Avila’s El Ranchito restaurant in Huntington Park, seen here in 1996, was the family’s first, opening in 1966. By the time I wrote my 2012 book “Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America,” I had developed a grudging respect for Cal-Mex’s role in popularizing Mexican food in the United States via national chains like El Torito and Taco Bell. Patton …
