Executive Chef Jimmy Shaw is an affable man who was raised in Mexico City and cooks the Mex-Mex way, not Tex-Mex or Cali-Mex. “Mexican food from Mexico City tastes much different from the food many Mexican restaurants serve in the states,” Shaw said. “Mexico City has the largest population of Mexican people. Los Angeles has the second largest and Guadalajara has the third.”

The Hollywood location of Loteria Grill is brightly lit with colorful decorations, serving the same delicious fare as the original restaurant at the Farmers Market. (photo by Jill Weinlein)

Due to a series of serendipitous events, Shaw opened his first Lotería Grill in the center of the Farmers Market in January, 2003, creating a restaurant that appeals to all Angelenos.

Shaw’s brother advised him to use the Lotería cards as a theme for his Farmers Market restaurant. Lotería is a beloved Bingo game in Mexico that is as popular as Monopoly is in America.

Shaw always loved preparing and eating food. After attending the University of Pennsylvania, he became a personal chef to American cinematographer Garret Brown. Brown created the Steadicam back in the 1970s .

Two years later, Shaw needed his green card and found a job in a Spanish language ad agency in Los Angeles.

Living with four roommates, Shaw enjoyed chopping, cooking and entertaining in his free time. “My favorite time was sobremesa,” Shaw said. “It means the comfort and warmth of good food and great friends with laughter at the end of a delicious dinner.”

Even though he was a success in the advertising world, he dreamed of owning a restaurant. On a flight home from a business meeting in Washington D.C., Shaw put his dream into words and wrote the concept for Lotería Grill.

In November of 2002, he was fortunate to receive an offer by the A. F. Gilmore Company to take over a Mexican food stand in the Farmers Market.

“When the stars line up the right way in the restaurant business you jump on in and ride the wave,” Shaw said. “Every Thanksgiving I give my thanks to Hank Hilty, president of the A.F. Gilmore Company, that owns the Farmers Market. He believes in the small merchant. He believed in me.”

Shaw hired a storyboard artist to design the colorful theme of Lotería cards. When he opened his first restaurant, he worked more than 12 hours a day. Instead of hiring a publicist, he invited his friends to come eat his various dishes and spread the word. “A plate of food at Lotería is the best advertising,” he said.

Six years later he opened his second location in Hollywood, next Studio City, then Westlake Village and Santa Monica. Soon Shaw will have a downtown Los Angeles location and at Terminals 5 and 7 at LAX.

Our server Ginger couldn’t have been more friendly and professional as she brought out one delicious dish after another. The first was a plate of three tacos, which Shaw instructed us to bite into with a slight tilt of your head, thereby preventing the filling from falling on to your plate, or worse, your clothing.

The quesadillas are served Mexico City style, in fluffy corn tortillas stuffed with squash blossoms, chilies and queso. (photo by Jill Weinlein)

A plate of quesadillas arrived and looked much different than the quesadillas I’ve had at other Mexican restaurants. It wasn’t a big flour tortilla folded in half and stuffed with cheese. The Quesadillitas de Plaza is a plate of three fresh corn masa turnovers. One was filled with fresh squash blossoms, the other was Huitlacoche corn truffle and the third has strips of chile Poblano and Oaxaca cheese. It’s served with crema Mexicana, salsa verde cruda and queso fresco. Shaw told us to cut the turnovers in half and place a dollop of crema, salsa and queso on top, an explosion of wonderful flavors.

Shaw purchases 50 to 60 pounds of fresh squash blossoms every week to prepare this popular dish.

When listening to Shaw’s wonderful personal stories, a large plate of chilaquiles arrived at our table. “This is the classic Mexican breakfast cure-all,” he said.  Crisp tortilla strips are sautéed in salsa and served with black beans. Shaw took the bowls of queso fresco, crema Mexicana, and a green tomatillo sauce and poured them over the chopped onion and cilantro. While this is a  very popular breakfast item, I enjoyed them thoroughly for lunch.

“In Mexico, dinner starts at 10 p.m. and can last until the early morning hours. Chilaquiles are great after a night out on the town.”

The moles made at Lotería are smooth and made with over 26 ingredients. Shaw likened them to the curries in India. “There are a million different types,” Shaw added.

Last we shared one of Shaw’s favorite dishes, the red snapper Vera Cruz. This plate is a marriage of Spain and Mexico with Spanish olives, capers, onions and tomatoes. The pan-seared snapper is bathed in a luscious red sauce and adorned with fried plantains.

For dessert, we split a bowl of tequila ice cream. “That is one thing that I like to make in the Hollywood kitchen,” he said. “I also make a great cinnamon hot-chocolate ice cream.”

In Spanish the word loteria, means lottery. Jimmy Shaw won the lottery in California with his wonderful authentic Mexican restaurants. $-$$

Farmers Market – 6333 W 3rd St. (323)930-2211, Hollywood – 6627 Hollywood Blvd. (323)465-2500, Studio City – 12050 Ventura Blvd. (818)508-5300, Westlake Village – 180 Promenade Way (805)379-1800 and Santa Monica – 1251 3rd St. (310)393-2700.