Dan Vitale will remain head coach of Detroit Softball while it looks for a new location, according to owner Justin Jacobs, who cited an issue with the…
“Angelina” owns the proudly Mexican restaurant Pocha L.A. Modern Mexicana Kitchen, which has stated that it would soon close its doors in Highland Park. This Sunday, August 4, is the last day to get the restaurant’s deconstructed blini-like “burritas,” nutritious salads, and chilaquiles; nevertheless, the owners claim they are searching for a new site.
In the midst of Pandemic paranoia, owner and founder Claire Risoli opened Pocha in April 2020. She unveiled the restaurant’s bright white walls, which were accentuated with a powerful, pink vintage photo mural of five proud women and pink neon signs that read “jefa-owned… juntos crecemos” (which translates to “woman boss-owned… together we grow”) and a vegan-friendly menu.
Pocha’s debut signaled a self-aware approach to Mexican American cuisine as well as the imaginatively twisted homestyle foods it provided.
identity in the northeast L.A. community during a period of rising gentrification and East Coast incursion.
“Many of us who may have been deemed “Americanized” as children were called Pocha or Pocho growing up here,” Risoli said to Canvas Rebel earlier this year. “It used to be thought of as a slightly disparaging term, or at the very least, as one that had a sense of negativity. To tell the truth, I detested the name. I got the impression that I wasn’t white enough for the Caucasians and not Mexican enough for the Mexicans. With the passage of time, the phrase gained greater empowerment. I began embracing and appreciating both of my cultures with a sense of pride.
I I gave up trying to prove how Mexican I was and instead focused on appreciating my true identity, my rich cultural background, and the wonderful luxury of being an American.
