Taco Shops – Page 17

Episode 18/week 3- The End and a couple of taco joints

October 18, 2006 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, Stuff, Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is on vacation. The part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy in the interim.

Hi. Yes, I know you have been wondering when Kirk will be back…He is back and he is ready to tell all of you what He did on his Autumn Vacation.

I want to summarize some stuff and thank all of you for your support these past few weeks. It has been my first time blogging and sharing my opinions about foods and places to eat in San Diego. I have learned a lot from you and hope I have informed you of things. I suppose the main point I hoped to get across is to not be afraid to just stop and walk in to any particular place.

Sure, this looks like an oversized Fotomat booth and you could miss it if you drove over the speed limit or only cared about the Liquor Store….but it has been there in Santee forever and is always busy.

There are all of three booths, three tables (two of them are outside) and Bertha’s makes this:

Carne asada nachos. I like to call it "a pound of nachos" , although I have never weighed it. Fresh chips, great refried beans, carne asada, chunky guacamole, sour cream and cheese. $4.25. But if you don’t stop and go inside, or drive through, you won’t know what you are missing.

Its the same with all of these places:

In general, if you see the words "Cocina, Taqueria, Panderia and/or Tortilleria" written on the outside, GO inside. They are cooking up some of the most wonderful foods inside. Realize that they used no imagination in naming the place, but move past that.

Same thing here. If the place has been there forever and the patrons are of the ethnicity of the signage that you are having difficulty reading, its good. (also, when you do go in to order and the person taking your order says "you no want that", trust them and order something different).

If the windows of the store have interesting food items written on them, items that are usually seen on a menu and not as items you buy in a grocery store…go inside. (Oh, and that small "Taqueria" sign is a clue).

Then again, if the signage shows both Mexican and Greek foods…well, you just have to stop in and see…

If a place is open 24 hours, shares a parking lot with a 24 hour Landromat and *always* has cars in the drive through lane, stop and see why…

I had never stopped here at Bueños Dias before and was on one of my "no meat today because it is Friday" days and I was just going to get a quesadilla, but looked at the menu…mashed potato taquitos….hmmmm…. Mexican Food combined with mashed potatoes, my next favorite food group… and all of it fried in a taco shell, topped with lettuce sour cream and cheese ($1.50)…oh, yeah…now I wait for Fridays. Its kind of not a sacrifice…

Bueños Dias makes the best salads, perfect for those on a no-carb kick…a lettuce spring mix, carrots, cabbage and cheese which melts onto the freshly grilled chicken breast for only $3.50. This is also one of those "one pound" salads, again, I haven’t really weighed it, but it is substantial. In the top of the photo there are the 3 rolled tacos with guacamole ($3). Made (and not pre-made)with fresh corn tortillas.

The carne asada tostada ($2.80) made with beans, carne asada, lettuce and cheese comes with an extra fried tostada shell…either because they know the first one will get soft, or that all the stuff will fall off of the first one and you will just need more corn tortilla shell…. and that quesadilla ($2.50)- huge and wonderfully melted and oily cheese!…and Bueños Dias gives you a mild green sauce as well as a very nice hot red sauce. Oh- and those are the marinated carrots on the bottom there…thinly cut strips and a jalapeño. Nice and hot!

So, that’s it. I think you have figured out that its kind of fun to stop and explore and not be afraid to try anyplace…and look for those parked Mail Trucks out front…those people know what is good on their routes. (Thanks, Trent!)

Bertha’s Mexican Food 8667 Fanita Drive Santee 92071 (619) 562-0143

Mon-Sat 8 a.m.-10 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Bueños Dias 5100 Jackson Drive La Mesa 91942 (at Glen) 24/7

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Oooooh…and you don’t know this, but I am definitely *not* a chocolate person at all. BUT…go to Trader Joe’s and pick up a box of these little gems for $2.99

these teensy, tiny little peanut butter cups pack some powerful flavor and are just a perfect sweet and salty snack…

………………………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………..

Again, I am so happy I could help Kirk keep up the interest in his blog while he and his Missus took a well deserved vacation. I am happy that so many of you thought enough to write in and comment, and that you did like what I talked about and my style of writing.

If we don’t "talk" again, have a good Halloween and please don’t forget to VOTE on November 7. (Or earlier at the Registrar’s office…and if you are there, go West on Clairmont Mesa and turn south at that next light (Overland) and then take a right, into the parking lot…there is this new Indian place there…next to the 7-11….)

Now, this blog is formally back in Kirk’s hands. Bye!

-Cathy

Episode two/week one-Emmas…and

October 2, 2006 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is on vacation. The part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy in the interim.

Emma’s Mexican Food…and what else I ate today

So, there was an incident in a parking lot on Labor Day and the parts are in, and Carter’s Collision opens at 7 a.m., so drop off a car and either walk home (all uphill, by the way, about three miles) or have the Mister follow me and perhaps go out to breakfast (heh heh) on a Monday. I chose the latter.

Those of you who have lived in San Diego, should remember the first/only Price Club (which eventually bought out Costco), in Santee. It is now an empty lot (although this weekend it had some sort of carnival with all sorts of scary rides on the lot and soon it will have a Pumpkin Patch that will turn into a Christmas Tree sales place in about another month or so) and will sooner-or-later turn into Highway 52 joining up with Highway 67 and make our lives oh so much easier, if we are driving in that direction….[sorry; digression]…AND SO ANYHOW, if you remember that Price Club, the address on your receipts was Buena Vista Avenue, and you usually entered on that street and right on the other side of Buena Vista is Emma’s.

Which looks like this from Cuyamaca:

and looks like this from Buena Vista:

and so anyhow…we decided to go here for breakfast.

Here is the menu (I know someone loves to read the menus):

The Mister ordered the Enchiladas Rancheros (two cheese enchiladas, topped with an over-easy egg and some homemade nopalitos (preserved in a jar-with-salt water cactus)/onion/tomato salsa and rice and beans) $4.75:

Here is a better photo of the enchiladas and of the salsa: the enchiladas were nice and cheesy and fried on the bottom, so nicely crispy and the salsa was nice and chunky; good flavor but not heat:

and I ordered the breakfast burrito ($2.75): 2 eggs fluffily scrambled with cheese and ham:

Both entrees were brought out to the table by the owner and the place was hopping, with 9 other people having placed orders, most to go, before 7:30 a.m.. That is kind of interesting, considering the location being out of the way in a now non-busy part of Santee. Everything was fresh and tasty. There is a salsa bar with mild red, hot red and tomatillo spicy salsa that you can get for yourself. It was very nice and satisfying. They don’t serve coffee here, so you have to bring your own, or grab some soda pop from the fridge, or a bottle of water from your car if you want something to drink.

We usually go to Emma’s for lunch/dinner and get the quesedilla or carne asada burrito and both are always very good, oversized and filling. If it is on your way to somewhere (its just south of Mission Gorge, right off of Cuyamaca- the "new" Santee Costco is less than a mile from that corner, just northwest.) you should stop in. Everyone who works there is very friendly and the food is good. They make a LARGE shrimp cocktail for $7.05 (10 shrimp) and all of the shrimp dishes are very good.

One item unique to here is rolled FISH tacos. (Usually rolled tacos are made with shredded beef or chicken). These are especially good if you don’t eat meat on Fridays (and we all know fish isn’t meat, right?) because you grew up in a certain religion and so, "just in case" you continue to merely skip meat on that day of the week….

Oh, digression again, sorry.

Lunch was a nice respite:

Shrimp (31 count) was on sale at 99 Ranch this week for $4.99 per pound and so the Mister bought about 1.5 pounds and I made two things today: this simple shrimp salad (cook and chill shrimp, mix with grapes, fresh dill, mayo/sour cream, salt and white pepper) on a fresh croissant (99¢ from K Sandwiches)…and also this stir fry:

The rest of the shrimp, some leftover chicken, mushrooms and pea pods..stir fried in some sesame oil.

… served with some stir fried yakisoba and some re-hydrated miso soup from 99 Ranch.

All in all, it was a nice day weather-wise and food wise. I hope yours was, too.

Oooh, I do like doing this blog so far. You know, local lobster season just started, so in the interest of research and making an interesting post…

AND FOR TOMORROW- I promise no caffiene when I start writing.

Emma’s Mexican Food 8781 Cuyamaca, Santee 92071 (619) 596-8189 7 a.m.-8:3- p.m. Mon-Sat, closed Sunday

Reyberto’s Taco Shop

May 17, 2006 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

*** Reyberto's has closed.

This version of a "something – Berto's" taco shop is sort of an old crime scene to me. A crime against my palate! When we first moved to the area several years back we tried some carne asada and other items here and were totally grossed out! It was terrible(ever had sour carne asada), and I vowed never to return. But along comes this food blogging thing, and a few recommendations that included Reyberto's, and here I am again.

So a few weeks ago, I decided to give Reyberto's another shot. After all there are two other Taco Shops within a block of Reyberto's; an outpost of Roberto's, and a location of Cotijas, and yet Reyberto's survives. In case you can't find Reyberto's, just look for the large "Gyros" poster! Yep, you can't miss it. Say what!!!!!

Not being in the mood for carne asada, nor brave enough to try the "Mexican-Gyros", I ordered the Al Pastor Burrito($4.25):

Honestly, not too bad. A bit on the mild side as Al Pastor goes, and too much tortilla, or maybe it's too little filling for such a large tortilla. But the decent creamy guacamole, and pico de gallo, went well with the Al Pastor. A vast improvement over my last (and I swore it would be my last) visit.

So after a recent shopping stop at the market in the mall, I stopped by Reyberto's again and ordered the 5 "mini" Al Pastor Tacos($5.25):

Funny thing; as I was waiting for my order and grabbing some salsa and carrots at the salsa bar:

There it was again! Another Gyros poster! Man, they're really pushing that stuff…… By the way, did you know???? Actually, I'm surprised it's not four out of four people.

So I manage to get my tacos, and myself(sans Gyros, thank-you-very-much) home:

This time around the Al Pastor were on the tough side, and still mild in flavor. The tacos were a bit larger then what I would call "mini", and the size of basic "street-tacos". This was quite a bit of food. Not great, not good, but not bad.

And strangely enough, I found myself at Reyberto's again recently after a long day at work, and a grocery shopping excursion to the market.

And was again assaulted with the Gyros advertising. Now who can resist "Authentic" Gyros? Especially "authentic" Gyros from a taco shop? So I gave in and ordered a Gyros Sandwich (you won't tell on me, will you?). When I watched them prepare the Gyros, it all came to me…duh!!!

Gyros are served to maximize the use of the Trompo(vertical spit). So when it's not in use for Al Pastor, it's in use for Gyros meat.

So at long last here it is the Gyros Sandwich($3.95):

I didn't quite know what to expect. Perhaps gyros meat laid upon a tortilla? What I got was a good amount of typical gyros meat on a store bought pita. The sandwich was quite large and filled the entire Styrofoam container. Along with the meat were a few slices of crappy tomato, and a good amount of onion. So no guacamole, salsa, jalapenos, or anything that would have made this sandwich interesting. The Pseudo-Tzatziki was a bit strange. First of all, there was way too much of it, the sandwich was practically floating in it. But the tzatziki had more of a sour cream flavor then the usual yogurt flavor. hmmmmm….

As a whole Reyberto's serves up average taco shop fare, at a decent price. No more, no less. But then again if your having a bad day, perhaps Carne Asada fries will help make your day a bit better. Or at least put you into a food coma……

In case you think I'm really serious, I hope you understand the irony(I know that Kronos is the largest supplier of "food court" gyros meat), and slight sarcasm of this post. Reyberto's serves average to mediocre taco shop fare. But then again, there are those Gyros………

Reyberto's Taco Shop
3017 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

La Posta Taco Shop – And a Quesadilla with an Identity Crisis

May 7, 2006 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

**** La Posta has closed

In my line of work, I sometimes have to work some odd hours. They usually include the words "weekend", "midnight", "Four AM", or something similar. A recent Sunday morning was no exception. Totally buzzed on caffeine, and starving at 530 am I sorely needed some sustenance. But where to go at 530 Am on a Sunday morning in Hillcrest? Well, without question, it's La Posta for some greasy Carne Asada. Just eating a Carne Asada or California Burrito here will make you feel alive….or dead.

I would say that if you lived, worked, or frequented the area within the last 20 years or so, you'd recognize the sign immediately.

I believe the La Posta sign is as significant a local landmark, as say, the Hillcrest sign, or the sign for Jimmy Wong's Golden Dragon. A key phrase in the signage is "Open 24 Hours". Those who live in San Diego know, that though things are getting better, late night eating(somehow I can't bring myself to use the word dining, and La Posta in the same sentence)options are very limited. The best time to grab a bite at La Posta, is undoubtedly between 1 AM and 5 AM on a Saturday or Sunday morning. You'll get the full effect of the "ambiance" and the interesting cast of characters, many of whom you never thought lived in San Diego, or Earth for that matter. On a recent Sunday morning, I just missed the "late-early" crowd at La Posta, which left me feeling disappointed; sort of like arriving at the Opera after the Fat Lady has sung.

Bummer! I'd missed the free entertainment. A person once described the after midnight crowd at La Posta in a single rambling sentence that included, "Goth's, Grungees, Gays, Gargoyles, and the bar scene from Star Wars!" Not this morning though, all that was left was the eye stinging light, and a really tired looking guy cleaning behind the counter.

If there one dish, other then the standard San Diego taco shop fare, that is interesting, it's the "Special" Quesadilla($5.59). So what's so interesting about it? Well, it starts out like a jumbo quesadilla with two large flour tortillas, that is heated on the griddle, along with some Carne Asada. Here's a peek into the world of La Posta:

A layer of cheese is placed between the two tortillas. Sounds like a normal quesadilla, right? Well that's where we take a sudden left turn. The "quesadilla" is then moved to the counter where the large serving of Carne Asada, lettuce, guacamole, and Salsa is placed on the tortilla, and it is folded up like a burrito! I think it it weighs somewhere in the range of 2 pounds. It's pretty large, in fact, I've often thought it's as big as my shoe, so I thought I'd do a comparison.

Not quite there but pretty close. On this morning the carne asada was too salty, and had a bit of a "stale" taste. Probably because it had been sitting for a while, and the kitchen was kind of winding down. I couldn't finish but half of the quesadilla turned burrito. I also don't care for the watery hot sauce that La Posta serves up.

Overall La Posta serves up the type of food that really "tastes better when your drunk, tired, starved", or otherwise craving a greasy calorie-bomb. And we all have those moments. One thing for sure, you won't say the food at La Posta is bland. When the carne asada is fresh and not too heavily salted it is pretty darn good as well.

During a recent lunch hour I was waiting in line for a Carne Asada burrito, when a Young Man in scrubs turned to me and said, "You know, the food here is okay, but it sure tastes better at 4 am!"

Amen, brother!

La Posta De Acapulco #8
3980 3rd Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

Tacos El Panson

February 12, 2006 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

El Cajon Boulevard can sometimes seem like an ocean of restaurants, arriving wave after wave. After passing the twentieth Pho’ or Mexican Restaurant your senses can shut down. And in the end, I’ll end up at an old standby. But once in a while something will catch my eye. At El Panson, it wasn’t the generic sign, that got my attention.

But it’s that Baby on the right that grabbed me. That’s a "trompo" or "top", a vertical spit of meat, typically Al Pastor. This meant of course, an immediate right turn and a search for parking. For the uninitiated, cooking with a vertical spit was supposedly brought to Mexico by Lebanese immigrants. And the cooking style has been adapted, using a "roll" of thinly sliced pork that has been marinated and rubbed with herbs and spices, called Tacos Al Pastor(Shephard style tacos). The meat is turned and shaved off, much like Gyros, and made into tacos. During that visit, the Missus and I had several good tacos, but the photos never really came out(see photo on the right). And now with the weather a bit warm for February, I wanted to grab a few tacos, and decided to see if my camera would work this time. On this afternoon, El Panson was quite busy, and the sounds and smells of various herbs and spices hung in the air. One Gal was hard at work on tortillas, while one Gentleman flew around in the small little space filling orders.

I ordered three tacos(all tacos $1.50), and had a seat. After a short wait, a Young Lady popped out of the door and into the small dining area and I had my tacos:

I quickly hit the salsa bar, and grabbed some pico de gallo, and some of the extra hot salsa, and some lime, and I was good to go. I’m not one for over garnishing my tacos. As I learned on my trip to Yuma, the flavor of the meat really needs to come through. As per standard, these tacos came on small corn tortillas, which gave the flavor a little boost.

Here’s the run down on the various tacos. First up Tacos La Cabeza:

Tacos De Cabeza, or "head tacos" are usually made from beef cheek meat. Most versions of Tacos De Cabeza in San Diego are horrible. Made from undercooked waxy, fatty, and stale tasting chopped chunks of mystery meat. The version at El Panson was very moist and soft, with no greasy and waxy texture. The meat was lacking the intense "beefiness" that I’ve experienced in good Cabreza, but was pretty decent. The onions and cilantro added flavor and crunch to the taco, and the other garnishes made it complete. Overall, pretty good, not oily or greasy, and lacking the rich beefy flavor I enjoy, but mile above most of the Cabeza I’ve had in San Diego.

The Adobada.

I guess I get confused, I know it’s Al Pastor, I even order it as Al Pastor, but it’s on the menu as Adobada. I watched the meat sliced from the trompo, juices flying everywhere, and vaporizing as it hit the heating elements, I had high hopes for the Adobada. In the end, the flavoring was much too mild, though the meat was very soft and moist, and the caramelized "bits" added some nice flavor. I enjoy my Al Pastor/Adobada seasoned a bit more aggressively, though I’d happily have this again.

Birria De Res

So what I’ve learned is Birria De Chivo is stewed goat(yum!), and Birria De Res is stewed/roasted beef. On my first trip with the Missus, the Birria had a good bit of spice, and the flecks of chilies could be seen in the meat. The Birria was also much more moist. Today, the meat was much milder and not as juicy. Still enjoyable, but not great.

What ‘s really interesting is, that because the various meats are quite rich, you’ll find that three to four tacos, with garnishes may make you quite full. Portions can be deceptive.

Here’s one of the surviving photos from our first visit. The taco with Guacamole is the Carne Asada, and it was quite dry and tasteless.

If you’re in the area, and want a nice snack El Panson might fill the bill. BTW, I understand that El Panson means something like ‘Fat Man’…….

Tacos El Panson
4433 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115
OPEN DAILY
Sun-Thurs 10am – 12am
Fri – Sat 10am – 3am

Lalo’s Tacos Al Pastor, Etc

January 11, 2006 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

**** Lalo's has closed.

I can hear you all now…."oh no, not another taco shop!" Believe me, we've said that a time or two. But one of the great things thing about San Diego is that there are Taco Shops everywhere. On the other hand one of the bad things about San Diego is that there are Taco Shops everywhere. In certain neighborhoods, it is possible to find a Taco Shop on every corner of a given block, and very mediocre Taco Shops at that. But sometimes it's either a Taco Shop or some Fast Food joint, in that case, I'll usually take a Taco Shop. After a recent shopping excursion to Trader Joe's in Hillcrest, we were a bit hungry, and stopped by Lalo's.

There always seems to be a few people in Lalo's, and the menu is pretty extensive, with everything from Flautas to Torta's. In fact, there's so much "stuff" on the menu, that Vietnamese Menu overload can occur.

After staring at the menu for about ten minutes, we took the easy way out and ordered the "specials".

The "Hillcrest"($4.99):

The plate featured four "mini" Al Pastor tacos, refried beans, and rice. Quite alot of food for $4.99! The rice was rather dry and tasteless, but I rather enjoyed the taste and texture of the beans after I added some salsa from the Salsa Bar to it. The four tacos had a nice amount of Al Pastor in them.

The good; the Al Pastor was seasoned well, with a nice chili flavor, and good caramelization. The bad; the Al Pastor was pretty dry, and the Guacamole flavorless and "gluey", the tortillas were fairly crumbly. The tacos tasted much better without the "Guac" and with just a squeeze of lime. If I ever have these again, that's how I'll get them.

The "Uptown"($4.49); featured a Fish Taco, Two Rolled Tacos(1 beef, 1 chicken), and same beans and rice.

I'm glad that the Fish Taco had cabbage, instead of lettuce. Though it looked like a large piece of fried fish, the taco actually contained two "fish nuggets", and there was a "gap" between the pieces of fish. The fish was well fried, and tasted okay with the salsa from the bar. The Rolled Tacos (taquitos) were very bland, with very little filling. I really couldn't tell which was the beef and which was the chicken.

In the end Lalo's really didn't stand out from the plethora of other Taco Shops in San Diego, though the prices are fairly reasonable.

Lalo's Tacos Etc (Yes, "Etc" is part of the name)
1266 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

Postscipt:

When I typed the word "plethora" above, a really weird conversation entered my "stream of consciousness". I guess this is kind of dated, and pretty un-hip….

El Guapo: Jefe, would you say I have a plethora of pinatas?
Jefe: A what?
El Guapo: A "plethora".
Jefe: Oh yes, El Guapo. You have a plethora.
El Guapo: Jefe, what is a plethora?
Jefe: Why, El Guapo?
El Guapo: Well, you just told me that I had a plethora, and I would just like to know if you know what it means to have a plethora. I would not like to think that someone would tell someone else he has a plethora, and then find out that that person has "no idea" what it means to have a plethora.
Jefe: El Guapo, I know that I, Jefe, do not have your superior intellect and education, but could it be that once again, you are angry at something else, and are looking to take it out on me?

El Potosino Mexican Food

December 27, 2005 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

**** El Potosino has closed

I had heard that El Potosino Mexican Restaurant in Lemon Grove made good Cabeza(Beef Head/Cheek) tacos. So we took a drive down to the strip mall near the intersection of Federal Boulevard and College Ave. You could say, I really work hard looking for some……..cabeza.

Entering the large and "breezy" dining area, we looked over the fairly large menu that included Mojarra (usually deep fried tilapia), Cosido De Res(Beef Shank Soup), and all the usual suspects.

We decided to try several of the "meats" and the best platform would seem to be ordering several tacos. We started with Shredded Beef($1.89) and Cabeza($1.89) Tacos. First off these tacos were pretty large. The shredded beef was served in a fried corn tortilla "shell", and overall was pretty bland, and forgettable.

We had made this trip mainly for the Cabeza, so the Cabeza Taco was the focus of my attention. The Cabeza taco was served up in the traditional way, with onions and cilantro, in a mediocre, brittle double corn tortilla. The portion size was fairly large. This cabeza was just okay, fairly gamy, but lacking the condensed beef flavor I was looking for, and not nearly as tender as my favorite Cabeza tacos. The meat was very much like head cheese, and cut into chunks, and more waxy than moist. Not bad, but not good.

In order to "cover" the meal, in case the Cabeza and other tacos are horrid, we will always order a few standard tacos, like the Beef(above) and a Carne Asada($2.29), along with a Adobada($1.89). The Carne Asada, was moist and tender, but flavorless. In fact, this tasted like a guacamole/pico de gallo taco.

The Adobada was the real winner. I had thought that Adobada was pork stewed in a "red" sauce, that included oregano, vinegar, and chipotle. But this Adobada seemed really close to Al Pastor, the dry rubbed, and sometimes marinated pork, usually grilled on a vertical spit(trombo). In fact this would qualify as a real good Al Pastor in my book. The meat was nicely grilled and caramelized, with a balanced "chili" flavor, slightly spicy, with some sweet hints. Delici-yoso!!! I enjoyed the additional taste the onions and cilantro added to the taco, and a squirt of lime brought it all together. If I ever return I'll have an Adobada Burrito, maybe an Adobada with Rice Burrito.

Overall the adobada made this a successful trip. The tacos here seemed to be on the expensive side but were quite large. In fact we left El Potosino more then satisfied. As is the norm, a red and a green hot sauce is served with the tacos. The hot sauces are pretty unremarkable, the green sauce has a better flavor.

El Potosino Mexican Food
6929 Federal Blvd
Lemon Grove, CA 91945

Ray’s Mexican Restaurant – And the Post That Didn’t Want to Be….

December 21, 2005 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

Ray’s is a neighborhood taco shop located on El Cajon Boulevard, whose delivery service is very popular with one of the Departments that the Missus works with. Everytime she’s there they order from Ray’s, but it’s always been delivery, and the funny thing is, none of them have ever set foot, nor do they even really know where "Ray’s" is located. I guess it’s called legacy ordering. Maybe once in the past a former Employee was a regular customer of Ray’s and would always place an order, and said practice has perpetuated itself, now becoming a ritual.

That said, trying to create a post about Ray’s has been the bane of my existence. On our first visit I forgot my camera, and thus you missed a very tasty Birria(Goat) Soup, nice tomato flavor and slightly spicy, though a little short on the goat meat. The Missus had the house specialty Mojarra($5.99), which turned out to be a whole deep fried Tilapia(I thought it was a kind of ocean perch, but found out later that the term is also used for Tilapia), served with beans, rice, salsa fresca, and tortillas. I must say, even though I really don’t like tilapia, the fish was fried perfectly, crunchy on the outside, with a moist interior, and not muddy tasting at all.

Then last week, I had finished my post on Ray’s and Typepad crashed…….. So now like a Phoenix, or at least a Tilapia, my Ray’s post has risen from the ashes. No thanks to Typepad though. I had to recreate it from scratch.

What really keeps those people ordering from Ray’s is the Carne Asada and the Shredded Beef. And on our next visit, the Missus ordered Soft Shredded Beef Tacos($3.95), with no cheese(go figure):

Nicely moist and slightly stewed shredded beef filled some corn tortillas. Unlike other versions, these were quite tasty, and with the provided Salsa Verde these were nice a flavorful. Tomato and oregano flavors stood out. I have gotten used to cabbage in my tacos though, and have a problem going back to lettuce…..

She also ordered the Carne Asada Nacho Deluxe($5.50), with no sour cream and other stuff(sigh….)

The Carne Asada at Ray’s is fairly tasty, with nice lime overtones. Though not grilled I still enjoy the Carne Asada here more then Santana’s.

I ordered the Texas Burrito($3.99), something I first heard about from Howie of A Foodie’s-Eye View.

Basically Pollo Asado ("Grilled" Chicken), Potatoes (most version have french fries, but these had cubed potatoes), Salsa Fresca, Sour Cream, and Guacamole. Actually very tasty, and slightly artery hardening. Though moist, I found the chicken to be not as flavorful as the carne asada(of course, you dummy…). The potatoes were nicely salted and fried, and is of course a starch, ’nuff said. And need I to say, quite filling.

On our next visit the Missus tried the Fish Tacos($3.95):

Ordered no sauce and no cheese, just bleh….we’ll stick with El Zarape.

The 3 Rolled Tacos($1.95):

We ordered 1 Beef, 1 Chicken, and 1 Potato. I guess this is great if you got two bucks and are really hungry. There ain’t much in them taquitos, only the potato tasted like anything.

My advice? Stick with the Carne Asada Burrito($3.75), maybe a bit on the salty side, but at least not bland. Make sure you get the "green"(salsa verde) salsa, tangy and spicy.

Or maybe the Mojarra. Ray’s is a good example of a San Diego neighborhood taco shop. Perhaps not outstanding, but with good prices, and some pretty good food.

When the Missus mentioned to Ray’s "Satellite Customers" that she had actually been here, they had one major question; was it a dump, what did it look like? Ray’s is definitely not a dump. The interior is well lit and clean. Service is very efficient. And the one Gentleman always working (Ray?) is very nice and friendly. Yep, that’s Ray’s a nice neighborhood Taco Shop.

Now hopefully this post will finally see the light of day…..

Ray’s Mexican Restaurant
2885 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104

Open Daily from 8am to 10 pm.

Cotijas – Clairemont Drive

November 22, 2005 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

**** This location of Cotijas has closed.

Cotijas is one of three "Taco Shops" in our neighborhood. This is about the only view we've ever had of Cotijas:

You see we've never been in Cotijas, we've always just used the drive thru, aren't they wonderful?

And in the several years we've lived around here, we've only ordered two dishes. Either this:

Or this:

Yes, look closely, these are two different dishes. The first is an artery hardening American Mexican concoction called Carne Asada Chips, the second is an equally cardiac unfriendly creation called Carne Asada Fries(both $5.09). Whoever invented these are obviously on the Surgeon General's ten most wanted list.

But oh, man these a really pretty darn good! I could go on and make glib, obtuse comments of how all the major food groups are represented; but I'm sure you can see them for yourself. The chips are in my opinion better then the fries, which get soggy much too quickly. I like versions with larger cut fries. But why split hairs? If you do need an inventory of what's in this, I'll list a few; sour cream, two cheeses, guacamole (not bad), Salsa Fresca, carne asada(little too mild, but what the heck), refried beans(luckily, not too much), cilantro, green onions, and either fries or chips. Now I know I've missed a few, but what the heck. Oh, and don't forget the hot sauce…….

Calories, we don't care 'bout no stinkin' calories, right? But in all honesty you really don't want to eat too much. Why? If you can't figure it out for yourself, let me spell it out for you:

As we're exiting the drive-thru I always laugh at this sign:

Yeah, if I live that long…..

I've never had a Shrimp Burrito from here. Can't get past those chips. I'm still trying to figure which is the lesser of two evils; this or Loco Moco's. Would it help if I said, "I just tasted, but I never swallowed?" Hmmmm, didn't think so.

Cotijas Mexican Grill
3066 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

El Cuervo – Where Half of Hillcrest Eats.

August 4, 2005 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

**** After several decades, El Cuervo has become a location of Palomino’s

On any given weekday it seems that half of Hillcrest has lunch at El Cuervo, the other half at Bronx Pizza. People from various professions, laborers, “suits”, and “scrubs” from the nearby Hospitals, are all holding a spot in line.

After comments from both Jack (whom I’m sure I must’ve been standing next to in line several times) and Annie of Green Beans in San Diego mentioning El Cuervo were made, I finally decided to get down to business and actually do a post. I guess because of the close proximity to our offices, it’s relatively easy to take El Cuervo for granted. I mean, I could literally just up and walk the few blocks over (over people sometimes sleeping in the alleyway) and grab a quick order of Five Rolled Tacos ($3.20), a favorite of mine. These rolled tacos, or taquitos are smothered in guac and covered with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and cheese, and somehow find a way to stay nice and crunchy when I eat them back at the office. And I can justify it as a pseudo-salad if I need to, after all there is lettuce and tomato on it, right? You can also just get 3 rolled tacos for $1.90.

I prefer the guacamole at “Cuervo’s” to those of most taco shops, the guac here is more on the chunky side, rather than the usual runny, snotty mess that I get. Green is a really bad color for runny food! I think I’ve ordered many of the items on the menu, and today I had a Carne Asada Torta ($3.80). As you can see the veggie’s in the sandwich are really mostly symbolic, sort of to make you better about eating this slipper-sized torta. The one thing I could do without on this torta are the refried beans, they end up making the bottom bun soggy to the point of disintegration, and I have to end up eating this with a fork and knife. I’m at work after all, I wouldn’t want to walk into a meeting with refried bean smears looking like god knows what (I’ll let you decide on your own visuals here) on my shirt. On second thought this sandwich could’ve used a bit more carne asada.

The burritos at El Cuervo are pretty sizable ranging in price from $2.40 (Ground Beef) to $3.30 (Machaca), and for 90 cents more you can get it “wet”, that is with cheese and enchilada sauce on them. The item below is the Pollo Asado (grilled chicken) burrito, “wet”. Grilled chicken, salsa, guac, and cheese, wrapped in a tortilla the size of a hubcap. If there’s one complaint I would have, it’s that there’s too much tortilla, and when wrapped around itself, it can be pretty “tough”, but in this case the enchilada sauce cures that ill. The chicken in the burrito was moist and all the flavors blend well, until you get to the end and it’s only tortilla.

What does El Cuervo got going for it? The fare is not as greasy as other taco shops, good prices, fast service, good sized portions, good guacamole, and good hot sauce. A pretty good list by any standard. Some of the favorites Chicken Tostada ($2.40), Carne Asada Quesadilla ($4.25), Chimichanga ($4.20), and Machaca Burrito ($3.30). I would stay away from the “seafood” here, I’ve found it to be “grease city”. All in all, a good neighborhood taco shop!

El Cuervo Mexican Restaurant
110 West Washington St
San Diego, CA 92103