If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that I can’t get enough mole lately. For awhile, I was sticking to my staple – Monte Alban. I finally decided to risk it and try a new place, so I went half a block down the street to Juquila, also rumored to have some excellent black mole.
Enmoladas con Cecina – $9.99
The enmoladas are very similar to the enchiladas with black mole I ordered at Monte Alban. While the enmoladas at Juquila are about $1.50 more than the enchiladas at Monte Alban, I will say you get way more food at Juquila. On the taste test, however, Monte Alban blows it out of the park. The moles are actually fairly similar, and both are excellent, but the enmoladas at Juquila are just tortillas covered in mole with cheese sprinkled on top, whereas the enchiladas at MA are filled with lots of oozy cheesy goodness.
The enchiladas at MA come with fried pork (carnitas), and with the enmoladas at Juquila, I ordered cecina. While cecina can be made with beef (or according to wikipedia – horse, blegh), this particular cecina was chile-paste-marinated leg of pork, thinly sliced. I definitely missed the juicy carnitas at Monte Alban. But the flavor was good.
Overall, the enmolada vs. enchilada battle goes to Monte Alban.
Happy Hour – INSANE
Here’s where Juquila picks up some major bonus points. I don’t normally blog about happy hours because I feel like you can always find reasonably priced food during happy hour – but since this place is already way cheap, and this happy hour is available pretty much anytime you wanna eat dinner here, I’m including it. I mean, Monday – Thursday, 5-8pm… when else would you need to come here? It’s not a fancy weekend place – trust me.
Domestic beers and margaritas are $2.50. The margaritas are pretty weak, but for $2.50, I’m not complaining.
And then the tacos… They’re normally only $1.79 anyway, but for 99 cents, eat your heart out.
I can’t find anywhere on Monte Alban’s menu or website that they have a happy hour. But all in all, I’d still go for Monte Alban over Juquila. And guess what – Monte Alban’s “cervezas domesticas” are $3 all the time anyway.
Stay tuned for more mole wars!
Visit Juquila:
11619 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 312-1079
