Raul Castillo, who plays Jonathan Groff’s on-again, off-again boyfriend Richie on HBO’s Looking, recently met up with San Francisco’s iconic drag performer/foodie Juanita More, to talk all things gastronomy. While Castillo prefers to keep his palate focused more on the savory side, he does appreciate his sweets, highlighting his mother’s homemade flan as one of his all time favorites. He says that there’s something about “those old pots and her touch. I don’t know — it’s truly heavenly.”
Not only does Castillo consider McAllen — a small town in south Texas — home, but he also shares the same sentiment about Taqueira Rios, a family-owned taqueria that he grew up going to with his family. Castillo, nicknamed "Gordo" as a child, said he always makes it a point to visit Rios to enjoy some harina tacos de bistec whenever he’s back in McAllen.
While the dishes at Taqueria Rios are the most inspiring food he’s ever eaten, Raul shares that he has definitely consumed some strange things, the oddest being bugs. He’s tried grasshoppers and even worms, but his favorite is grasshopper tacos at Oyamel in Washington, D.C.
The rising TV star, named by Buzzfeed as a guy you'll drool over in 2015, keeps the sugar intake low and keeps it light on late-night snacks, but he can’t deny his love for tacos. He shared that, “while filming Season 1 of Looking, we were all hanging around the Mission on Day of the Dead. I threw down on a lengua taco and a carnitas taco from La Taqueria on Mission. Man, they throw down! Loved that place.”
The second season of Looking premieres Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.