![]() He was inspired in part by the thriving Oakland vegan scene, with everything from vegan soul food like Souley Vegan to vegan Buddhist cuisine. So he took the cooking skills he’d learned from his grandmother and started making plant-based tacos. “Half of my job was telling people, ‘I'm sorry, we can’t help you,’” he said. When Medina first moved to Oakland in 2014, he was working as a paralegal for an immigration attorney. Owner Raul Medina holds a plate of his vegan tacos from La Venganza inside Emporium Arcade Bar in Oakland, Calif., on March 9, 2023. But at the same time, she taught him how to cook, from choosing the right heirloom chilis for each particular dish to making traditionally vegetarian Mexican dishes like chile relleno. When he informed his grandma he’d decided to go vegetarian, she told him he’d starve. Medina is from Orange County but lived on a ranch in Mexico with his grandmother for a few years when he was a teenager. “I'm like, ‘No, I'm sorry, I'm Mexican.’ I want greasy, fatty, melt-in-your-mouth texture and spice.” “There was sweet potato on a tortilla, or kale on a tortilla, like a salad on a tortilla, and they're calling that a taco,” he said. From sidewalk pop-up to NPRĪ decade ago, disappointed with the vegan Mexican options available, Medina decided he wanted to make tacos that actually tasted like the ones he grew up with. Fridays and Saturdays, there are steaming bowls of pozole, made with hominy, oregano and chilis - using vegan lard, of course, and requiring a painstaking seven hours of cooking time. La Venganza also cooks up nachos and serves horchata and the sweet buns known as conchas. But Medina doesn’t stop there: He also offers cauliflower al pastor, vegan chicharrón prensado (pressed pork rind), and soy-free versions of the carnitas and chicharrón made from king mushrooms.Ī vegan concha available at La Venganza inside Emporium Arcade Bar in Oakland, Calif., on March 9, 2023. serial killer who kept calling in tips for his own murdersįrom carnitas made of yuba (tofu skin) and carne asada made of dried soy to pollo made of finely shredded soy, his vegan expressions of taqueria standbys are all convincingly meaty and delicious, whether they’re used to make tacos or massive 2-pound burritos. ![]() Hawaii | Inside a Hawaii travel group that tours island’s ugly realitiesįood | SF chef fed Keanu Reeves the same meal 20 times Tahoe | This mysterious Tahoe cabin has been tracking snowfall since 1878 People may come for the snappy posts, but they stay for the food, which is as delicious as it is innovative. He winkingly calls Instagram his “biggest liability,” but his lively presence has built him an audience - he has nearly 50,000 followers. He’s vocally passionate about veganism, particularly when reminding people about inhumane working conditions in meat and dairy processing. Medina is indeed a loud personality on social media, quick to clap back and tell it like it is. I have to be my own biggest fan because I'm in that vegan club that everybody wants to make fun of so quickly.” I'll come back here, and then I'll post, ‘Hey, guess what LA? The best taco in LA is from f-king Oakland. “I get a lot of hate because I'm a loudmouth,” he told me one afternoon just before the hubbub of Oakland’s monthly First Fridays festival. Owner Raul Medina (left) and an employee assemble nachos and a plate of tacos in the kitchen at La Venganza inside Emporium Arcade Bar in Oakland, Calif., on March 9, 2023. Vengeance against the meat industry, against climate change, but also against the people who doubt him. In Los Angeles.īut back to vengeance: Chef-owner Raul Medina is all about it. Taco awarded Taqueria La Venganza the Best Taco in Los Angeles. But there’s some precedent here: In 2018, L.A. Now, I understand citing vegan tacos as some of the best in Oakland is a controversial move. ![]() Venganza means vengeance in Spanish, but the sound of the word also hints at the taqueria’s defining feature: It’s completely vegan. It’s easy to miss, but a menu on the wall and a QR code to scan for ordering confirm you've reached your destination: Taqueria La Venganza. A mysterious black curtain indicates you’ve found the spot.
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