A Small Place

There's something about Los Angeles I don't remember noticing in other cities. There's a prevalence of little food shacks operating out of tiny, almost makeshift buildings. In downtown L.A. these are really common, and are almost always found in parking lots.

Tiny, almost playhouse-sized structures hug the side of venerable old Beaux-Arts style office buildings and hotels. There's room for a kitchen, and maybe a couple of lunch tables inside. Some places are so small they're just a lunch counter - you place your order and eat outside or takeaway.

They're not just downtown - Here at La Playita in Venice, people line up for seafood tacos, burritos, and ceviche tostadas. There are two makeshift benches next to the tire repair shop, if you want to have it "here" instead of "to go."

Photo from Yelper Pamela

There's a little place near UCLA that was so famous for its cheap sandwiches it was known as "Buck Fiddy" by hungry students. It's now under new management. I wonder if it will still sell sandwiches for $1.50, and an Orange BANG! for a buck.

Operating hours are usually tailored to the working population - that cup of coffee or breakfast burrito in the morning, or a burger at lunch. You can see office workers or custodians and hotel maids. In today's downtown, there are a lot of construction workers on residential loft remodeling jobs. Outside of downtown, the shacks cater to car wash and auto shop workers, and folks taking buses to work.

Photo from Los Angeles Public Library

Why are there so many of these little lunch joints? Unlike major East Coast downtowns, Los Angeles began tearing down its old downtown buildings and replacing them with parking lots as early as the 1930s. Some of the little food shacks date from those days - as seen in this news photo of a car accident right in front of the Snak Shak in South Central Los Angeles.

Does it have something to do with Los Angeles' climate? Maybe it does. Why spend money building a full-size joint with room indoors for tables? In our warm climate, the sidewalk can be your dining room.

The shacks are brightly painted, and usually reflect the creativity of the proprietor.

The prices are always cheap. Mai's Super Tacos recently had a new paint job, but the tacos are still just as good, and still $1.60 each.

Downtown can be a rough neighborhood, and the proprietors are serious about security.

You can usually tell a good food shack by the lines out front.

There's a wide range of ethnic menus.

Little food shacks. They're everywhere in L.A. There's something charming about these small, homey kitchens, in the midst of the big city.