𝗦𝗟𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗙🍩🍩𝗟: Salsa, eggs and tacos at Los Laureles

Los Laureles has been a East Side staple for around 15 years. I popped in around 9am on a Saturday morning in November for breakfast. The place was pretty dead when I arrived, but business picked up within the hour.

For starters you get the obligatory chips and salsa. Los Laureles kicks it up and gives you three different salsas to sample. All three have a very smooth, watery consistency.

The salsa verde is tomatillo-based, with fresh, tart, citrusy flavors, but has little discernible heat. Cilantro is a little overwhelmed.

The tomato-based salsa roja boasts a good cilantro flavor. Light on the heat as well, this would be a good salsa for the average American palate and the most kid-friendly of the trio.

My favorite, the avocado-tomatillo salsa, packs a good solid heat, likely from jalapeños, that builds slow and leaves a great tingling afterglow. The avocado gives this thin salsa some creaminess.

For the meal, I ordered the Huevos a la Mexicana: scrambled eggs with chopped tomato, onion and green bell pepper, each veggie representing a color of the Mexican flag. Jalapeños would have been a more welcome alternative to green bells, but as a whole it was a fairly average, acceptable order of scrambled eggs.

Served with frijoles refritos, arroz Mexicana, shredded lettuce, tomato slice and your choice of flour or corn tortillas, it made for a satisfying breakfast. The pinto beans were creamy and had a nice clean, beany flavor. I'm almost positive the beans were cooked with lard, but I would inquire if you visit to be certain.

The rice was fluffy, lightly flavorful, and peppered with bits of carrot and the occasional kernel of corn.

On a lark I finished with a couple of chorizo tacos. Mild savory chorizo, wrapped in a double corn tortilla, topped with chopped onion and cilantro, with lime wedge and radish. Very enjoyable with each bite.