New Restaurant: Bracero

Each day brings word of a new Little Italy restaurant that sends us food writers into apoplectic fits of hyperbole. This time it’s Bracero, the two-story stunner from revered Baja chef Javier Plascencia. Located at the corner of Kettner and Beech, it’s the focus of the city’s biggest culinary trend—four-star Mexican cuisine. Can Plascencia overcome locals’ “three rolled tacos for whatever change I have” Mexican-food bias? His carnitas taco—a house-made masa tortilla, slow-cooked pork, and a chicharrón (fried pigskin) with pickled veggies—suggests so. Tip: Dinner seems booked for months, but walk-ups often wait less than 20 minutes. Or go for lunch.

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1490 Kettner Boulevard, Little Italy 

New Restaurant: Bracero

Photo by Paul Body