Casa Vega
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{{Infobox Restaurant
| name = Casa Vega
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| established = {{start date and age|1956}}
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| food-type = Mexican cuisine
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| street-address = 13301 Ventura Blvd.
| city = Sherman Oaks
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| state = California
| postcode = 91423
| country = United States
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| website = {{URL|https://www.casavega.com/}}
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Casa Vega is a restaurant in Sherman Oaks, California. In 2022 it was named one of America's Classics by the James Beard Foundation.
History
The restaurant was opened by Rafael Vega, whose mother crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into National City in 1934 to give birth to him, in 1956 when he was 22.{{Cite web |title=Announcing the 2022 America's Classics Winners {{!}} James Beard Foundation |url=https://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/announcing-the-2022-americas-classics#:~:text=A%20Restaurant%20and%20Chef%20category,the%20character%20of%20its%20community. |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=www.jamesbeard.org |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Trinh |first=Jean |date=2018-05-01 |title=62-Year-Old Classic Casa Vega Keeps Its Employees Happy |url=https://la.eater.com/2018/5/1/17170480/casa-vega-immigrant-stories-los-angeles-mexican-restaurant |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=Eater LA |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2022-02-18 |title=Casa Vega in Sherman Oaks wins James Beard Foundation’s America’s Classics Award |url=https://www.dailynews.com/2022/02/18/casa-vega-in-sherman-oaks-wins-james-beard-foundations-americas-classics-award |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=Daily News |language=en-US}} It is located at the corner of Ventura Blvd. and Fulton Avenue. At the time it was one of the few restaurants serving Mexican cuisine located outside the Olvera Street area;{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Evan Nicole |date=2021-11-10 |title=Casa Vega Celebrates 65th Anniversary by Rolling Back Menu Prices to 1956 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/casa-vega-anniversary-menu-prices-1235044562/ |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}} Vega's parents, who had immigrated from Tijuana, had operated a restaurant in Olvera Street.{{Cite web |title=Ray Vega, Founder of Celebrity-Loved Mexican Restaurant Casa Vega, Dies |url=https://people.com/food/ray-vega-founder-casa-vega-dead/ |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=People |language=en}}
Many employees have worked there for decades. According to the Los Angeles Daily News and the Hollywood Reporter, actors such as Jane Fonda, Marlon Brando, Cary Grant, Dean Martin and Desi Arnaz were regulars from time of the restaurant's beginnings and the restaurant continued to attract high-profile Hollywood people, such as Dakota Fanning, Charlize Theron and Sandra Bullock, over the subsequent decades.
Portions of the 2019 Movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood were shot at the restaurant.{{Cite web |title=Iconic Casa Vega Restaurant Closes Its Doors Indefinitely Following Coronavirus Shutdown |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/coronavirus-casa-vega-closed/ |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=CBS News |language=en-US}}
Menu
The menu focuses on staples of Mexican cuisine such as flautas, tostadas, tamales, enchiladas, and albondigas.
Recognition
In 2022 the restaurant was named one of America's Classics by the James Beard Foundation, which credited it for popularizing Mexican cuisine in the area. The Infatuation called it "easily one of LA’s most recognizable Mexican restaurants".{{Cite web |date=2022-08-22 |title=Casa Vega - Sherman Oaks - Los Angeles |url=https://www.theinfatuation.com/los-angeles/reviews/casa-vega |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=The Infatuation |language=en}} According to Eater LA it is "one of Los Angeles’s most beloved restaurants".{{Cite web |last=Holmes |first=Mona |date=2022-02-17 |title=Historic Sherman Oaks Mexican Restaurant Casa Vega Gets James Beard Recognition |url=https://la.eater.com/2022/2/17/22939052/casa-vega-restaurant-sherman-oaks-los-angeles-james-beard-award-am-intel |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=Eater LA |language=en}} CBS News called it "iconic". People Magazine called it "a fixture in LA".
Ownership
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{Cite web |last=Stougaard |first=Jo |date=2016-12-01 |title=How Casa Vega is making it, 60 years after opening in the San Fernando Valley |url=https://www.latimes.com/food/la-fo-casa-vega-recipes-201612203-story.html |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}
External links
- {{official website|https://casavega.com/}}
{{Coord|34|8|48.5|N|118|25|22|W|type:landmark_region:US-CA|display=title}}
{{Restaurants of Los Angeles County, California}}
Category:1956 establishments in California
Category:America's Classics winners