There is a certain sadness to strip shop malls that I can't quite explain. They are convenient but seem depresingly out of place, like those lonely BestBuy vending machines in airport terminals. Pick one anywhere in the country and you will find the ubiquitous Vietnamese owned nail salon with the population of a small village wearing masks and filing away, next to that, a Chinese owned dry cleaner with a dour attendant unhappily sorting through your stained clothes and smells. Some of those smells are coming from the newest Hot Yoga studio that just opened up, with stringy, toned gurus trying to get fat suburban folk to stick their heads up there own arses and while trying not to suffocate in escaping gale force 4 bean burrito induced winds. They probably ate that fart bomb at a Mexico Lindo next door, that serves up bottomless pre-mix margheritas and stale nachos with canned salsa.
But, that is not always the case. In one such strip shop mall on a quite stretch of the PCH in Long Beach, there is a gem of a Jualisco style Mexican, serving up a secret so fucking good, they have to keep it off the menu because it can cause a small riot. It is in such high demand, it usually runs out by late afternoon, and they just don't have the space to make more.
The secret, a Pork Shank with Tomatilo sauce on a bed of spicy rice is a thing of legends. Cooked slowly for 8 hours the massive and I mean gargantuan, like Kim Kardashians ass, the shank is super juicy (you are free to draw your own parallels here). Served for one, it can easily feed a small Chinese army unit, or half a Texan (once again, you are free to draw your own parallels).
It is however the sauce that elevates this dish to stratospheric levels of goodness. The roasted Tomatilo sauce with bits of crispy pork is so fucking good I would actually sit down and have a philosophical debate with Paris Hilton as long as she fed me spoonfuls of this culinary marvel. I can't emphasize how good this is, seriously !! I would vote republican and dance with Ann Coulter if they promised me a daily supply, courtesy the Koch brothers. Since it is a closely guarded secret, I couldn't get the recipe, even after offering them my next born. Maybe somethings are best kept secret.
Southern California has the best Mexican in the country, and this dish easily stacks up against the best SoCal has to offer.
