This past weekend, the Missus told me that She wanted stuff from De Cabeza/El Unico. But the key point was, She wanted to actually eat at the restaurant and not do takeout. With prices of food and gas….and frankly, just about everything heading upwards, we don't seem to get around much these days. So this would be a nice treat for us. And we headed on over. The restaurant wasn't too busy and the Manager, the ever gracious Jesus was so happy to see us. He gave me a vigorous handshake and a hug!
Dining in meant we could diverge from our typical order, the Cabeza en su Jugo. Still to start things out we didn't stray too far and each had a bowl of the Consomé Con Carne ($4.50).
Man, with a squeeze of lime, this is so comforting. The flavor of divine-bovine, so beefy, with pungent onions and cilantro, and a bit of spice, this is always so good.
We got some Guacamole for the other items we ordered.
The Missus remembered enjoying the Lengua which we had on a previous takeout visit, so She ordered a Taco de Lengua ($4.00).
I had a bite and man was this so good. The beef tongue had been cooked so perfectly, it melted in your mouth. The beefiness was amazing; the salsa roja helped to but the richness and brought some heat. The tortillas had been headed on the comal and I believe that beef stock had been used. This was so much better dining in than doing takeout.
We had always enjoyed the Alambres and thought it would just do so well dining in; so we got it with Tripas and Maciza ($15). Imagine having both Beef Intestine and Head, along with bacon, bell peppers, onions, and queso, spread among four wonderful corn tortillas. Say no more!
Topped with some almost buttery guacamole; the Missus prefers the more acidic salsa verde, I prefer the more smoky red salsa, a squeeze of lime!
Needless to say, this was a wonderful brunch. Strangely enough, I had thought we had dined in at De Cabeza, but after looking back thru my many posts on the place, when we last dined in at this location, it was still Aqui es Texcoco back in 2019. Of course, Aqui es Texcoco took over the spot of Al Pastor and this location became De Cabeza. We first did takeout during those dark days of Covid. And thru that all Jesus has been the manager, so perhaps that's why we thought we had actually dined in at De Cabeza!
We enjoyed this meal so much; we need to head on over here more often.
De Cabeza/El Único
1043 Broadway
Chula Vista, CA 91911
Current Hours:
Open Daily 8am – 9pm
We were sent a text when our room was ready; which was in one of the buildings in back of the Inn, it was comfortable and quieter than the rooms up front.
The Missus really enjoyed the Gruet Brut and also the Gruet Chardonnay with dinner. Gruet is a winery based in New Mexico. We'd end up getting a bottle for the Missus from one of the shops in Taos the next day.
The pork was nicely charred. In terms of flavor; it had some sweetness and a bit of spice…..the nice crispy bits were pretty good. The tortillas were almost crisp and brittle without much flavor. The sofrito rice and beans I covered above.
The guacamole was fine, we prefer our guacamole a bit more coarse, with more heat, and this really in need of salt and more lime. It was almost like this was made in a food processor.
When you walk in, there is a bar area to the left and the 'main' area to the right. 
All the way back is a small stage which has mariachis or a DJ or a local band is located on weekends.
A basket of warm chips along with a mild salsa were brought out with the large, interesting menu.
We ordered Queso Fundido with Chorizo to share ($14.95). This was served in a large/deep plate with warm corn tortillas. A good crisp chorizo (you know I am 
My craving this day was for a shrimp ceviche tostada ($6.95). Look carefully at the large menu, you can find good prices for basic items. The chopped shrimp, cooked in lime juice and mixed with tomatoes really hit the spot. There are more tostadas on the tabletop, if you run out,
The Mister was looking at the "Filete Especiales" portion of the menu and chose the Relleno de Mariscos ($26.95). A large piece of fish (Didn't ask, but it was a thick, meaty filet) stuffed/topped with shrimp, octopus and marlin as well as tomatoes and onion all cooked in butter. Served with rice and steamed vegetables (which went well with the butter) this was a tasty meal with leftovers.
Before returning to our table, right below the statue of "Lucifer". We had already placed our order. Our Server, Jacob was amazing, he encouraged us to check things out. Though I kinda wonder about working with all of this around you! The place was quite quiet, and to be perfectly honest, kinda spooky, before the crowds descended on the place.
The Missus loved the rich "thickness" of the broth. Which, She brought up to Her preference in flavor with the provided lime, cilantro, onions, and the fairly picante salsas. The richness of the broth had accents of boviney-offal tones. There were various type of tripe provided; really buttery honeycomb tripe, firm book tripe, and blanket tripe.
