Aisha Tukur
The actor and born-and-bred Chicano loves hole-in-the wall Mexican food. Here are his top eats in LA from birria tacos at Birrieria Gonzalez to cócteles de camarón at Mariscos el Bigoton.
In recent years, Mario Lopez – forever beloved for playing the self-sure AC Slater on the early 1990s teen sitcom, Saved by the Bell – has become almost as known for his love for Mexican food as he is for his epic dancing talent and easygoing, affable TV and podcast persona.
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Two-time Emmy winner Mario Lopez is the host of NBC’s Access Hollywood, Access Daily and the national iHeart radio programmes “On with Mario Lopez” and “iHeartRadio Countdown with Mario Lopez.” Lopez produced and stars in the holiday movie, Once Upon a Christmas Wish alongside his wife Courtney and son Dominic; which premieres December 2024 on The Great American Family channel.
“I’m really a fat kid at heart, and I love food,” jokes the famously dimpled and fit Lopez, who identifies as a “first-generation, Mexican kid” with a foot in both worlds. “I grew up on Mexican food. I’m fortunate that in Southern California it’s the best. It’s authentic, it’s delicious. Outside of LA, Mexican food is a step down. I’m sorry,” he shrugs. “But it is.”
