As you might imagine, I talk about food quite a bit and as a result, many people offer me suggestions on what they like to eat. I once talked about a taco party I hosted and a friend of mine asked if I knew of La Venadita carniceria.
I replied that I had not heard of La Venadita and listened intently to what he had to say. He described the marinated pollo asado and carne asada as amazing. The passion of his belief was obvious; I was sold on La Venadita despite the fact that it was not located that close to me – Carson.
Thanks to my friend, I’ve been to La Venadita a number of times and the market continues to amaze me. First and foremost, La Venadita is a carniceria, or a Mexican meat market. They also offer a canned and dry goods, dairy and fresh produce. While the selection isn’t as great as supermarket, they manage to stock most of one’s regular needs.
I told my wife that I would make pollo asado soft tacos for dinner and so I took a trip to La Venadita to purchase the ingredients. It was a Sunday afternoon and the place was packed. La Venadita does not offer shopping carts for a good reason – the aisles are very narrow and it would add to an already congested situation.
I weaved through the narrow aisles and made it to the “wall of tortillas”. I have given it this name because it is the most extensive selection of tortillas I’ve ever seen in one place. Once there, it is difficult to see what is actually available in the meat case due to the number of people waiting to be served. I took a number, 18, not too bad considering they were on 01.
Due to the number of people working the counter, I only waited 5 minutes. There’s quite a variety of regular meat and marinated meat available at La Venadita. You can find regular chicken, boneless chicken, marinated chicken, beef, lamb, pork, housemade chorizo and even fresh goat. If you opt-in at the meat counter, be sure to find the ticket dispenser located on the right side of the counter. Practice your Spanish before you go: once, doce, trece, catorce…
I ordered the boneless marinated chicken and I decided to treat myself by ordering a half pound of ceviche. I also picked up containers of their chipotle salsa, tomatillo and mole poblano sauce.
Not being known for having resistance, I pulled my car over to the side of Main Street and gobbled the ceviche in my car. The seafood was fresh, but what stood out for me was the juice that accompanied it. Some ceviches have way too much lime juice; this one had the right amount. The combination of fresh seafood and the juice mixture with it made it one of the best ceviches I’ve ever had.
That evening, I grilled the chicken and served it with Guerrero ‘king size’ corn tortillas, diced onions, cilantro and the green, red and mole sauces I purchased. Since I was already familiar with the red & green sauces, I tried topping my taco with mole sauce. It was truly delightful – the chocolate and raisin essence in the mole combined with the marinated chicken, onions and cilantro, making for an incredible taste sensation.
Because I accidentally purchased 4 pounds of marinated chicken, we had some left-over uncooked chicken. My wife is rather resourceful and decided to use some of the remaining tortillas, queso fresco and crema to make chilaquiles. It was great to have my trip to La Venadita result in two delicious meals!
- 22035 S. Main Street, Carson, Ca 90745; (310) 830-7099
Another great article Bryan! Im catching up on reading your write-ups as you told me you were working on one. I was falling too far behind!
This place reminded me of Diana’s in Gardena on Normandie. Gotta try shopping some items!
Thanks!
La Venadita is a great place if you like to BBQ. Their meat is economical, fresh and ready to grill. They have everything you need to prepare your Mexican fiesta. Thanks for the feedback – I appreciate it Doug!