What we’re into: French fry tacos

French fry tacos: OK, they’re not actually called French fry tacos, but that’s exactly what they are: two corn tortillas loaded with chiles, onions and salsa — and French fries. Ricardo Diaz, the chef-owner of Colonia Publica in Whittier, who put the dish on his menu about three months ago, calls them Diablo Tacos, referencing not so much the sauteed chiles as the habanero pumpkin seed salsa, which is so hot that Diaz says he doesn’t eat the stuff himself.

“I’m a street vendor with a roof,� Diaz said recently at Colonia Publica, which he opened last year — it’s one of his small empire of restaurants, two of which are in Whittier, where the chef has lived for many years. Diaz has a pretty nice roof, but beneath it, his populist sensibility is evident on the menu, which is written around bowls of fideo, a Mexican noodle soup that is mostly found in home kitchens rather than restaurants. But before you order the fideo, get a plate of the Diablo Tacos. Maybe get two of them -- even if you’re not the kind of person who shares your food, you’ll want more than two.

Putting French fries in your food mash-ups is not a new thing. There are plates of carne asada fries, French fry burritos, and all those iterations of poutine. But it’s hard to find French fries in your taco, at least put there on purpose. Thus: another reason to head to Whittier.

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