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We all know Los Angeles is a city where culinary diversity abounds. The food landscape is unlike any other city I’ve been to. If you know how to craft a unique menu with creative dishes that stand out, the sky is the limit. A shining example of this is X’tiosu, a Oaxacan-Middle Eastern fusion restaurant in Boyle Heights.
X’tiosu’s owners, Ignacio and Felipe Santiago, moved to Los Angeles in 2009 from San Felipe Guila, a small town in rural Oaxaca, Mexico. They were barely teenagers, but they were set on moving to Los Angeles to create a new life in the land of opportunities.
I found it fascinating when they told me that they learned how to speak Spanish here in Los Angeles. Their mother language, Zapotec, is one of the many indigenous languages that are spoken in Mexico, which goes to show you how incredibly rich and diverse Mexican culture is.
Ignacio said that the only time they spoke Spanish in their village was at school with their teachers. “You were reprimanded if you didn’t speak in Spanish, so you were better off staying quiet,” said Felipe. Both of them laughed.
“But, why Lebanese and Mexican food?” I asked. Ignacio replied: “We worked at a few Lebanese restaurants here in LA for many years. We knew the basics of cooking Mexican food, so that’s where the idea of fusing Lebanese food with Oaxacan ingredients came into play.” The meaning of X’tiosu, pronounced “sh-tee-oh-sue”, means “thank you” in Zapotec.
The two brothers admitted that they’re not social media savvy. Because of this, they’re not aware of who goes to the restaurant until a publication comes out. After my meal, during the interview, Ignacio and Felipe said that when they opened X’tiosu in early 2017, sometimes they didn’t even make $50 a day. Getting the business off the ground was not easy, but this all changed when they got a write-up by LA Weekly in late 2017. They went viral in 2019 with another write-up by the LATimes. But X’tiosu’s fame soared to new heights when they were featured on the Netflix’s show Ugly Delicious, Season 2 Episode 4 (2020) “As The Meat Turns”. On this show, chef and restauranteur David Chang explores different cultures through food.
Felipe said: “From living in a small town in Oaxaca to being on Netflix…It’s an honor. We never expected this. I don’t even know how they found us.”
A week later after the episode aired in March 2020, the world went into lockdown. We all know how incredibly challenging this time was for businesses.
“It’s a miracle that we’re still here. We didn’t know if we were going to make it. A few restaurants in the neighborhood that had been opened forever closed.” said Felipe. Ignacio said that the prices from wholesale food distributors during this time were exorbitant.
After being featured on the LATimes, they got multiple offers from people wanting to partner with them to open a new restaurant. But Felipe and Ignacio knew better. They weren’t enticed by these tempting offers, especially after working in restaurant kitchens for so many years. This experience gave them insights into the ins and outs of restaurant management, and how vital communication is. They told me that many times it was a shitshow because the higher-ups didn’t properly communicate with each other. “One person tells you one thing, but then the other tells you to do something different. Then they get mad at each other,” said Felipe shrugging his shoulders.
Ignacio said: “It’s all about communication. Felipe and I are family, but it’s difficult doing business with people. Especially people you’re not close with. When things get tough, that’s when they show their true colors. There needs to be a solid foundation first to build a business relationship. Like, you’re offering me this, but we don’t know each other, you know?”
X’tiosu is solely operated by Felipe and Ignacio. Their cousin occasionally goes to help them, and Ignacio’s wife helps with the legal paperwork and sometimes with social media. But at the end of the day, Ignacio and Felipe are the faces of the business.
After a month of finding out about X’tiosu, I finally went there straight after work. The restaurant is in a parking lot and consists of a walk-up window with a few tables outside that are shaded by a wooden canopy. On the window glass, there were cutout articles from the LATimes and LAWeekly.
I hadn’t had anything for lunch, so I was starving! The menu is so diverse that it took me a minute to decide: falafel, tabouleh salad, Oaxacan hummus, chicken shawarma tacos… If you’re not in the mood for tacos, you can get the shawarma or falafel in a burrito. Or if you’re leaning towards Middle-Eastern, you can get their one of their Kebab plates. There were so many options!
He asked me if I was vegan and suggested the falafel plate, but I said I wasn’t vegan and that I wanted something heartier. I ended up choosing the taco plate, where I opted for the chicken and the falafel taco.
After taking my order, Ignacio said that my meal would be ready in about 10 minutes. Everything is made to order by either Ignacio or Felipe. So, if there’s someone ahead of you, be patient! Everyone that went there to pick up their orders took them to go. I was lucky to be the only customer that dined there on that overcast afternoon. While I waited, I sat down on one of the chairs. Here, my sense of being in East Los Angeles was solidified by the sight of Hispanic teenagers walking out of the bodega next door with Hispanic glass bottled sodas, and the regional Mexican music blasting through a few oncoming vehicles.
Ignacio called me about 10 minutes later to let me know that my order was ready. Even if you eat your food there, they will serve it in takeout boxes.
The portions are big! As you can see in the picture below, the salad was overflowing. I’ve had my fair share of good hummus in LA, but this one was probably the smoothest and most flavorful hummus I’ve ever had.
The tacos were good, but if it’s your first time, I would order the meats on their own to truly appreciate them. Here, chicken and the falafel were overpowered by the tortilla and the different toppings, like the cilantro on the chicken shawarma taco and the fermented cabbage on the falafel taco. The falafels were drizzled in a thick brown sauce that was incredibly rich in flavor! I later learned that it was “salsa de frijoles”, which in English translates to bean sauce. The tacos come with a red sauce on the side, but since these already had a vast range of flavors, textures, and interesting ingredients, there was no need.
Here’s a close-up of the chicken shawarma and the falafel taco.
The pickled turnips added a nice acidity and sourness to the overall dish. The pilaf rice was cooked to perfection, and the dressing of the salad was insanely good. On the website, it says that it’s a citrus dressing. To me, it tasted like a lemon vinaigrette dressing that wasn’t too acidic and allowed the freshness of the lettuce and the rest of the ingredients to come through.
A no-frills green salad is the last thing I think about when I think of a Kebab plate. But I was shocked by how good this salad was: light, refreshing, and a sheer delight to eat with the hummus and rice. After eating, I felt satisfied, and even though the portion was big, I didn’t feel too full.
On my second visit, which happened a week later, I opted for the falafel plate. It’s a shame that my phone died just when I was about to take my first bite. The falafel was freshly made because it was warm and extra crispy. The deep golden-brown exterior was crunchy and the interior was slightly moist. As someone who’s pretty indifferent when it comes to falafel, this was so good! I also read that making a perfectly crispy falafel is not that easy. If the mixture isn’t right, it may come out too dry or fall apart.
After I was done eating the falafels, it was incredibly satisfying to eat the hummus, the rice, the pickled turnips, and the bountiful green salad, just like the previous week. Before I left, I thanked Ignacio again for the delicious meal. He said that on my third time, I should try the chorizo kebab plate. For this dish, Felipe and Ignacio use Oaxacan chorizo, which is grilled Kebab-style.
On my first visit, after I finished eating, I interviewed Ignacio on the spot. Felipe briefly joined the interview later because he was cooking the orders that were coming in through the iPad. We first started with their backstory, which you already read at the beginning of this post. Later, our conversation segued into their lives here in Los Angeles, business advice, and their childhood in Oaxaca.
What do you think about LA?
Ignacio: I think Los Angeles is a wonderful place. I moved here in 2009, but it didn’t catch my attention because all we did was sleep and work. But now that I have my daughters and I’m married, I’ve started to explore more. My wife has taken me to places that I never thought I would see. It’s an honor to be here in LA.
Note: Ignacio’s wife, Xochitl Flores-Marcial, is a History Professor and a historical researcher who specializes in indigenous languages like Zapotec and Náhuatl.
What are your favorite restaurants?
Ignacio: There are three places that we frequently visit. Quiadayin restaurant for Oaxacan food. I like ordering their empanada de Amarillo with chicken. They also make really good Tlayudas and their moles are really good. For breakfast, we like Metro Cafe. My daughters love ordering their French toast and scrambled eggs. We also like Teddy’s Cafe. I love ordering eggs, chorizo and frijoles, tortilla and their salsa verde, which I love. Whenever we’re in the mood for sushi, we like going to California Roll Factory.
(Felipe joins in the conversation)
Felipe: I don’t know that many places because I work the most. Even on my off days, I come here, whereas Felipe spends more time with his wife and daughters. Single life is different (laughs).
Ignacio: But there are a few places you like…
Felipe: Those are every once in a while. But yes, if I go out, I usually go to a few Mexican spots that are nearby. Juquila Restaurant on Santa Monica Blvd. Taco’s El Flaco (truck) and Nina’s Mexican Food.
Note: All these places are in West Los Angeles because that’s where Felipe and Ignacio live.
What are your favorite places in LA?
Felipe: Ignacio is the one that hangs out the most (laughs).
Ignacio: Yes! We love going out (laughs). We try to immerse our daughters in nature as much as we can. We don’t go to theme parks like Disney or Universal. We love Del Cerro Park to take walks. They love going to the library and going to the California Science Center and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. But the thing we love the most is camping! (laughs). I have like ten places I could talk about. We love it.
Ok, so first place. We love going to the coast. There’s a place called Montaña de Oro (near San Luis Obispo). It’s a beautiful place to go with family and go on walks. We also love Joshua Tree. We love rock climbing and seeing the Desert bighorn sheep and rabbits. We like camping there. There’s an app called Hicamp. It’s not affiliated with Airbnb. They have campsites and RVs. We like booking the campsites where the tents are already set up.
When I have an off day here in LA, I take them to the Culver City Stairs on Jefferson Blvd. We also have friends who own a ranch in the Los Angeles National Forest. We like staying in airstreams and seeing the goats there.
We love Sequoia, Yosemite… We just came back from Elk Reserve in Point Reyes, about two hours north of San Francisco. It’s a place where you can see hundreds of elks. It’s beautiful. There’s a route where you can drive through Redwood National Park. There are so many places… Gaviota State Park, near Oxnard. We love camping on the beach there. You can rent boats. Oh! Before I forget, La Purísima Mission State Historic Park in Lompoc, near Solvang. If you want to walk in a rural setting, that’s the perfect place. You can walk through the olive trees.
Wow! Thank you for all these amazing recommendations!
Ignacio: We recently went to Carmel in Big Sur, and stayed in a house overlooking the ocean. It’s a beautiful place. We also plan on driving from LA to Yellowstone to see the volcano.
What dishes do you recommend for first-timers?
Ignacio: If you’re vegan, definitely the falafel plate. We can also do it in a taco or a burrito. Also, the chicken shawarma plate and the shawarma taco are very popular. Other popular menu items are the Oaxacan hummus and the tabouleh salad. All of them are very healthy and very delicious.
What is your favorite food?
Ignacio: We eat almost everything, as long as there are frijoles and tortillas (laughs). I’m not vegan, but I try not to eat too much meat. I like greens and vegetables in my meals. I don’t really eat cheese, and I don’t particularly have a sweet tooth. I’m not into desserts that much. Sometimes we go to El Sazon Oaxaqueno and get their pan dulce. We also know a woman who makes cakes. If there’s a party or another celebration, we call her, but that’s it when it comes to sweet stuff.
What are your thoughts when people are having your food for the first time?
Ignacio: We’re very nervous! We think, “What if they don’t like it?” “What if they write a bad review?” We have Oaxacan hummus (made with whipped black beans), vegan tacos, our homemade sauces…all of that was created here, in our kitchen. So it’s a bit nerve-wracking. You don’t know how people are going to react to something they don’t know. But, it feels nice to hear that the food was really good and that this was something they had never had before. We’ve gotten good reviews so far, so yes, it feels nice.
Could you tell me about your childhood in Oaxaca?
Ignacio: We were very poor. We knew how to make frijoles. We also grew up eating soup. Like the alphabet soup that people eat here? We’d cook tomato soup with pasta shells, and we’d also cook a lot of eggs.
We’d help a lot in the kitchen. In our village, it was very common to hear that women belonged in the kitchen and that men were meant to do other things. But we didn’t grow up like that. We’d help in the kitchen, on the farm… everything.
What is your advice to someone who wants to start their own business?
Ignacio: If you have an idea, go ahead and do it. It’s not easy, but not impossible. If you really want to do something, just do it. Don’t be held back by the opinions of others who might say, “Oh, it’s going to be very difficult.” Try to keep it positive. If you think about it and you don’t do it, nothing is going to happen. There are a lot of opportunities here. We started sharing our food on Instagram and that’s how people started finding us. But it wasn’t that easy. A year after we opened, that’s when we started seeing new faces.
Ignacio and Felipe holding the L.A. Times’ 101 Best Restaurants Reimagined for 2020 magazine, where X’tiosu was featured.
The best part about being a business owner is that you’re the owner and you make your own decisions. We’re a team. If a problem happens, we solve it. If you’re by yourself, it’s also good. But if it’s more than three people… that’s when things might get a little complicated, in my opinion.
*End of interview*
If you go to X’tiosu, let them know that you read this article! 🙂 They like when people tell them how they found them.
Address: 923 Forest Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90033
Mondays closed
Tuesday-Saturday 11:30 am – 7pm
Sunday 11:30 am 5 pm
