The actor and born-and-bred Chicano loves hole-in-the wall Mexican food. Here are his top eats in LA from birria tacos at Birreria Gonzales to cócteles de camarón at Mariscos el Bigoton. In recent years, Mario Lopez – forever beloved for playing the self-sure AC Slater on the early 1990s teen sitcom, Saved by the Bell – has become almost as known for his love for Mexican food as he is for his epic dancing talent and easygoing, affable TV and podcast persona.
"I'm really a fat kid at heart, and I love food," jokes the famously dimpled and fit Lopez, who identifies as a "first-generation, Mexican kid" with a foot in both worlds. "I grew up on Mexican food. I'm fortunate that in Southern California it's the best.
It's authentic, it's delicious. Outside of LA, Mexican food is a step down. I'm sorry," he shrugs.
"But it is." Lopez moved to Los Angeles as a young actor and calls it home. "I love Los Angeles," he says.
"All my kids were born here. And my dad, when he immigrated to this country [from Culiacán, Mexico], first came to LA." In 1781, the first Mexican settlers established the pueblo of Los Angeles, then part of Mexico; 40 years before Mexico would declare independence from Spain .
Today, Mexican Americans comprise 31.9% of the city's population , and there are many historically Mexican enclaves, including East Los Angeles, Pacoima, the Boyle Heights neighbourhood – home to Mariachi Plaza – and colourful Olvera Street , a tree-shaded block lined with Mexican.