Los Reyes del Taco Sabroso Verified listing

Tucked into an unassuming building at the northwest corner of Junipero and Anaheim is what could easily be Long Beach’s most dedicated and beautiful ode to the vast, region stretching food of Mexico, with its heart at Mexico City: Los Reyes del Taco Sabroso.

While they have what many consider the classics and the trends—from chilaquiles, definitively some of the best in the city, and carne asada to California burritos and quesabirria—it is their focus on the food of CDMX where the Montesinos family truly shines.

It is in their quesadilla de maiz, a massive, nearly-foot long, hand made corn tortilla, stuffed with cheese imported from Mexico and your choice of meat (or, my personal favorite, huitlacoche). But honoring the street food culture of Mexico City, loads of shredded lettuce, crema, and queso fresco crumbles are added. The result? Hot meat and cheese meets cold lettuce and crema in a wonder of a folded treasure, where an earthy, crisped-to-perfection corn tortilla carrying a savory bomb of flavors and textures, temperatures and sensations.

It is in their meats, where patriarch and owner Carlos Hector Montesinos García uses the crossing roads that is CDMX—it is safe to say that, at some point, every food from the massive stretch that is Mexico eventually makes its way to the capital, with each person using their own particularly unique touch to make the food “theirs”—and his mother and grandmother as guiding courses for recipes.

Written and photos by Brian Addison.

For the full feature on Los Reyes del Taco Sabroso, click here.