Outrageous, but true.

A Saturday in May dawned cold and rainy.

What to do in LA?!

We headed to Frogtown, an up and coming ‘hood in the shadow of Dodger Stadium.

Even though it was only 9:30am, the traffic was heavy.

It is imperative that this topic be mentioned because, other than your personal square footage, Los Angelenos never miss an opportunity to complain about traffic.

I had never ever experienced a drive by in Frogtown or the neighboring Atwater Village.

To be honest, there is not much to see, but you can tell it is on the rise.

Chip and Joanna Gaines of Fixer Upper fame, would have a field day with the bare bones of the stucco buildings surrounding Salazar, the hottest restaurant in Los Angeles and on everyone’s Top 10 list.

GQ just named Salazar one of the Top 10 new restaurants in the country.

Last week, the NY Times featured Salazar in the Food section and is over the moon about the restaurant.

I could not be deterred.

Only street parking is available amongst abandoned buildings and small stucco homes.

Specifically, the humble neighborhood of Frogtown is situated in between Silver Lake and Glendale by the Los Angeles River.

Salazar is simple yet welcoming.

It has a big outdoor area with vintage plastic chairs straight out of a 1970’s cafeteria, rough wooden tables set with metal camping style plates and mugs.

It was early so the place was not yet packed.

Rumor has it that there is often a 2 hour wait.

People settle in with their drinks amongst the wafting mesquite grilling aroma.

We sat outside in the desert invoking patio and took our chances that the rain would not return.

We ordered strong, hot Stumptown coffee ($5).

We kicked brunch off with homemade chips and guacamole with red onion, cilantro, sunflower seeds and queso fresco…both very good ($8).

Tierra was our first course, a fantastic roasted beets salad with spicy pistachios, blue cheese, mint and a citronette dressing ($12).

David ordered a fabulous Shrimp Quesadilla with jumbo sweet and tender shrimp, queso menonita, salsa misterio, topped with a fried egg ($12).

I chose a Carne Asada Taco filled with steak grilled over blazing hot mesquite, salsa vaquera, cilantro and red onion, all ingredients perched on top of a homemade flour tortilla ($3.75). The steak was tender and juicy, the onions sweet.

Salazar serves innovative cocktails, including an enticing Horchata, a Mexican rice beverage with cacao rum, cinnamon liqueur and milk ($13).

We were surrounded by imbibers, including aging rockers downing tequila shots at 10:30am.

Other Bebidas include wine, cerveza and margaritas.

Our neighbors ordered the Carne Asada Milanesa, a country fried steak ($14).

The small indoor seating section was transformed from a Mazda auto body shop.

There is a tiny adjacent area where women were working hard, making the homemade tortillas.

Chef Esdras Ochao is a Mexico City native, but he grew up in Calexico, the bordertown adjacent to the heart of the Sonoran Desert, an arid expanse connecting the Mexican state of Sonora with the American Southwest.

Salazar’s team is comprised of Billy Silverman and the aforementioned Esdras Ochoa with chef de cuisine Jonathan Aviles handling the day-to-day.

Bring the kids, the dogs…all are appropriately welcome.

Salazar is a fun restaurant, offering a uniquely comfortable environment, serving enticing cuisine featuring fresh ingredients.

Salazar 2490 Fletcher Drive Los Angeles, California. Open Monday-Thursday and Sunday 10am-10pm, Friday and Saturday 10am-Midnight, Closed Monday. Street parking. No reservations or phone.