Colonia Taco Lounge owner Ricardo Diaz, left, has delivered possibly his most consequential spot with bar-restaurant Colonia Taco Lounge in unlikely but not-so-far-off La Puente. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Colonia serves a fair selection of vegetarian tacos, including the cauliflower taco. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
The Sonora taco, made with grilled steak and a stalk of green onion. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
A pork belly taco. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
A shrimp taco. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
A bacon and cheese taco. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
A pork and beans taco. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Ate con crema y queso, a dessert served at Colonia. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Unlike Ricardo Diaz’s other restaurants, Colonia has a bar vibe. It serves all sorts of tequila and mescal, as well as the inevitable craft beers and cocktails, (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Patrons enjoy drinks at Colonia. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
You’ll find the day’s list of tacos and cocktails scrawled on chalkboards around Colonia. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Diaz makes fresh tortillas at Colonia. He comes from the clan that has run the El 7 Mares seafood chain for a generation. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
A wine rack at Colonia. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Diaz chats with a customer outside his restaurant. Diaz was one of the people behind Guisados, which introduced the Eastside to a kind of stew-based taco popular in Mexico City, and he is set to open the crunchy-taco house Duro in Silver Lake. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
A sign advertising food and beer in front of Colonia. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
