Arroyo Makes a Stand
August 19, 2011
Ojo: your whole world is about to be turned patas p’arriba.
Trust us, va a estar todo bien. We’ve dealt with this kind of thing before. Las buenas nuevas: our
solution will involve cerdo y tortillas.
El plan: head down east past Fairfax to Stanley Avenue. Busca the window with the word
“Escuela” on it partially obscured by a line of people waiting to get in. Push through to the inside y
mira hacia arriba.
Yes, those are chairs attached to the ceiling. Quedate en el molde, don’t try to
sit in them. Just get up to the front and order some food already.
Bienvenido a Escuela Taquería, recién abierto. This intimate
spot created by restaurateur Steven Arroyo (Cobras & Matadors, Potato Chips) delivers on its promise to flip
the community of los amantes de tacos on its head (yes, there is such a community and congratulations,
you’re one bite away from becoming El Rey for life).
Escuela takes the taco out of the taco truck and puts it back inside four walls, where things
can get un poco picantes. The off-kilter decor es tu primera pista of Arroyo’s unique approach, reinforced
by the nontraditional traditional shelled offerings like shrimp (with chorizo and red onion), chuleta de
cerdo (pork chops with avocado and sea salt), skin-on branzino (with cabbage slaw) y pollo (with achiote,
lime marinade).
Sólo cerciórate you’re sitting down cuando comas—and we mean the chairs on the floor.
Calma, let’s not cause a panic here.