Iianian next to mashti malones
A good place to start is the Neutra Colony, a collection of 10 houses built by Richard Neutra in the middle of the century. The hillsides are littered with notable modern suburban houses. Silver Lake is an architect lover’s dream. It will take your taste buds to Middle East locales you wouldn’t dream of visiting in person these days. What you want to order your first time in is a Creamy Saffron-Rosewater Mashti. The mode of the house is the Mashti, a scoop of ice cream squeezed between two light, thin sugar wafers. Though people do eat their ice cream in cones and cups here, I don’t know why. The specialty Persian ice cream, with exotic spices like saffron, ginger, orange blossom, and pomegranate layered atop the base flavor of rosewater. It’s hunkered down in the corner of one of LA’s oldest and grittiest strip malls the bouncers at nearby Lava Lounge are a welcome presence. Cross-cultural before it was cool, the name is the result of a mashti-up of the former “Mugsy Malone’s” parlor and the cost-consciousness of the two Iranian brothers who bought it and elected to replace only half the sign. There is perhaps no more perfect dessert on the planet. I am truly one of the world’s fortunate: Mashti Malone’s Ice Cream Parlor is on my way home from almost everywhere. Buy the taco buy the t-shirt dribble the hot sauce on the t-shirt. The ground beef’s subtle season-ing kicks ass all over Lawry’s the shredded lettuce, compacted into the surprisingly delicate shell, is fresh and crisp the pile of shredded cheddar is perfectly sharp.
Some folks like burritos or the taco burger, but I need that essential interplay between crispy shell and savory filling.
The menu’s tiny: ground beef tacos, tostados (note the retro spelling), burritos, and a taco burger.
With an aesthetic straight out of The Jetsons or a Shag painting, the SF Valley corner location is worth a visit just to check out the sign. Maybe at Taco Bell or Del Taco, or maybe during a family “taco night,” where mom would shred lettuce and chop tomatoes, dump the Lawry’s seasoning into a pan of simmering ground round, break out the box of Old El Paso shells, and say “go.” It’s an icon that no amount of char-grilled fresh-Mex can ever throw down, and its apotheosis is Henry’s Tacos. If you’re of a certain age, it was probably the first Mexican food you ever had.