El Compadre Restaurant, Los Angeles

What does it take for a restaurant to stick around for four decades? In the case of El Compadre Restaurant, there's no single answer to that question. Maybe the secret lies with the house-made tortilla chips and salsa, which Time Out says "rival any you'll find south of the border." Or maybe it's the signature flaming margaritas, which turns heads throughout the restaurant each time the bartenders light its surface on fire and transport the flaming goblet to table. The drink landed El Compadre on Los Angeles Confidential's list of top tequila spots in the city. But it might also be the live mariachi music that so often sets the tone for plates of steak fajitas, enchiladas, and other Mexican staples. Whatever the answer is, it has allowed El Compadre to expand to multiple locations throughout the Los Angeles area, and catapult one location into low-level orbit.