Manny’s El Loco Drive In

I basically grew up eating here. There’s nothing sketchy about this place or the neighborhood. It’s a safe neighborhood. The food is amazing. Recommend carne Asada fries and/​or nachos. A bit pricey as a high school student, but it’s affordable and fulfilling. You get what you’re paying for.

Not a bad fast food stand style Mexican restaurant. I ate at the location in Monterey Park in the 70’s & 80’s, before it closed down and have since been eating at this location.
My favorite is the «Loco Burrito» which contains steak and a chile relleno. This is a very unique tasting burrito and I have never tasted a burrito which has such unique flavors.
The only drawback is that the neighborhood is dicey (I personally would not come here after sunset) but during the day, you should be fine.

wow! my mom and dad use to bring me here to eat. It was always booming with people. My mom loved it the most. Got to bring her back here.

The sign says Chano’s, the parking lot says Loco’s…I don’t know what to believe! Well, except that they serve pretty darn good Mexican stand food.
Located right across the street from scenic Lincoln Park, this spot is a surprisingly clean feeling stand with some covered seating, and a fair sized parking lot. Service is very quick and polite, and the prices are about what you’d expect for this kind of fare (burritos $ 4 – 5, tacos $ 1.50 or so, tortas, sopes, burgers, quesadillas, nachos, pastrami).
I got a carne asada burrito and a «loco» taco. The carne asada burrito is just like the one you’d get at the Chano’s by USC: large chunks of meat, beans, onions, cilantro, tomato, and with some nice red hot sauce on the side. The loco taco is shredded beef with sauce, onions and cilantro, and the whole meal w/​a large diet Coke set me back about $ 8.
The carne asada was just what I wanted. The flour tortilla was filled to bursting, a brick sized, paper-​wrapped bundle of meat and beans and veggies brought to life with liberal doses of that not-​too-​spicy hot sauce. The flour tortilla held up well despite the load, and had a nice fresh texture. The meat was well-​seasoned and tender without being soft, well distributed and plentiful. The rest of the filler was adequate.
The loco taco wasn’t anything amazing. The shredded meat clung together a little too much, causing me to end up with about 75% of the meat in the first 2 or 3 bites. I could just as easily not order it ever again.
A good spot, but I’d have to try the nacho plate w/​meat to compare it to what I consider my Chano’s. I’ll be back, but it’s not really worth any kind of special trip if you’ve got Mexican options around you.

Yet another one of my childhood pleasants. I remember walking from our apartment complex on Baldwin to the donut shop on the way to Lincoln Park to play. Some times after which we would walk around and to the southern edge of the park, before the railroad tracks. We’d cross the street and I’d Order a Torta, Horchata and of course fries. The meals were filling, and still are. Though the taste and filling size has varried over the years since i’ve returned to L.A.
It has a patio and parking lot (with patio tables as well) faced twoards the Lincoln and Mexico park. The stand plays K-​earth 101 («oldies but goodies») and the sound of the cars passing by sound more like water waves. The staff is biligual, in either english and spanish or english and catoneese (sp?).
I would recomend simply eating there and then walking accross to the park and resting there from the meal.
oh, and avoid the ducks.