Jonathan “Scoop Dogg” Gold reports on the reanimation of East L.A.’s long-gone Gallo’s Grill, under the slightly modified name El Gallo Grill, now serving on Cesar Chavez. The critic recounts the 2006 fire that swept this sort of “Mexican steakhouse” off the map, preceding years of reopening rumors, while still finding use “as a cudgel with which to bludgeon Eastside kitchens less ambitious with carne asada.” The new restaurant, with its “Santa Maria-style grill back in action” has added divine, life-affirming booze (PBR, but no Modelo, a Chowhounder vents) to its roster of mariposa-flayed flanks and “Yecapixtla-style cecina,” though Gold admits that “after nearly seven years in a coma, El Gallo is still a bit wobbly,” while waiting for the grill to soak up the required flavors that only come with time. [Squid Ink]
