These six sisters originally from Santa María Coapan, Mexico, are fulfilling their father’s dream by continuing his legacy of serving one of the best lamb and goat barbacoa dishes in East Los Angeles.
“He always told us that he wanted us to continue the tradition started by his father (our grandfather) and his brothers,” said Ana Flores, one of the six sisters who now run the business called Barbacoa Las Flores. “And thank God here we are.”
Almost all the memories that Ana and her sisters have of their father begin with them surrounding a pit full of firewood, with pounds of delicious lamb barbecue cooking underground. Now, as adults, they are already experts in the kitchen, and how could they not? Yes, from the age of 8, the Flores sisters learned everything necessary to prepare the recipe from their father, Saúl Delfino Flores Abril, who has since passed away.
In the photos they shared with La Opinión you can see how the girls, who were just children at the time, surround their father at the table while he cuts the meat after removing it from the pot. The eyes of the little ones watching with precision every step she takes.
“We had to pay attention,” say Ana and her sister Soledad, laughing as they remember those moments. “Because if not, he would scold us, because he said that this was what he was going to leave us as an inheritance, and we thank him for all that because it made us quite strong.”
Ana says that when they were young, they didn’t really want to be part of the business, as they saw how much work was required to start a business that not only had good food, but also good service.
“Over the years, we see how he was educating us and preparing us for life, because life can be so beautiful, but it is also hard,” Soledad said. “Thank God, he taught us to do all this, how to have affection, love and dedication to this work.”
Ana says that currently, from Monday to Thursday, they work in a construction and demolition company and, from Friday to Sunday, in their restaurant at home. He says that, after the pandemic, their jobs at the construction company began to slow down and it was at that moment, three years ago, that the idea of restarting their father’s business came to mind.
They began preparing barbecue for their family and friends and, over time, they began to sell it in the garden of their house, with a single table and a single pot. They now have a small restaurant that extends from the valuable garden to the back.
When they started, he said they gave away a barbecue taco as a promotion and as proof that the food was good.
“I told my sisters that yes we are going to lose money, but you will see that over time it will come back to us; it is just to attract people and encourage them to try the barbecue,” said Ana. “Once you try it, you will see that they come back, I told them.”
Each of them plays a different role: Dora is in charge of buying the products, Soledad is the valuable cook and Ana prepares all the sauces and leaves the meat ready for her sister, in addition to making sure that everything goes well on the day of the sale. Her other sisters also help prepare the handmade tortillas or serve customers. Ana comments that the only sister they have in Mexico is also part of the show, since she sent them all the spices and condiments from Mexico.
Dora, another of the sisters present, says that her father’s essence is in every touch they give to his food, whether it is barbecue or other dishes.
“He had that dream that all the sisters would dedicate themselves to this, but we said no because it is a lot of work; but now that we do it, we wouldn’t change it for anything,” Dora added.
And, without a doubt, all those years of learning helped them perfect their father’s recipe. The barbecue is so delicious that you have to arrive early if you want to try it, because Ana says that by 9:30 in the morning, or at the latest at 10, the barbecue is completely over.
That Saturday, when we arrived, all the barbecue had already finished; All that was left was the delicious consomme and the other meals, which are just as delicious. But every customer who came in, whether new or traditional, asked about the barbecue. And although sometimes they are not enough, many stay to try the rest of the dishes they offer. That Saturday, families came to the premises to celebrate graduations with their food; Couples and new clients came to his home to satisfy their cravings.
“Like every owner, I think our favorite part is when clients tell us that they like it, that it reminds them of their country, of an aquainted that is no longer there, that is delicious, and that they keep coming back; that fills us with satisfaction,” said Ana. “They make us; without them, we would not be here.”
Rogelio, a customer who arrived around 10:30 a.m., came with his family from Garden Grove. They arrived after watching the Las Flores barbecue on TikTok. Although he was not able to try the barbecue, he was able to eat goat adobo and other dishes.
“Yes, they have their own touch and flavor that is different from other Mexican foods I have tried,” he said as he finished everything on his plate. “But we’re going back because we’re looking forward to barbecue; at least we know that the rest of the food is just as good.”
The sisters say they built a special pit to cook the lamb. They usually get up early to cook the lamb and goat in the pit, covering them with maguey leaves and avocado leaves. Cooking for hours over low heat. And their consommé has chickpeas, green beans, carrots, cilantro and other ingredients that the sisters make sure not to share so as not to make their recipe familiar.
“He did tell us to never sell the recipe,” Dora said. “She told us: ‘Never give the recipe in your life’; that one stayed and I lived only among us, the sisters.”
The sisters have a dream of opening not only a permanent restaurant, but for each of them to have their own location one day. Right now they say that during the week they still work on their construction sites and that they dedicate their weekends to cooking.
They say that, although it is fine to visit them on Fridays and Saturdays, they recommend going on a Sunday, when their menu is more complete and offers other traditional dishes: mutton adobo, memelitas, carnitas, cochinita pibil, Menudo, goat and shrimp mole and adobo, grasshoppers and their famous coconut water.
For now, these luchonas women are simply happy to share their recipe, which spans three generations, with their community in East Los Angeles and with other communities, as people visit them from San Francisco and other places not close by.
“We are proud, more than anything for our parents, for being able to carry the family name high and continue their legacy and flavor,” said Ana. “In a way they live in our hearts, in our minds and in this dish.”
Barbecue Las Flores
3615 Michigan Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90063
