Oaxacan Oasis
Guelaguetza is a Oaxacan, rather than Mexican restaurant. The cuisine is all about the mole, clauydas and other regional dishes, not the typical tex-mex fare in your normal Mexican restaurant. It is sometimes very crowded, particularly on a Sunday afternoon after Church and during the soccer game, when the place gets totally packed. It's defintely a great place for lunch. My favorite is the huge Oaxacan black mole chicken tamales, which are wrapped in banana leaves . Wash it down with a Mexican (i.e. real, sweetened with cane sugar, not corn syrup) Coke or a Mexican chocolate con leche. Guelaguetza sells dry mole rojo and negro pastes; just add chicken broth or water to them and you can bring this wonderful taste home with you! One of the best reasons to live in LA is to eat at places like Guelaguetza. (I can't say it's one of a kind, because they have another branch closer to downtown LA.)