la.foodblogging

I love Mexican food, but I’ve been rather wary of it ever since I got severe food poisoning at Poquito Mas a couple years ago. Don’t get me wrong now. I’ve had Mexican food - good Mexican food - several times since then, but I still approach new Mexican restaurants or ones I only occasionally frequent with some trepidation. So with all this in mind, for me to recommend Las Fuentes is a very big deal.

One of the favorites at Las Fuentes is the Burrito Pollo Con Rajas ($6.15) topped with their salsa de rajas and cheese (for an extra $1). The inside is filled with large strips of chicken breast, chile peppers, beans, and onions. There is also avocado in the burrito, but it is scarcely there. I certainly couldn’t taste any, but I did see a little in one bite. Fortunately, my friends and I ordered a basket of chips ($0.95) with guacamole ($1.10). I merely added the guacamole to my burrito to compensate for the lack of avocado. The burrito itself is a huge meal, and half of the portion was more than enough for me. One thing I liked a lot about this burrito is chicken itself. The meat was very tender and moist. The only thing I did not like about my burrito was that I happened to bite into a piece of bone (which I’m guessing was the keel bone because it was a very thin and flat). The burrito is supposed to be spicy, but the only heat I felt at dinner was from the lack of air conditioning in the restaurant.

We also ordered a soft taco ($2.50), a tamale ($2.45), and tostadas ($6.75). The tamale and taco were not very impressive or unique. The tostadas, on the other hand, stood out if for no other reason than they were, as one friend exclaimed “monster” sized. The shell does not seem to much larger than ones at other restaurants, but everything inside the shell is filled to the very top. In addition, I like the fact that you can choose between a flour or corn shell. Most restaurants I’ve been to don’t give you a choice. One of my friends said she usually gets a tostada when she dines at Las Fuentes. If you don’t eat the whole shell, it seems like it’s a fairly light meal. A different friend, however, disagreed. He felt that the tostada was extremely heavy, but I think that was because the shredded beef in the tostada did not sit well with him.

Other items we tried were the horchata (small $1.69, medium $2.09, large $2.45) and the flan ($2.15). The horchata (sweet rice milk) is made from scratch. I can’t tell the difference between homemade versus store-bought horchata. I did like the strong presence of cinnamon in this batch of horchata. Usually when I order horchata, I have to add some in myself. Las Fuentes offers refills on their soft drinks for $0.30, but unfortunately, there is no refill on the horchata. The flan was a pleasant way to finish the meal, but it wasn’t anything special. In addition, the caramel was very watery. In fact, my friends and I made a run for Red Mango immediately after leaving Las Fuentes. Nevertheless, the food was overall good and everything we ordered was under $7.

There are a few negatives about Las Fuentes, though the faults do not lie with the restaurant. As the restaurant has been around for almost 26 years, it has quite a following. People really pack into the restaurant. There is a parking lot, but it gets filled rather quickly, and with cars coming and going, you might be better off parking on the street. The line to order moves fast, so don’t be discouraged if you see a lot of people. Tables get snatched up in the blink of an eye, and regulars are aggressive in pouncing on one as soon as one is available. If you try Las Fuentes, you definitely want to go with at least one additional person so that someone can take the order and pick up the food while the other goes to find a table. This is also a little uncomfortable for diners, as hungry customers are circling their tables like vultures. No one likes to be hovered over while eating. The staff is extremely nice, friendly, and helpful, which truly contrasts the sour attitudes of many customers who probably got irritated by the heatwave and the hunt for available tables. If you are not a very patient person, you might want to try Las Fuentes during off-peak hours.

Las Fuentes
18415 Vanowen Street
Reseda, CA 91335
(818) 708-3344
Sun-Wed: 8am-10pm, Thurs-Sat: 8am-11pm

By Pauline (see more of her posts).