Mexican Restaurant Showdown: Tinga vs. Cacao Mexicatessen

Recently we ate at two higher-end Mexican restaurants and I thought it would be fun to compare. First off was Tinga, an open, high ceiling space snuck between the trendy boutiques and furniture shops on La Brea.

I ordered a mushroom pupusa, but they were out, so I guess go for an early lunch if you want to ensure one. So I made the conchonita pibil nachos my plan B. Of course, I forgot to take a photo, but they were good, smoky pork with a little orange and a little kick at the end. The tortilla chips at Tinga are excellent, very thick and pack a massive crunch. I only wished for some beans on the nachos. I think a creamy texture would've made them perfect.

Hubs had the Tinga tacos, spicy shredded chicken served in uncommonly good corn tortillas.

I really liked these, very flavorful and nicely complemented with the pickled onions.

We had a side of elote especial.

Anything with roasted corn tastes good to me. Top it with cheese, it's even better. So, all in all, this was a good meal. Not a restaurant that I'm dying to go back to, but the chips were great and I still want to try a mushroom pupusa.

For whatever reason, every time we try to go to Cacao Mexicatessen in Eagle Rock, it's closed. So going there when it was finally open was a victory in itself. And a table opened just as we placed our order. It was meant to be.

They're known for serving a poultry not often served in Mexican cuisine: duck. So we took advantage.

This was our meal. In the foreground, a duck chicharron taco and a duck carnitas sope. In the background, Hubs ordered two duck chicharron tacos. Plus an order of guacamole and a side of rice and beans to share.

The chicharrones were crispy. Hubs loved them. A little too salty for me. My sope was good, too, but the duck flavor didn't come through as much as I'd hoped. The guacamole was above average. We also shared a hot chocolate, which was as beautiful to look at as it was to drink.

Maybe my favorite thing we ate were the two salsas that the complimentary chips were served with. One was fresh and spicy, the other, green and comforting. When a restaurant gives you something great for free, that's always a good thing, and encourages another visit. Cacao has a huge menu. There are still things that we want to try.

All in all, I think the winner is Cacao, since it's the place I'm most excited to return to. Their homemade salsas sealed the deal.