Tacos Yaqui – San Ysidro

Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

*** Tacos Yaqui has closed

During a recent lunch with FOY Candice, she mentioned a Taco shop in San Ysidro named after a very well known Taco Shop in Rosarito Beach called Tacos El Yaqui. Curious, I inquired as to the location, and was told San Ysidro. After coming home and doing a bit of research, I found that Tacos Yaqui specialized in Sonoran style Carne Asada.

So on a recent weekend morning, I made my way down the I-5, and took the second to the last exit before the border, at Via de San Ysidro. A couple of blocks later, I spied Tacos Yaqui…….

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As I entered the restaurant, I noticed how busy they were….even at 9am in the morning, there was a steady flow of customers, all Hispanic, ordering at the counter. The picture menu had 8 basic tacos, and by the hand written sign behind the cashier, I noticed that Tortas, Mulitas, and Breakfast Norteno were also available.

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No one seemed to speak English, but ordering was no problem. I took a two taco combo for $5.99, and a Diet Coke. I was given a number, and in a few minutes some very hot chips made its way to my table. I grabbed some salsa from the little bar, and crunched away at the thick tortilla chips.

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There are few things that stimulate your appetite than the smell of animal flesh charring on the grill; and this little restaurant had it going on all cylinders.

By the time my tacos hit the table, I was ready to chew my arm off. Determining a "must eat" taco didn't take the use of much brain power. I had to try the Sonoran style Carne Asada, in this case it's called a "Taco Perrones". Perhaps a FOY (Friend of Yoso) like Masa Assassin can tell me the history of the name….because ummmm, "Perro" means "dog". 

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If you're like me, and used to TJ style carne asada tacos, you'll be surprised…. and it's a pretty pleasant surprise at that. First off, the tortilla is flour, though very thin and griddled. Cheese has been melted on the bottom of the taco, making a nice stringy-mildly milky bed for the carne asada. In this case, soft and tender grilled flank steak, which was mildly flavored, letting the beefy flavor of the cut take the lead. The beans threw me off, but for some reason did really well in this taco adding a nice earthy flavor. Along with the pico de gallo and guacamole, this was a pretty damn good taco. The word balance comes to mind. I had gotten a few various salsas, but ended up not using them. Instead, I just enjoyed my taco.

My second taco was something called the "Monster":

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This one came with doubled flour tortillas prepared much in the manner as the other taco. It was chocked full of nice, plump shrimp, prepared in a mild tomato based sauce. As good as the shrimp were, it was the stuff on the bottom that made this taco…… it was chiccharon, pork that had been deep fried to a crisp. Very nice…..

Overall this was nice meal, the tacos were good sized, not the small TJ style versions. It was quite a hefty meal. I'll definitely be back! Maybe I'll see you there….. I'll be the one inhaling the fumes from the grilling meat!

Tacos Yaqui
111 W Olive Dr
San Ysidro, CA 92173

Thanks for the tip Candice!

15 comments

  2. dang, those look good! i’m not sure but i think “perrones” is slang for “bad*ss” 🙂 you’re gonna have to confirm that with someone else

  3. Good lord like you needed chiccharons with the shrimp! Then again why not.
    When I make tacos at home I always spread some refried black beans to the shell I think it gives it a creamier texture, IMO.

  4. Wow, those look good. Flour tortillas and cheese say Sonora to me. Never seen anything exactly like those puppies around here though.

  5. Before looking at the close up of the last picture, I thought I saw a fried egg in there.
    I’m not surprised by the beans in the taco. I usually do that at home and they really add to the richness.

  6. I’ll have to remember this place on my next trip to the outlet mall along with other food stops like Hogetsu, Royal Mandarin, one of the Filipino restaurants, …

  7. Hi KirkK,
    Your FOY from Rosarito, Gypsy Jan.
    While I am sure that MasaAssassin will weigh in with more authoritative info, here’s my two cents.
    As you said, Tacos Yaqui is a longstanding (twenty-five plus years?) intitution in Rosarito.
    Twelve or more years ago, our banking officer in Rosarito, after finishing a meeting, invited us to lunch at the “BEST taco stand in BAja, once you go, you will always go back!”
    What he said was true and true. The difference is that the Tacos Yaqui in Rosarito serves only charbroiled carne asada on flour tortillas. The limited choices are “beans, no beans, cheese,no cheese, chopped onions/cilantro, no onions/cilantro, salsa/no salsa, guacamole (just ripe, pounded avocado). The only other option is to ask for(free) serving(s) of the charcoal grilled jalapenos.
    No combo plates, no seafood, no nothing else; it is simple, pure and sublimely sublime.
    In addition to the food, there is the pleasure of elbow rubbing with the always present lineup of customers – low, middle and high end; locals and seasoned Baja travelers -Americans, Europeans and Asin (Japanese,Korean and?).

  9. Hi Kirk, interestingly I lunched at a place called Yaqui’s Tacos in Fountain Valley about a month ago. A strip mall chain type place. The taco I had was very similar to the first you described (but it cost me ~$3.50 for the one). They even had a mascot logo similar to the Tacos Yaqui on your post. I also ate at a Ray’s Pizza in NY but forgot which one, haha.

  10. Hi Kat – All od their tacos have interesting names!
    Hi santos – he-he-he….. I’m sure someone will elt me know.
    Hi Bill – In many places, beans would just mean filler.
    Hi Ed – I’m sure this is aprticular style. Pretty good stuff, though.
    Hi Jan – I’m not a particular fan of beans in my tacos, but it went well in these.
    Hi Sandy – And don’t forget the El Pescador truck, it’s one exit North of Palomar!
    Hi Gypsy Jan – It’s so nice to hear from you! These were good, but I don’t think it’ll stand up against the original.
    Hi Dennis – They probably make the same style of tacos!

  11. Hi Kirk another great post…. with all these recent post on the Mexican scene you have me fired up to eat more in my hometown.
    When this first opened up I asked the folks at the original in Rosarito Beach if they were affiliated and they said “no”. Like GJ said the original location only has a few options but its an institution.
    As far as the perrones go they look like an exact replica of the originals in Rosarito. Yes perro means dog, and the slang term can mean a number of things but I’m not sure what the owner had in mind when he named his creation “perrones”. Next time I’m in Rosarito I will stop by and ask.

  12. Hi MA – There’s some good eatin’ in your hometown! I’d be interested in the “peronnes story”, so be sure to let me know.

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