One Saturday morning, while visiting not-so-sunny southern California during the holiday season, the family journeyed to Tocaya Modern Mexican in Studio City. Tocaya is located in a hip new modern picturesque outdoor shopping mall comprising nice restaurants, specialty boutique shops, and Erewhon Market, similar to the original Whole Foods design.
Tocaya is a swank, modern, chic, upscale take on Mexican Baja food. Inside, the restaurant’s back extends into an outdoor living room patio with beautiful seating outfitted in tones of blue, green, and neutral beiges, rattan, and tons of greenery. The food ranges from Mexican-inspired bowls, burritos, tacos, quesadillas, delicious cinnamon churros, and an array of waters, glass bottled sodas, wines, and beers. It is the first bar I have visited that advises consumers that alcohol use can lead to cancer and birth defects.
I ordered the Spicy Cilantro Verde Bowl containing a beautifully arranged array of avocado, diced cucumbers, seasoned chickpeas, marinated kale, cilantro-lime rice, and delicious spicy cilantro Verde sauce. The chef recommended vegan chicken and vegan mozzarella with the order, but I declined those choices. By the way, the spicy cilantro Verde sauce is absolutely scrumptious and banging with bold flavors. My family munched on the breakfast burrito filled with cage-free eggs, black bean purée, a trio of colorful peppers, caramelized onions, poblano peppers, beef chorizo, jalapeño Jack cheese, and tomatillo salsa, all combined in a flour tortilla. My two-year-old grandson thoroughly enjoyed his chicken quesadilla with cilantro lime rice; this is the first time he ate nearly every morsel of his food. We rounded our breakfast out with the yummy cinnamon waffle churros with a dipping sauce.
Tocaya definitely lives up to its name; it is the talk of the town amongst hipsters throughout the west. Visit Tocaya locations in Studio City, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Scottsdale, Venice Beach, La Jolla, Hollywood, Century City, Tempe, and Phoenix.
