Pop quiz: What do you call a dish made with soyrizo, potatoes, salsa, and guacamole wrapped in an organic corn tortilla? At the Tex-Mex restaurant HomeState, it’s called The Chicano Batman vegan taco. The new meatless meal went on sale Wednesday as the latest collaboration in a long-running “band taco” program that pairs musicians with one of L.A.’s most popular street foods and donates all proceeds to local charities.
“It’s a damn miracle that we’re still here and able to launch this taco,” said Andy Valdez, HomeState marketing director. Her triplet sister Briana Valdez is the owner. “We are incredibly grateful.”
It’s been four months since HomeState switched to a takeout and delivery model. In that time, they set up a general store to sell things such as eggs, yeast, and flour. And they’ve decided to keep their outdoor patio closed “until something very drastically changes, like a vaccine,” Valdez said. Business at all three of its L.A. locations — in Hollywood, Highland Park, and Playa Vista — is, not surprisingly, down.
But the show must go on, as they say, especially in the midst of a pandemic, when there are limited options to experience joy. Few things are more comforting than music and food.
“Music is the finishing salt of everything we do from sourcing and cooking our food to the hospitality,” said Valdez, adding that she hand picks every song the restaurant plays.
The Chicano Batman collaboration is the latest in an ongoing band taco program HomeState started in 2015 with six acts, including Questlove, Fitz and The Tantrums, and Spoon. The common thread with all the bands Valdez invites to create a taco is simply that she’s a fan.
Valdez had spent the prior decade working in the music business and had a lot of natural relationships with artists, as did HomeState.
“We opened in a creative community,” she said, “so a lot of bands and producers and managers come to the restaurant.”
That was Chicano Batman guitarist Carlos Arevalo’s introduction to HomeState. Originally from Highland Park, he and his band often did their tour rehearsals at The Lodge Room, just around the corner from the restaurant’s Figueroa Street location, and their manager frequently picked up tacos and brought them by during practice. Chicano Batman was supposed to play this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival to kick off a summer-long tour in support of their new album, but COVID scrapped that plan.
Arevalo is good friends with the bass player of another band that was turned into a namesake taco that continues to be one of HomeState’s bestsellers — Tijuana Panthers. A secret menu item, it’s made with a melt-in-your-mouth brisket, crispy potatoes, queso, and pico de gallo.
For her part, Valdez said she had been trying to reach Chicano Batman for a band taco collaboration, so it was kismet when Tijuana Panthers’ Daniel Michicoff put them in touch before the pandemic broke out, setting off a process that involved the entire band getting together with restaurant staff at one of HomeState’s outdoor picnic tables in January to sample different options, all of which started out with meats.
“I try to eat as much of a plant-based diet as I can,” said Arevalo, who suggested a vegan taco instead. Ultimately, the soyrizo version won out in a final taste test with the whole band and their management.
“It’s really cool to enter this space that we never really occupied before in terms of being creative,” Arevalo said of the HomeState band taco. “It was a no brainer when they told us the proceeds would go to a nonprofit and not to the restaurant itself, which just made sense. Let’s have this taco, and have it be for a good cause.”
Proceeds from the Chicano Batman vegan taco will benefit the South L.A. nonprofit recreation and education complex, the Watts Empowerment Center, and No Us Without You, a Boyle Heights nonprofit that is helping feed undocumented restaurant workers. In addition to buying the taco, HomeState is also encouraging donations to both groups on its online order page, including a $33 donation option. According to No Us Without You, $33 is how much it costs to feed a family of four for a week.
The average band taco costs $5, is available for three months, and typically nets about $6,000 for the charity it’s connected with. Past tacos have benefited People Assist the Homeless, the American Civil Liberties Union, and a scholarship program to benefit the school founded by Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist (and former band taco collaborator) Flea — the Silverlake Conservatory of Music.
The Chicano Batman vegan taco will be available for the rest of the year.