Head to Highland Park and experience Villa’s Tacos’ original backyard pop-up, before the award-winning taco shop found its permanent home on North Figueroa Street. While you enjoy the guac that’s never extra, bliss out to Alaina Castillo’s song “Indica” and vibe with Paolina Acuña-Gonzalez’s poem “Ingenue.”
Explore more about Highland Park.
More from the archive
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Villa’s Tacos, maker of some of L.A.’s best tacos, now has a bricks-and-mortar shop off Figueroa in Highland Park. (Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
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LOS ANGELES , CA - OCTOBER 08: The Villa’s Trio (right) and mulita con pierna de pollo at Villa’s Tacos at El Mercado Street Festival in Highland Park on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022 in Los Angeles , CA. (Shelby Moore / For The Times) (Shelby Moore / For The Times)
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Lu rou fan, a dish of gently spiced pork over rice, is a favorite at Joy. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)
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LOS ANGELES, CA-January 22, 2019: The tagliolini with duck ragu from Hippo restaurant in Highland Park on Tuesday, January 22, 2019. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times) (Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)
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Highland Park’s new combination bagel shop and pizzeria focuses on New York-style technique for both. Bagel toppings can include chive cream cheese and sustainably farmed salmon. (Stephanie Breijo/Los Angeles Times)
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HIGHLAND PARK, CA - NOVEMBER 01: An iced pour-over is prepared at Kumquat Coffee Co. in Highland Park. Photographed on Monday, Nov. 1, 2021. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
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March 4, 2022: Puppeteers give a sidewalk performance outside the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in the Highland Park. The longest continuously running puppet theater in America has adapted to much adversity since its founding in 1963. Soon after the initial pandemic lockdown was lifted, the troupe was tooling around L.A. in its “Marionette Mobile,” pulling into driveways or parking curbside and putting on a show.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
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HIGHLAND PARK, CA-MAY 4, 2022: Louis Easton, aka, “The Plant Mon,” is photographed inside his pop up tent located in front of his home on San Pascual Ave. in Highland Park. Easton calls himself a plant broker, growing houseplants at his home, offering advice on social media and purchases online and then delivering the plants to customers all over L.A. He has the pop-up tent outside his home for people who want to buy plants in person and moves that tent to other locations for pop up sales. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)
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HIGHLAND PARK, CA - JULY 11: Exterior of Rappcats record store on Saturday, July 11, 2020 in Highland Park, CA. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
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HIGHLAND PARK, CA - JULY 11: Egon Alapatt, co-founder of Rappcats record store, stands for portraits inside the store on Saturday, July 11, 2020 in Highland Park, CA. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
11/16
LOS ANGELES, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 - - Comedian Paul F. Tompkins will take center stage when he hosts a comedy-based variety show at The Lodge Room in Highland Park on Sep. 20. The show will include special (mystery) guests. It’s a throwback to a popular show he hosted at the Largo for years, and it sold out within an hour of him announcing it. Tompkins was photographed on September 14, 2021. Tompkins was inspired by classic variety shows like Sonny and Cher and The Carol Burnett Show. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
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Avalon Vintage in Highland Park. (Lisa Boone/Los Angeles Times )
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LOS ANGELES-CA-FEBRUARY 3, 2023: North Figueroa Bookshop in Los Angeles on Friday, February 3, 2023. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) (Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
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HIGHLAND PARK, CA-APRIL 13, 2020: Musician San Cha is photographed at her home in Highland Park. Her music is dramatic and often explosive, weaving storytelling into the cumbia, punk and Latin rhythms that inspire her work. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times) (Mel Melcon/Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)
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LOS ANGELES, CA-MARCH 25, 2020: Andrew Stewart hands a customer their pizza from Town on Figueroa on March 25, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. He says that after severe restrictions were place to help curb the spread of the coronavirus their pizza sales went up. (Photo By Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times) (Dania Maxwell/Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times)
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LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - JANUARY 03: American rock band Cherry Glazerr guitarist and lead vocalist Clementine Creevy poses for a portrait at her home in Highland Park, on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019 in Los Angeles, Calif. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
