Table at Third & Fairfax is a weekly dining column in 2023 where Food and Drink editor Patricia Kelly Yeo will eat her way through the Original Farmers Market. Each column will drop on Thursday for a week-by-week recap of her journey through the classic L.A. tourist attraction. Last week, Kelly visited the French Crepes and Michelina.
Last week’s July 4th was the hottest day ever recorded, globally speaking, which only heightens the sense of climate doom I feel as I sweat profusely while waiting in line at Magee’s Kitchen (est. 1917). It is hot, hot, hot, every inch of the market filled with peak summer tourist crowds, and I’m back again at the market’s oldest vendor to try the menu’s Mexican American B-side, which includes enchiladas, hard shell tacos and tostadas, all three of them available with beef, chicken or melted cheese.
For a little bit of everything, I order the enchilada plate ($11.75), which comes with “Spanish” rice and refried pinto beans, as well as a single beef taco ($4) and a side of chips and salsa ($3)—a far cheaper alternative to the $10(!) side of chips and guacamole. Within a few minutes, I’ve got my tray in hand, since Magee’s is an efficient cafeteria-style lunch spot that excels at speed, if not always quality. (Last time, I ordered a hot dog, which came in a bun you could break a tooth on.)
I begin, unable to stop myself, with a couple of glistening, freshly fried tortilla chips, which I dunk into a watery tomato salsa that reminds me, more than anything else, of the version served at my elementary school cafeteria. This is not the sleeper-hit simple salsa from Tito’s Tacos in Culver City; this is salsa mediocrity, plain and simple, in a land full of delicious pico de gallo, fiery salsa roja and bouncy little tomatillos roasted and broken down until their color resembles the Grinch. Next, I turn to the beans, which also come topped with a few chips. Watery and flavorless, the side dish is partially rescued by the melted cheese.
The rest of the meal proceeds in a serviceable fashion best described as Taco Bell lite. The singular taco turns out to be the strongest dish, packed full of well-seasoned ground beef and topped with iceberg lettuce, shredded yellow cheese and red salsa. The chicken enchiladas, surprisingly, have little flavor despite being covered in enchilada sauce and cheese, and the rice is limp, with pieces of corn and carrots mixed in. With another editorial dinner in my near future (Dante at the Maybourne Beverly Hills), it’s easy to stop myself from finishing lunch.
Lately, I’ve been craving Mexican American food, most likely due to numerous press releases regarding El Cholo’s 100th anniversary and a recent Los Angeles Times package on Mexican restaurants. The food I had from Magee’s did little to scratch that itch, but it has gotten me thinking of better places within a short drive of the Farmers Market. If you’re craving enchiladas and a massive side of chips and salsa, just go to El Coyote, El Compadre in Hollywood, or heck, just drive to the Valley for Casa Vega.
Meals from Table at Third & Fairfax fall into three categories: Skip It, Worth Trying and Must Have.
Vendor: Magee’s Kitchen
Order: Two enchilada plate, a beef taco and a side of chips and salsa
Verdict: Skip It. While Magee’s is worth trying for the corned beef and pastrami, you can find better Mexican American food elsewhere.