Mexican Restaurants – Page 23

Breakfast of Champions: Best Donuts Bakery & Deli

November 12, 2013 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Mexican Restaurants, Sandwiches

**** Best Donuts and Deli has become Barrio Donas

In her Ham and Cheese Baked Into a Bread post Cathy mentioned Best Donuts and Deli. Which kind of got me off my butt to actually put a post together about the place. I'd been there so many times that most of what I ate had faded into memory.

In recent years, Best Donuts looks like this when I stop by.

Remember the old saying "you don't need as much sleep when you get older…." Well, I think that's partly true. The amount of sleep I need has decreased marginally, but the hours I keep have changed. In other words, "nothing good happens after midnight", has now become "nothing good happens after 9pm"…..which means I miss out on all the late night specials….

Anyway, I often pass Best on my way to work in the morning; at about 530-545. When I'm running early and am hungry, or when I anticipate a late, or no lunch at all I'll drop by for a take-out breakfast. It's pretty slim pickins' at that time of the morning on the Mesa and I prefer spending my money at these smaller shops than at the other chain options open at that time of the morning.

Just so you can see how lazy I've been about posting on this place. When I first went, the cash register was stationed at the rear of the shop next to the soft drink cooler.

A couple of years later it moved to the side next to the pastries.

Earlier this year, it was moved back to the old location and the cold case was placed alongside of it.

A couple of months later, the menu for the sandwiches was taken off the cold case and taped to the wall.

And over the years items have been taken off the menu…simply taped over, now merely a memory…..

I'm sticking to the breakfast tortas here, since that's what I get most of the time. They're nicely priced at $3.99 and the bread has always been warm and fresh when I've gotten it in the morning. The wait time is about 10-15 minutes, not the fastest, but when I make a decision to visit, I've calculated the impact of my wait time.

My usual is the A la Mexicana and Eggs ($3.99)

Eggs, salsa, onion, tomato, cheese, jalapenos, and a smear of beans….breakfast of champions. An adequate bomb of calories to last until dinner.

The Salsa Verde and Eggs ($3.99):

Enough yeasty carbs to get you going in the morning. Eggs, nice green chili sauce (mild kick), beans, cheese, and mayo. Perhaps number two because some mornings I don't feel like mayo….I know, heresy perhaps, but the milkiness of the cheese also comes thru in this one as well…so I've got to be in the mood.

There was a Chorizo and Eggs somewhere, which I thought was ok, but I can't find the photo.

You'd think I'd enjoy the Machaca ($3.99) much more than I did.

I thought I'd enjoy this much more than I did. Perhaps because I found this surprisingly lacking in flavor. I like the chew of machaca, but this was really tough and sinewy. I felt the mayo really didn't go well with this at all. I would have probably enjoyed more beans to smooth things out and perhaps more jalapenos; even though it was breakfast, to help things out. Still, on the morning I ordered this, I had meeting through lunch and didn't have a chance to eat until (an early) dinner. I don't recall being hungry until around 3pm or so.

What about the other sandwiches which range from $5.99 – $6.99….well here's a gallery:

The Cubana.

The Pierna.

The Milanesa:

The Lomo…..

and so forth……

I'm sure there are dozens of shops like this all through San Diego county, I know I've been to a few. There are even versions that are rather mainstream and hyped up.

But for breakfast, $3.99 sounds like a right price for what I got at this little shop on Clairemont Mesa.

Best Donuts Bakery & Deli
4714 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Jector’s Too – Yuma

October 29, 2013 ed fromyuma Mexican Restaurants, Sandwiches, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Most days this foodblog has fresh posts from Kirk or Cathy. But today, Ed (fromYuma) gets to tell you about a new old place (or is it an old new place?) in Yuma.

Ana’s (also spelled Anna’s) had been a tiny Mexican
eatery in my neighborhood of Yuma for as long as I can remember. It always
seemed like a cart/restaurant crossbreed with its tiny kitchen, window
service, and small eating area surrounded by steel cage walls. A minimalist burrito shack:

Sort of open to the outdoors, the ordering/delivering area is
pretty shabby looking as well:

About a year ago I noticed that the place had more customers
than usual, and when I stopped in, I was told that Ana’s had been sold to
Jector, of Jector’s Breakfast Burritos. Now it is called Jector’s Too:

So today you can get a wide range of breakfast burritos
there – most of the ones available at the original location. In addition, the
new management has not discarded the best parts of Ana’s old menu. That means
they will fix you a breakfast burrito with carnitas or al pastor as well as
bacon, sausage, or asada:

You can also get excellent lunch burritos with fillings such
as green chili:

A couple of years ago, Ana’s won the local newspaper poll
for the best menudo in town, quite an accomplishment for such a small place.
And Jector’s Too still prepares outstanding Menudo on Friday, Saturday, and
Sunday:

The rich broth filled with abundant tripe and nixtamal is
certainly one of the best in town. It comes with a grilled bread roll (or
tortillas), as well as onion, cilantro, dried chili flakes, and lemon or lime
wedges:

Really yummy:

But my main attraction here are the first-rate tortas.
Sometimes the carnitas is as good as it gets:

A Torta DF (in the style of Federal District – Mexico City
area) is a specialty of the house, a ham ‘n cheese/roast pork combo:

Recently, the al pastor has been specially tasty and spicy:

:
Other tortas – and I’ve tried every one – are just as good
even if I don't have pictures of them. I also love the jalapeno and carrot escabeche
that is included. A bite or 2 of hot pickle cuts through the richness of the
sandwich and, for me, adds just the right touch.

Dinner plates and excellent aguafrescas also available.

Too often restaurateurs open a 2nd location and everything
starts going downhill. Not this time.

Jector's Too, 252 E. 24^th, 928-539-9595. Open daily around 7 am;
closes 6pm M-S and 2pm Sun.

Aqui Es Texcoco-Barbacoa de Borrego (Chula Vista)

October 16, 2013 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping by the food blog, mmm-yoso!!! Kirk is in the midst of a busy time at work, Ed (from Yuma) is recovering from a busy weekend visit to San Diego and Cathy's busy days ended about yesterday, so she's the blogger for now.

I liked Ed (from Yuma)'s most recent post, about barbecue and how he described his meal (critically) and began thinking of 'other' versions of barbecued food. Last month, I went on a Chula Vista Food Crawl (see the bottom of the post for links to all the places we went) with fellow bloggers canine cologne and Dennis, where our first stop of the day included 'proper' barbecued lamb (Barbacoa de Borrego).

Located at the South end of a strip mall on Broadway in Chula Vista, we arrived around 9:30 a.m. on a Saturday for this first stop of our food crawl. Cute little lamb on the signage. Just so you know, by 10.a.m., there was a line out the door waiting for seating.

There's another cute little lamb on the counter.

This is the entire menu. It is served from 8 a.m. until closing. Note the flavored waters are made here daily.

When you are seated, two sauces are brought out to your table (the green one is very hot-spicy, the brown one is essentially a mole and quite pleasant), along with cut limes and a cilantro-onion mix. These items go with lamb.

Since we were on a food crawl, we were sharing and tasting and planning on other stops so ordered three tacos to share ($1.95 each). The top right is 'meat' (lamb shoulder or thigh) the one in front is rib meat (nicely fatty) and that one on the top left, I chose-brains. Each meat is unique in flavor and delicious. I grew up eating lamb and my initial taste of the meat and rib tacos brought back good memories. The brains tasted like liver, both the first taste and when I burped as we were walking to our next destination.

We also chose two quesadillas to share. ($2.50 each). Above, the mushroom, which was very nice and rich and buttery.

Because none of us had ever had 'fresh' huitlacoche (a fungus that grows on corn)(I've had a canned version packed by Goya), we decided to share one here. Good idea to try the milder mushroom first, as the flavor of this corn smut is strong. I liked it; my blogger friends not so much.

I had to bring The Mister back here to share the flavors enjoyed. Surprisingly, Aqui es Texcoco is not crowded around noon on Wednesdays. We were seated immediately and ordered a squash flower quesadilla ($2.50). Always wondering what to do with our squash blossoms from the yard or the Farmers Market (which we have usually stuffed with cheese and fried) having them stir fried and mixed into melty cheese was a great way to eat those flowers.

Each of our orders came with a small (10 oz) lamb consomé (lamb broth made with drippings of the roasting lamb, with garbanzo beans and rice), a slightly spicy very flavorful way to begin (or be) a meal. It's served in styrofoam cups, as it would be at your neighbor's home.

The regular order lamb plate ($8.75) 1/3 pound shredded lamb meat and tortillas. That's it and it is all you need.

Three grilled quail plate ($9.50). We wanted to see how quail should be prepared. They were not treated like little chickens and baked, but splayed, seasoned and grilled and served with it's own sauce, which went perfectly with the meat.

Yes quail are small, but have the same bone structure and number of bones as chicken and turkey…a bit of work, but tasty. The food here is great, the service excellent. Back in 2008, guest blogger Miz Ducky had a post here about Aqui es Texcoco and things seem to not have changed much in the interim. I like consistency.

Aqui Es Texcoco 1043 Broadway Chula Vista 91911 (619)427-4045 Website

What’s going on with El Charco?

October 15, 2013 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

**** El Charco has closed

I don't always have the best timing…..more than few times I've sat on photos of meals, only to have places close, burn down, change owners before I even have a chance to do a post. Heck, I even did a post on one of these places. The Missus and I had gone to El Charco, the shop that opened in the place of Birrieria's la Guadalajara twice right after they opened. I decided to wait on doing a post until I went a few more times…..you know me, I often will wait until a few visits before doing a post. Anyway, guess what I saw on my last attempted visit.

Which I found kind of strange since they've been open less than a year….I hope they truly are closed for a remodel……though peeking through the glass revealed that everything looks the same.

Anyway, here's a very abbreviated post.

The place created some nice buzz, since Paco Perez, the owner of the very successful and popular Aqui es Texcoco was a partner in this venture with the owners of a small chain of taco shops in Mexico City.

Many of the items we tried were on the salty side. Our favorite item by far was the Al Pastor, which hit all the right salty-sweet-porky notes for us. It was right up our alley.

The other tacos we tried ranged from good…the Missus loved the chorizo….and the huitlacoche quesadilla was not bad.

The Villemelon was a salty mess…the chiccharon brought nothing to the taco. The chuleta ahumada; smoked pork chops was also way too salty, being almost bitter.

The Missus really did like the tortilla soup, though…..

The Chicharron de Queso looks quite dramatic and we enjoyed it at first. After a while, it became too much of a good thing.

The Alambres is also quite a bit….the Missus hardly put a dent in the one She ordered with Chorizo and Pastor.

We do hope they renovate and reopen as the place displayed some promise to us…….

El Charco Mexico City Style Tacos
1310 Third Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Mariscos El Titanic (City Heights)

September 26, 2013 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, Seafood, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!! Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) and others who contribute posts here are busy. Cathy is not busy, so here's a meal she's had that you can vicariously enjoy.

It is so good to be able to live here in San Diego; we are close to the ocean and close to Mexico and the combination of those- Mexican seafood- fast became a favorite and a comfort food not long after we moved here.

It was the week between birthdays of The Mister and myself and my day to choose where and what I wanted to eat. (He chooses the first three days, which start on his birthday, we have to agree on the middle two days and then I get the last three days, ending on my birthday). El Titanic was my first choice.

Driving North on Fairmont, it's not easy to miss the freshly repainted Mariscos El Titanic building. It's right across the street (Dwight Street) from Murphy's Market (a great little neighborhood store that has a wonderful bakery, nice selection of produce and quite an extensive meat counter and makes some really good tortillas, ceviche and salsas).

The neon 'waves' at the top edge of the building are attractive in the evening. This is a typical mariscos joint that has several televisions and sometimes carries boxing matches and charges a cover on those weekends…otherwise in the evenings it's loud with bandera music. We came here for lunch and it wasn't crowded or noisy.

Each table is topped with a good selection of condiments. Fresh made corn chips, limes and salsa are brought out after you order.

Be warned- the salsa is *not* tomato based; it's all chile, hot but not overwhelming. It's good to use with your seafood order instead of the vinegar based hot sauces on the table…

The Mister ordered a gobernador taco, marlin taco and made it a combo ($10.50). You can see the cheese lined corn tortilla filled with sauteed shrimp. There were some onion and green pepper bits sauteed in there also. The marlin is a smoked fish and was stir fried with bell pepper and onion and was very very good; not salty as sometimes marlin can be.

I chose to have mojarra -whole tilapia- deep fried ($10.50). This particular preparation was so complimentary to the fish. There was a light seasoning on the skin, but nothing else. The fish was a good size, very meaty and just so right. The rice, beans, tortillas and even the salad all just went together so well. A good, memorable meal.

Yes, I'm back to documenting the cleaned carcass of whole fish consumed. Every bit was good.

I hope you week has been going well.

Mariscos El Titanic 3600 Fairmont Avenue San Diego 92105 (619) 584-2894 Website

I noticed this guy hanging from the ceiling as we were leaving…I am so unobservant.

They just do it right in Ciudad Obregon

September 11, 2013 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Sonora, Mexico, Taco Shops, Travel

This past weekend, I did a world-wind weekend in Ciudad Obregon. I wouldn't blame you if you've never heard of C. Obregon, I hadn't. But I'll tell you this much, if you asked me to return tomorrow, I'd be on a plane in the blink of an eye. Two of my good buddies…we'll call them Samuelo and Q-nito came with me to attend the wedding of our good friend Akira, who I've mentioned in previous posts…. How a young man from Sendai ended up marrying a wonderful young lady from Ciudad Obregon, well that's a story for another day. In fact, I'll leave it up to you to tell me if you'd be interested in posts about this trip; which included flying out of Tijuana Airport….getting to the airport was an adventure in itself. Oh, and if you've never heard of Aereo Calafia before; neither had I, and we travel all the time!

They really know how to do it up here…. It was quite amazing to go from the formality of the wedding…..

To the reception….which went on until 2 in the morning! The band was amazing……

Then there was Q-nito, who just couldn't stop dancing….though it was Samuelo who challenged the various musicians to a "dance off"…..

Which is how we three earned our reputations….Samuelo talks to anybody, Q-nito dances with everybody….and me? Well, I was pretty much sidelined with a little injury…..

So of course….I drank everything!

Then there was the after-party…….the highlite of which was watching the bride and Q-nito do Gangnam style in the middle of the street at 4am.

Two hours of sleep later found us having Birria de Chivo for breakfast at a roadside stand.

Then it was off to buy gifts, followed by a road trip to the sea side village of Paredoncito in the municipality of Benito Juarez, Sonora.

the horse drawn carts ferried people and products back and forth from the boats….it is shrimp season here…..I had some of the best shrimp ever.

After sunset we headed back to Ciudad Obregon….to the bride's house, for what else, well dinner of course! While the local carne asada (it's cattle country) was grilling over the mesquite…..

The bride's father waved us to the front of the house…where we were greeted with a Mariachi Band!

Q-nito and I ended our meals in Ciudad Obregon with adobado from a stand in the back of the hotel for breakfast. I went with the dorados.

And a double helping of what the owner of the place calls "power"…..

We loved our time in Ciudad Obregon; the bride, her warm and generous parents, and friends were wonderful hosts. We can't wait to return the favor….or even, return to Ciudad Obregon! The only thing hotter than the triple digit weather was the warmth we felt as guests…three Asians in Obregon!

So there you go…….I'll let you decide if I should write more detailed posts about our trip. I've got a ton of stories….and heck, there's even an appearance by this guy……

And maybe even this…….

Hope you're having a great week!

Memelas & Thai Bistro

September 10, 2013 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

**** Memelas & Thai Bistro has closed

I was down in Bonita recently with my stomach growling…it was time for lunch. Sadly, the place I had wanted to grab a bite had wasn't open, so I decided to head back up the 805. right before hitting the freeway I noticed this shop……Memelas & Thai Bistro…hmmmm……Mexican and Thai, huh?

I thought why not?

The interior has a rock music theme…which is interesting…Mexican-Thai-Rock n Roll… It does look like one of those modern fast-casual shops. The music is a bit on the loud side, but not intolerable.

The menu is basically Mexican or Thai, half a page of Mexican items the other half Thai. There were very few items that I'd call "fusion" other than throwing some sate chicken on a tortilla and such.

I was tempted to order a memela, basically a pizza like masa "cake", much like a huarache, originally from Oaxaca, topped with mole negro, black beans, guacamole, and queso fresco. But I wanted to get a feel for the various protein options so I went with some tacos……especially since I was told that the tortillas were hand made.

They were out of one of my choices, so I asked the friendly young lady for a recommendation. She told me the Shrimp taco was excellent, so that's what I added to the Satay Chicken and "New York Steak" (carne asada) tacos I ordered.

The batter of the Shrimp Taco ($2.75) was pretty gummy and soggy, mostly batter, without very much flavor. The crema seemed heavy on the mayo. The tortillas were kind of disappointing being very gummy and doughy, lacking in a good masa flavor. Didn't care much for the iceberg lettuce either.

The Satay Chicken ($2.50) combined with some nice crisp items seems like a natural for a taco.

But I didn't think this was particularly good. A sparse amount of tasteless chicken with a runny, overly sweet "satay like" sauce. This needed some "umph" to really get going and perhaps a crisp bed of cabbage as well.

The best of the three was the New York Steak taco ($2.25), the house version of carne asada.

The beef had a mild chew but was tender enough for tacos, this was nicely seasoned as well. It went well with the cilantro and onions, though I wish the place would just give you a condiment tray and let you dress the tacos yourself. This was nicely done.

Nice service, prices are decent, but there wasn't anything that really stood out about the food. In fact, I thought the shrimp and the chicken satay tacos were below par in terms of flavor, portion, and presentation. This one is pretty much a "one and done" for me.

Memelas & Thai Bistro
3001 Bonita Rd
Chula Vista, CA 91902

What we ate during the hottest 2 weeks of the year: Revisits to Izakaya Sakura, The Original Sab E Lee, Grandma Tofu and BBQ, Manila Fast Food and Desserts, and Champions Mariscos Truck

September 5, 2013 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Food Trucks, Japanese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, Mexican Restaurants, Seafood, Sisig, Thai Restaurants

Man, the last two weeks have been brutal….call me a soft San Diegan, but I've been feeling the heat and humidity. I told Cathy that I wish it would just storm like crazy so this weather would break. No such luck so far!

Well, regardless of the weather, you've got to eat, right? So here's some of what we had during the last two weeks.

Izakaya Sakura:

It had been a while and I was craving some Ebi Kakiage cold noodles, so Izakaya Sakura it was.

This time it was the cold udon version, which hit the spot.

This really hit the spot!

Though I could have done without having to listen to Wilson Phillips Greatest Hits throughout my meal….

Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92111

The Original Sab E Lee:

**** This location of TOSEL has closed

Spicy Thai food is a natural for us during hot muggy weather…..not sure why.

The usual suspects at the Linda Vista location.

Man, that Grilled Duck Larb just hit the spot…right between the eyes.

I swear, I recall TOSEL having A/C? Well, not on this day. The result of spicy food with no A/C had me wondering if it was the Salted Fish Fried Rice….or was it me?

The Original Sab E Lee
2405 Ulric St
San Diego, CA 92111

Grandma Tofu and BBQ:

I wanted some Bibim Naengmyun, but Buga was closed for renovation (they've since reopened). So I ended up going to Halmouny…Grandma Tofu and BBQ.

Love the flavors….bracing and refreshing. The noodles however, seemed were really rubbery, like rubberbands, I mean, naengmyun is always rather elastic, but these just would not give way!

Grandma's Tofu & BBQ
4425 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Manila Fast Food and Desserts:

I was up in the area and decided to grab lunch. I hadn't been back in here in almost 9 months or so.

A quick look at the steam table made selecting what I wanted easy.

The Beef Mechado was much more tender than the last time I had it. The flavor was also better, much more tangy flavor and decent salt. It was on the greasy side though.

The sisig was not bad; nice pungent, sour, spice, salt….. would have been nice to have a bit of crispness in it since it was typical "SD Sisig", left-over lechon kawale. But overall; no complaints, better than I've had recently.

Manila Fast Food and Desserts
8979 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Champions Mariscos Truck:

So, just as in the previous four weeks, I broke out the smoker during Labor Day weekend. I needed something fairly close by before I started the ribs, so I headed over to Champions Mariscos Truck in the parking lot of Toys R' Us on Morena.

Consomme might seem to be a bit much on a scortching day, but I can never turn it down. This was a bit too water for my taste, with a bit too much celery flavor. Not as good as my previous visits.

I went with the Arrachera y Camaron…the surf and turf taco. Not enough caramelization on the beef, but it was decently tender. The shrimp were moist and flavorful.

I decided to go with the Taco de Marlyn again.

Man, they really loaded this thing! Unlike my previous visit, it didn't seem to have too much queso…perhaps due to the amount of filling! All this "stuff" seemed to water down the flavor of the smoked fish though….but this wasn't too bad.

Champions Mariscos Truck – In the parking lot of Toys 'R Us on Morena Boulevard

So there you go….we may be overheatin', but we're still eatin'. Hope everyone is staying and keeping cool!

La Posta de Acapulco (El Cajon/Lakeside location)

August 31, 2013 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

You're reading this mmm-yoso!!! food blog from an air conditioned location, aren't you? Cathy is writing from a Starbucks in Santee because the present temperature is 99•. Crazy hot days lately!

Our home does not have an air conditioner. There, I've said it. The Mister and I decided long ago that since we grew up in the humid Midwest and East coast in homes without such a convenience, we could do it as adults. For several days a year, we regret our choice. Even though it does get cooler in the evenings, the oven-like blast of heat that hits when we open the front door to venture outside to check the mailbox around noon has been debilitating.

East County has had some overcast days filled with thunderstorms (and therefore) humidity.

Needless to say, I have not wanted to cook. At all.

I had to meet a business client in Lakeside, just off of Los Coches Road and afterwards, drove under the 8 freeway, to the second signal light where the city line is drawn and the location is technically El Cajon. The perfect place to eat is here.

La Posta has three locations-this newest one in El Cajon. Other locations are in Spring Valley and teh Hillcrest area of San Diego.

This location is quite large; it looks like they took over the space in the next storefront.

The salsa bar is filled with three very fresh house made salsas, pickled carrots, limes and an onion cilantro mix. Simple and very good.

You order and pay, and then chips and silverware s brought to your table, and soon, your food is brought out to you also. No number to place on your table; they remember everyone.

The shredded beef Mexican salad here ($5.25) is unique-the shell is large and formed so it is deep- and there are no beans. It is mainly lettuce, meat and cheese (as well as sour cream, cucumber slices and chunky salsa). The stewed meat is very juicy and flavorful. This is a deceptively large salad.

The side order of chile relleno ($3) is something The Mister and I always order here. It's made to order and really, really good- a fresh chile stuffed with cheese and dipped in a light batter and fried. The sauce for the relleno is made here, not the same as the enchilada sauce and has a deep, rich flavor.

On this hot, humid day, I wanted something not heated…the shrimp ceviche tostada ($3.50) is exquisite. The shrimp are very large and flavorful, chopped into thirds, mixed with a simple tomato-onion-cilantro mix then cooked in lime juice. So refreshing and fresh.

I hope everyone stays cool this long weekend!

La Posta de Acapulco 8575 Los Coches Road El Cajon, CA 92021-8815 (619) 443-5522

Champions Mariscos Truck in Bay Park

August 12, 2013 mmm-yoso Food Trucks, Mexican Restaurants, Seafood, Taco Shops

So yesterday I did a "Breakfast of Champions" post, I guess it just makes sense to do Champions Mariscos right after it.

Last week I making the drive up Morena Boulevard, something that I do countless times during the week. In the parking lot to the side of Toys 'R Us, where the ill fated Morena Farmers Market used to be was a lonchera…..

I hadn't seen this one before. Yet, I had stuff to do and couldn't drop by. I kept my fingers crossed that this wasn't just a one time deal. So this past weekend, I managed to stop by. Not once, but twice.

Champion Mariscos? I don't ever recall seeing or hearing about this truck. It was kind of weird approaching the lone truck in the middle of a large parking lot, with no one else around. I checked out the menu, the prices seemed in line for most items. The woman handling the counter was quite friendly. I asked her how long they had been here….."since monday" and what they're hours were, "every day 10 to 6".

I have a usual "routine" of items I order from just about any mariscos truck and I'm just too old to change that habit.

Like any decent mariscos truck, things start off with a cup of consomme…..

On the light side, kind of salty, but not terrible.

I went with the Fish Taco, which was a 99 cent special and a taco gobernador ($4.25).

So let me just get my pet peeves out of the way. The fish taco's batter was kind of mushy, in fact the fish was unusually bland, yet very moist edging on mushy as well. I'm thinking this was probably swali. The under ripe tomatoes add a bit of texture but not any of that nice acid to the taco. Other than that….it's 99 cents, who am I to be a nit-picker, right? There was a ton of shrimp on the gobernador. The tortilla had been lined with melted cheese so it wouldn't turn to mush. The shrimp was cooked decently, but I sorely missed the acid of some sauteed tomatoes and the flavor of bell peppers in this. Still, there was a decent amount of shrimp in this.

So I decided to make a return visit. The consomme was much better this time around. Nice shrimp-fish flavor, with hints of celery.

I decided to just go for it and started with an Enchilado Shrimp Taco….spicy shrimp($4.25). At first I was just going to do a taco de camaron, but I really didn't care for the batter, nor the frying technique on my previous visit.

Good quantity of shrimp, well cooked, though not very spicy. Same tomatoes and mediocre tortillas. Not bad.

I also got the taco de marlyn…or in this case marlin ($4.00):

Unlike other versions, the smoked fish wasn't too salty, but it did lack a distict smokey flavor. The tortilla was nicely griddles, but there was just too much cheese on this. I like the way these trucks make prep the tortilla on the gobernador or marlyn, using cheese as a base to preserve the texture of the tortilla. There's a very mild milky background that you barely notice. Here there was just too much of that. This was not bad by any means, but nowhere near the league of the good mariscos trucks in San Diego.

One thing about my posts you have to understand. It's not in my DNA to drop my standards "just because I'm happy something is close by". Just as I'm not just happy because we actually have XLB in San Diego, I can't say the food here is fantabulous, just because it's the only one. That said, I hope if you live nearby you check them out. I don't want to be negative, but Mariscos German couldn't make it in the neighborhood and sadly, we couldn't even support a Farmer's Market! La Playita closed recently and Playa Azul a couple of years ago. So unless you just want Taco Shop fare, this might be one of your few shots at something different.

Champions Mariscos Truck – In the parking lot of Toys 'R Us on Morena Boulevard