a really good session in. A big reason for this, of course, is my Kook status getting in the way. For example, I look at surf reports and see that it seems like conditions may be in my sweet spot at Porto, but when I get there it's different. It's not just that the waves are bigger -- Porto is different in other ways, and I think I may have figured out one reason why on this past expedition. It's such a wide open beach break, and probably because of the shape of the ocean floor or something waves seem to form further out from shore than at, say, Santa Monica, Venice or even parts of Malibu. This may be the reason (in my head anyway) that the waves just seem to pack more power -- they have a longer distance to travel before they break and so they gather up strength. I could be wrong about the mechanics of these waves because I'm far from an expert, but that's just been my experience at Porto. Not that it's not fun to give it a go here -- it's always fun. And I'm determined to get it right at this spot on a day that works for me. So the lesson here? Persistence! And patience. They will, in the end, pay off.

I'm also big on old-school Mexican food -- Tex-Mex some might call it, or Cali-Mex. Anyway, I love crispy tacos, and platters that include refried beans and rice. If you're in the mid-city area, for example, I'd send you to El Cholo (although they have other locations but the one on Western near 11th Street is the original and dates back to the 1920's!). Tito's Tacos, of course, are always excellent, and I've also always been a fan of Lucy's El Adobe across the street from the Paramount Lot (although beware...the service at Lucy's can be spotty). But walk into Lucy's and you could be in the 1970's California, especially if you sit in the booth with pictures of the 1970's-era Governor Jerry Brown and his then girlfriend Linda Ronstadt. But if you're in El Porto you'd have hit up El Tarasco on Rosecrans just east of Highland (and hat-tip here to Osoporto Founder/Guru Jon Berry for the recommendation). After my session the other day at Porto, here was lunch--

This was the #7 dinner plate. It features two fully-loaded crispy beef tacos, along with rice and beans. If you like old-school Mexican you will love this place, which has been there since 1969. The guy next to me ordered a burrito, wet (drowning in sauce and topped with cheese) and the thing was gigantic! I'm not sure if he was going to be able to finish it, but I'll have to come back and try one of those too. And the Chile Relleno, because I'm nuts for those.

El Porto is really, I gather, the northern end of Manhattan Beach but it was once independent, and it still maintains a bit of scruffiness -- the little beach town of Carpinteria south of Santa Barbara has a similar vibe. I love these old-school beach towns. But these places may not be able to maintain their low-key scruffiness forever, so if you like places like it, don't delay. And while you're at it, hit up El Tarasco.

http://eltarasco.menu

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