Las Vegas Weekly

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DJ Zo, of the near-legendary Slidin’ Thru crew, sent me to La Mexicana, a simple little westside joint with sturdy wooden tables, lots of pictures of classic cars and boxing champs on the walls and a terrific chile relleno. “Locals love this place and so will you.” He sounds like a commercial!

There’s nothing commercial about La Mexicana; it’s a hole-in-the-wall, but a comfortable one. The menu is full of your favorites, burritos and tortas, nachos and enchiladas, and the tasty street tacos are priced at 90 cents apiece. They’re also delicious. I recommend the carnitas, more than a dollar’s worth of crispy-on-the-outside roasted pork stuffed into two soft mini-tortillas.

Photo: Beverly Poppe

La Mexicana isn't fancy, but the flavors are first class.

And Zo is right about that relleno. Cooked fresh and quickly, it’s full of melted cheese and bathed in a rich red chile sauce that saturates the gentle coating and brings out the flavor of the pasilla pepper. And you get extra corn tortillas, piping hot, to sop up all that sauce. I’ve added La Mexicana to my list of taco shop stops, and so should you.