Hugo's Tacos (Los Angeles, CA)

Hugo's Tacos is one of my favorite vegan-friendly restaurants in LA. They serve high quality, cheap California-Mexican food at two locations: Studio City and Atwater Village.

While there's plenty of meat on their menu, Hugo's offers vegan versions of nearly everything. Soy chorizo, Daiya cheese, Vegenaise... they have it all! Last time I was in the area, I went to Hugo's three times in four days. I probably would have gone there on the fourth day too, but I was too busy camping out in a parking lot for a U2 concert. It's a shame they don't deliver.

So, while I was in LA last weekend, of course I headed to Hugo's to get my taco stand fix.

Green tamales, $3.19

I love these spinach and sweet corn tamales so much. The spinach is all blended up into the masa, and there are sweet corn kernels folded in. There's probably a load of sugar in these because they're super sweet and could almost pass as dessert, but that's what makes them delicious. They come covered with mild tomatillo salsa by default, but you can choose another salsa instead. I like the tomatillo. No sense in messing with a good thing.

The only small complaint I have about these tamales is that they are always served lukewarm. I've eaten them three or four times, and not once have they ever been hot by the time I received them. Considering Hugo's pushes your food to you directly from the kitchen via a window, I don't get it. It's not like it's a long journey from the warmer to my face or anything.

Rice and beans, $1.59

The rice is good, but the beans are fabulous. Organic white beans at a taco stand? Yes, that is a great idea. They are so creamy and flavorful.

Frozato, $2.28

I know I sort of buried the lead here, but this is the real reason to come to Hugo's: VEGAN SOFT SERVE! In a vegan waffle cone*. It comes in vanilla, chocolate, and swirl. It is the stuff dreams are made of. It's honestly better and creamier than any soft serve I ever ate in my pre-vegan life. So, so good.

*Hugo's staff at both locations claimed the cones were vegan when I asked. The web site says they are not. However, the web site also says the Frozato is only available at their Atwater location, while it has actually been available in Studio City for a long time. The point is, the web site has outdated information, so I choose to believe what the people have told me. Eat the cone at your own risk. Or, ask to read the ingredients. If you find out something I don't know, please let me know. I would have investigated better myself, but I didn't look at the web site until after I'd already eaten a few of the cones.

Hugo's also serves vegan coconut rice pudding for dessert, which sounds awesome. Frankly, I'm pretty sure I'll never try it. I can't not get the soft serve.

Everything I've tried at Hugo's has been great, and if I lived in LA, I would happily eat my way through their entire menu. Having been to both locations, I can report that in my experience, the food quality has been consistently good, with little to no variation between the two restaurants. The menu is the same at both. If I had to choose a favorite, I'd go with the Atwater location, simply because it always seems less crowded, and parking is far less of a pain in the ass.

Hugo's Tacos

Atwater Village
3300 Glendale Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90039

Studio City
4749 Coldwater Canyon
Studio City, CA 91604