To Live and Eat in L.A.

What’s in a name? When I first heard about Sky’s Gourmet Tacos I thought to myself, “just how gourmet can a taco possibly be”?, and then, “Do I even want a gourmet taco?”. Well, after eating a bunch of their food, Sky’s has turned me from a Doubting Thomas into a true believer with their unique and generous specialties.

Gourmet food is not something I’m terribly interested in. I’m much more of a farmers market stall & food truck kinda gal than I am the “spend $80 to eat small portions with three different forks” type. Don’t let the word “gourmet” in Sky’s name put you off though, this place is neither hoity toity nor overly expensive, they certainly don’t skimp on portion sizes and they don’t give a crap if you make a mess and eat with your hands.

Located on Pico between Fairfax & LaBrea, Sky’s Tacos is tiny little restaurant that you may have even driven past without knowing about the delicious vegan bounty awaiting you on the inside. While Sky’s does serve a full menu of meat & cheese items, they’ve got an equally substantial vegetarian menu just begging for you to have veganized.

This gorgeous hunk of food is the Veggie Quesadilla ordered all vegan. It comes with their own vegan meat, beans and a giant heap of vegan cheese (Follow Your Heart) inside and out. Basically what you’re looking at are two tortillas that have been stuff to overflow with grilled vegetables and cheese, then layered on top with a massive amount of beans and their amazing fake meat, then piled high with even more cheese.

This thing is outstanding. Their vegan meat is unbelievably good… so unbelievable and good in fact that I had to go back up to the counter to ask and make doubly sure that they didn’t give me real meat. They had not, and the staff at Sky’s seems to be pretty up on their game about understanding picky vegans, right down to their separate grill. No, this deliciously seasoned meat was 100% vegan and 100% delicious. Those who enjoy vegan meat that tastes as realistic as possible will LOVE this Mexican-spiced stuff that’s been grilled to perfection. Those who don’t like fake meat will want to avoid it because it will freak you out. Feel free to give me yours, I’ll eat. Ask for a side of their mild or hot salsas as well as some vegan sour cream and you’ll be all set.

Nachos are another cheesy delight that for vegans a good rendition is hard to come by. While I do like some of the other vegan nachos in town that do a pretty decent job, I long for nachos that taste just like the real thing, and not like a cashew nut. This is another specialty that Sky’s really delivers on, and their nacho platter is not only delicious but large enough to feed two or three people. The tortilla chips came covered in a ridiculous amount of beans and more of that amazing fake meat, vegan cheese and a giant dollop of yummy guacamole, with some fresh chopped tomatoes and cilantro on the side.

Here’s a close up of the meaty bits just so you can see they’re not messing around. I don’t know what product they use to make this stuff but they have it down to an art form. There is no reason to miss meat when alternatives this incredible exist in the world… I challenge any meat eater to try this and tell the difference. If they were to say they could tell it’s not meat, I’d say they’re probably big fat liars.

Here’s one more indulgent shot with the toppings. My nacho prayers have been answered.

Now onto the tacos as, after all, that’s what this place is named for. This is one of their fancier tacos, made with sweet potatoes, sliced almonds and wild rice. Oh man, what a combo… so good! You can see there’s giant chunks of grilled garlic, and that along with their fantastic seasonings make this a taco to remember. I absolutely love sweet potatoes and particularly appreciate their unconventional and unexpected appearance in the form of a taco. They can also make you a burrito stuffed with this same filling, and I do intend to try that next time. While everything I’ve tried as Sky’s has been super, I highly recommend this particular taco above all else. I’ve never had anything like it anywhere and it’s the sort of thing I will happily drive all the way across the city in traffic for when the craving hits.

This next taco is their grilled potato version, with beans, shredded cabbage and large slabs of nicely seasoned potatoes, topped with their spicy green sauce. This too was a seriously tasty taco. The potatoes were a little bit plain but the hot salsa flavored things up and give it some pizazz. I remain however forever spoiled by the sweet potato tacos, so this white potato version didn’t do as much for me in comparision.

They’ve got a ton of other options for you to try as well, most all of which can be made vegan for you with no hassle. They’ve got daily specials that will be on display in house, as well as a lot more stuff that’s not on their online menu. It’s exciting to go in there just to find out what rad stuff they’ve got on hand on any given day. They even have a nice selection of refreshing beverages such as Sorrel, a sweet & tart hibiscus concoction, as well as homemade lemonade which you can even get as a half & half combo with iced tea as shown way up at the top.

I can’t recommend Sky’s Gourmet Tacos enough, I’ve fallen in love with this little hole in the wall… if you appreciate good, hearty Mexican food as much as I do, you will to.

Sky’s Gourmet Tacos
5408 West Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA. 90019
(323) 932-6253
www.skysgourmettacos.com

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 at 2:22 pm and is filed under L.A. Restaurants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.