Over the last year, I went ahead and checked out several of our "hipster" taco shops. I've already posted on ¡Salud! and will probably get around to the rest eventually. Of these taco shops, the only one I took the Missus to was City Tacos; I think Salud has better tortillas, Perla is definitely tops in the salsa department, but I think City Tacos, which I recall first hearing about from Candice and then "CC" was the overall best of the lot. It's a small, cramped space, you order at the counter, pay, are given a placard with a number…..
The salsa bar is nice in that they encourage you to try the various salsas, though not quite inspiring on jicama first. I usually just go for the rojo, though there's one that's basically chili oil…..the Missus, She needs no salsa for the tacos She enjoys.
What's quite fascinating is that the Missus treats City Tacos as an alternative to Tiger! Tiger! when She wants to grab a beer at Toronado. So I'll let you know what the Missus enjoys here first.
Numero Uno would be the Puerco Agri Dulce….basically chunks of pork tenderloin with pineapple.
Disregarding the rather strange fried noodle thingy; which I guess is added for texture, the Missus loves the "sweet-sour" flavors of this taco. It's one of Her favorites. The tortilla on this is perfect as it just adds a bit of "breadiness".
As is the Chorizo Asado, which to me is pretty plain, but the Missus loves Her chorizo and also the milkiness of the cheese.
Number three, which could have easily have been numero uno (for the Missus, not me) is the Portobello con Vegetales.
The main reason is that we've never had it the same way twice…..once there wasn't any greens on it, the next time it was amazingly good (photo above), the cheese had been griddled to a wonderful crispy texture, the next time it was just melted. Personally, I'm not sold on veggie tacos, but give me something with that cheese crisp from the comal with black beans and corn….
I usually order the "Borrego", though those tacos have wildly varied as well.
I once got it ice cold, the last time I ordered it, there were some delicious fried veggies on top. The lamb is very tasty….I just wish for some consistency.
We also like the Carnitas when they have it.
Nicely porky….In spite of questioning the addition of mangos to this……it was tasty, even with the Missus's edict of "no salsa". The corn tortilla was perfect for this.
As a whole, we're not big fans of the seafood offerings here; I had the tacos de pescado (no photo) which was really fishy and not very tasty. The El Especial really wasn't much better.
Tough and rubbery octopus and squid, overly fishy flavors, just didn't do it for us.
The Mahi Adobo wasn't much more pleasant either….
It could be that in a "previous life" I had to deal with a ton of Mahimahi and understand how quickly it "sours"……but to me, this was too fishy and "sour". You can easily get a good tacos de marlyn from a Mariscos truck that would be much better than this.
Overall, we've figured out what we (the Missus) enjoys from City Tacos and it's a nice stop for us in the area when the Missus is craving some tacos. One of the women who work here is very nice. We've even taken the tacos to go….they put them in a pastry box, you know, like when you order a dozen donuts, and ate them at Poseidon.
City Tacos
3028 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104