Taco Shops – Page 3

Guadalajara – A Food Tour of Barrio Santa Tere

July 20, 2024 mmm-yoso Guadalajara/Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico, Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Taco Shops, Travel

There were so many iconic dishes from Jalisco, that doing a food tour, which we'd done with great success in Oaxaca and even CDMX, seemed like a no brainer. So, I went ahead and booked the small group Gastronomic Tour of Santa Tere. It seemed like it would tick all the boxes, we'd learn so much about barbacoa, birria, tortas ahogadas, stuff that had become quite popular in San Diego over the last few years.

The area, Santa Tere (Santa Teresita) is still known as being "working class", yet is but a 30 minute walk away from where we were staying. We were looking forward to tales and history of the items we'd be trying. Unfortunately, the tour guide was a very nice young lady, whose basic duty was just leading us to various eating establishments and ordering food for us.

Still, it was an interesting introduction to local places in the city.

We met a block away from the Mercado and were led into the market.

And this stand; Fonda Mariquita which was super busy.

We were told that it's all about the quesadillas with green sauce here. So, we asked for the version with nopales con huevo. Very tangy salsa verde.

The tortilla was thick and quite crisp, almost like an empanada. The milky queso helped to quell the puckery and tangy salsa verde.

Fonda Mariquita (In Mercado Santa Tere)
Calle Andrés Terán 523
Santa Teresita, 44200 Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

We then stepped out of the Mercado and across the street to this place.

I was quite thrilled; after all Jalisco is the home of Birria and of course, I love birria de chivo.

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The folks here were so friendly, our guide ordered us birria de chivo which was quite good; gamey, nice spice, the broth was rich and flavorful, nice smokiness.

This might have been the best we'd had….but there was a place we headed to for dinner that was even better!

Still, birria de chivo, better than anything I've ever had in San Diego.

And the service was wonderful!

Birriería La Victoria
Calle Manuel Acuña 1511
Villaseñor, 44200 Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

We then headed back around the Mercado.

And we were brought to this storefront.

Which cracked us up. That whole modern looking area is just seating. Everything really happens here.

To the left of the "dining area" is where the tacos for Tacos Juan are put together.

Of course, being on this tour meant we'd just have a seat……

Man, those caramelized onions and charred peppers were so good.

The actual grilled queso and tortillas for the barbacoa tacos dorados were fabulous.

It actually outshone the barbacoa….which almost seemed like an accessory. That texture; the corn and cheesiness.

Tacos Juan Santa Teresita
Calle José Clemente Orozco 465
Santa Teresita, 44600 Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

We then headed back thru the Mercado.

And made a stop for agua frecas….sorry, was having too much fun and didn't take a photo.

Our last stop was for something I'd been wanting to try in Jalisco.

Tortas Ahogadas are a way of life here. And this shop…again, the food is prepped outdoors and there is indoor seating, seemed like just what we wanted.

The line made it seem so promising. Here's where having to just find a table and not order made things easy for us.

Man ,these guys work hard!

So, when we were asked how spicy, we told the young lady that we love spicy, we've had some pretty spicy tortas ahogadas here is San Diego.

But, I think they went easy on us. The Birote (bread) was outstanding, yeasty, almost like a good sourdough, the meat tender, the sauce had a nice level of acidity, but was not very spicy.

I think they might have gone easy on us.

Tortas Ahogadas El Profe Jimenez
Calle Andrés Terán 841
Villaseñor, 44600 Guadalajara, Jal., Mexico

In the end, while I wish the "tour" was more than someone taking us to places and ordering….I really can't recommend this, it was nice to have the variety and exposure to dishes we'd had many times in the past.

Guadalajara – Dinner at Restaurante Allium and Antojitos Sanchez (at Tianguis del Parque Rojo)

July 19, 2024 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Fine Dining, Guadalajara/Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico, Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Taco Shops, Travel

Our flight from Mexico City to Guadalajara International Airport was right on time. Our driver was on time and the drive to our hotel; the Hotel Portobelo took about 30 minutes and was uneventful. The hotel is large, modern, and close to Zona Centro and all the historical sights. It is also right across the street from Parque Revolucion, which I found out is more commonly known as Parque Rojo, the Red Park to locals. Our flight had arrived at 1130 and it was just after noon when we arrived at the hotel. Check-in time was 3pm, so we decided to stow our luggage and go for a stroll. Lucky for us; there's a huge flea market, called Tianguis del Parque Rojo that occurs on Saturday.

And we spent a good amount of time exploring.

There was just about everything under the sun available here.

Something we soon noticed. Folks were quite friendly here, people would smile at us, wave us forward, we were the only Asians in sight, so I'm sure we stood out.

Soon we came across a food stall named Antojitos Sanchez. Folks seemed to be enjoying their meal, so we decided to give it a try.

One of the young men eating spoke perfect English and told us to sit next to him….folks actually moved over for us, in case we needed some help. Like I said, great people.

The Missus got a coconut agua fresca, which She loved so much and chugged down in like a minute! We ordered a second one!

We ordered tacos. The chicharron….the young man was surprised we ordered that, was so tender and full of flavor.

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The fatty portions and meat basically melted in your mouth! Such porky goodness, we didn't want to spoil the flavors by adding anything….we just wanted to "pig out" if you know what I mean.

We got the quesabirria tacos. The tortillas were very good and the cheese had been expertly melted and were so crisp!

The birria was fairly mild in flavor, though quite tender. For us, this was mostly about the wonderful texture.

The folks working were just plain wonderful; as was the young man who volunteered to help us! This was such a nice start to our visit here!

Antojitos Sanchez (at Tianguis del Parque Rojo)
Americana, 44160 Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Market on Saturdays

We headed back across the street to the hotel. It was getting pretty hot and we thought we'd just wait in the air conditioned lobby of the hotel. Luckily, our room was ready early and we settled in.

As for dinner; well, it was going to be the total opposite of lunch. I had made reservations at Restaurante Allium which I had read about being a champion of local products and possibly the best restaurant in the city. To make things interesting, the restaurant was 5 kilometers (like 3 miles) away from Hotel Portobelo and we decided to walk, which was quite interesting.

Anyway, we made it to the location, which seemed to be an upscale business district with many high rises.

The restaurant is set-up in a modern, somewhat minimalistic style, with a visible kitchen. The service is warm and professional, it seems to be the place where the business elites come to eat.

Things started with an amuse sort of a aguachile bite, which was nice and refreshing.

There's only three wines by the glass, none of it from Mx, but the Missus though it fine.

And various salsas and butter are kindly provided.

We ended up ordering two appetizers and two entrees.

First to arrive was the Octopus Carpaccio.

As we would find with the other dishes, there's a lot going on here. From "tomato overload", both fresh and sun dried tomatoes, to an interesting flavor that seemed like dashi, which I later found was Katsuobushi, there was nice acidity, the avocado was nice and buttery, and the octopus very tender. The sourdough bread was a bit over-toasted, but still retained a nice balance.

The other appetizer we ordered was the Seabass Ceviche.

There was a bit too much going on here, though the texture of the fish was wonderful, it was overshadowed by all the acidity in the dish.

The Missus ordered the Lamb as Her main.

My goodness, those asparagus tips were amazing, so sweet and tender. The lamb shoulder was fine, a bit tough, we wished it was a bit more gamey, the dish gravitated to the sweeter end of the flavor spectrum.

I got the Pork Belly.

Once again, the produce was so good, those green beans had a nice, slightly sweet-chlrophyllic flavor. The frisee added a much needed balance to the sweet sauce. The pork belly was tender, but I wish there was more porcine flavor and less sweetness to the dish.

In the end, this was an interesting dining experience, the staff were so professional, yet warm and friendly.

Restaurante Allium
Avenida Providencia 2411, Plaza Leben Providencia
Guadalajara, Jalisco, México

We decided to catch an Uber back to the hotel. It had been an interesting day. Such diversity between our first two meals in the city. And yet there was one thing that seemed universal; the kindness and smiles of the folks here!

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Thanks for stopping by!

Mexico City – Mora Mora (La Condesa) and a Journey thru La Merced

July 14, 2024 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers, Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Mexico City, Taco Shops, Travel

After spending a busy day exploring and eating in Centro Historico we spent some time exploring La Condesa. This is the area in which we've stayed in since our very first trip back in 2019. And this was our fifth time visiting since then! We've noticed quite a few changes since that first visit. The one biggest thing, which I noted during our previous visit was the large number of ex-pats. And there seemed to be even more this time around.

On Avenida Amsterdam we passed this interesting shop.

It looked like a natural foods/vegan/vegetarian shop, with a coffee bar and restaurant. It seemed quite popular.

The Missus was particularly interested in the Mushroom Coffee, something which She buys on occasion back home.

They even have funky "swings" to eat and drink on in the dining area.

Mora Mora
Ámsterdam 171
Colonia Condesa, Cuauhtémoc, 06100 Ciudad de México, Mexico

The next day, we had a nice, light breakfast at Red Tree House, we both knew that we'd be eating a bit during the day because I'd booked a small group tour of Mercado la Merced. I had read that the market, the largest in CDMX is large, vast, and confusing, thus I booked a small group tour. Our "small group" consisted of one other couple, who both claimed Mexican ancestry and were from El Paso. Our guide was Yimnah, who is a former chef.

After introductions we were off. First thing we noticed was how crowded things were.

Traffic here was crazy and to be frank, kinda scary. Yimnah actually used the assistance of one of the guys who help folks cross the street, for a tip of course.

We passed the flower market on the way in.

Once in the sprawling and confusing market, Yimnah directed us past all of the booths to this one.

Hmmm…..that logo seems familiar? This is Tacos McTeo. You gotta love it.

And the specialty tacos have….well, you guessed it, papas fritas on them. We got a very delici-yoso taco with cesina. Them "golden arches" ain't got nothin' on this place.

Though I'm wondering if a "cease and desist" might be around the corner…..

During our next pause Yimnah expounded on the glories of what she described as a specialty of CDMX; the fried tamal. We got a nopales-queso version. We weren't sure what to expect, but this was super good.

The earthy, maizey-lishceousness of the masa, along with slightly mucilaginous, sweet-green beanish flavor of the nopales, the milky queso, all wrapped in a crisp, slightly crunchy exterior was masterful. I gotta see if there's a version here in SD.

This was washed down with some atole.

From this stand.

There were just so many stands here, it would have been crazy to attempt to explore ourselves.

Next up were tacos, from this busy stand.

We got the suardero and tripas.

Which were fine, if not as god as what we'd had the previous day.

The couple that was with us were surprised that we had tripas….according to them, non-Hispanic folks where they hail from won't touch the stuff. I explained that most Asians will try anything and that statement would prove to be especially true later on.

Our next stop was to be for some quesadillas, but the place was packed and busy.

So Yimnah placed our orders and took us through a tour of various fruits.

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Where we got to sample several varieties of avocado and other fruits.

We then headed back to the quesadilla stand. Yimnah explained that in Mexico City, most of the traditional stands will use blue corn quesadillas, the use of blue corn dates back to prehispanic times.

Cooked on the comal, it seemed like blue corn was a bit softer and more tender than other versions.

Man, we had eaten quite a bit at this point, so it was time to do a bit more exploring. We were guided thru the chili stands, with Yimnah pointing out various species, many of which, like the habanero I'm quite familiar with; though there were some, like the mirasol, that I wasn't too familiar with, until Yimnah explained that these are the chilies that are dried to make guajillo chilies, which I usually have stocked at home.

We next moved on to a stand that even I had heard of. The famous Moles Dona Balbi which stocks what seems like a hundred different moles.

We ended up getting some mole pinole.

And then after touring a few more stands we came across this one.

And an amazing tasting of everything from Chapulines, gusanos, cocopaches, to acocil. That wrapped thingy on the right in the photo above is a fermented fish, which was full of umami flavor.

This was the protein source for many in prehispanic times. There was one thing that caught my eye, it's on the left of the gentleman in this photo.

Looking like a pile of tubular pasta, we could actually smell it from where we were standing. We asked Yimnah what it was and were told "fermented chicken intestines". These have been cooked. We asked if we could taste some. Yimnah said most folks are kinda scared of it….we wanted to try it. So Yimnah had them get us a sample; that couple from Texas, who had been so proud of their heritage backed off. Actually, it was chewy, very strong poultry flavor, quite savory, and we're glad we tried it.

We were glad to have taken this tour. There's no way we'd have been exposed to, nor have tried so many dishes and had learned so much about the cuisine, which is a big part of history and culture. There was so much we learned on this tour.

We had a coffee before Yimnah led us to the best area to catch our Uber and we headed back to La Condesa and the Red Tree House where Romeo was "waiting".

Lest you think Romeo didn't know what was going on. Everytime we'd see this wonderful pooch we'd give him a nice rub and scratch and his tail would go a wagging'. On the next morning as we checked out, Romeo was lying near the front door. We gave him an enthusiastic last rub, whereupon he lifted his head and then with one paw closed the door so we couldn't leave! "Oh Romeo!"

Such is what CDMX is to us! We can't wait to return.

But Guadalajara was waiting…..

Thanks for stopping by!

Mexico City – Exploring Centro Historico, Xaachila Comida Oaxaquena, Taquería El Torito (Calle de Mesones 48 location), and Quesadillas Bolivar

July 6, 2024 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Mexico City, Taco Shops, Travel

**** So, this one is kinda long. I've condensed things a bit to make it more readable. Please let me know if you have any questions!

We had two full days in CDMX before heading to Jalisco. Even though we'd been to CDMX four times previously, we knew there was so much we hadn't seen yet. And yes, we'd been to Centro Historico several times (remember the colors of Frida?), but there just seemed to be so much. I thought we'd enjoy a private tour of Centro Historico. We had enjoyed our private tour of Museo Nacional de Antropologia on a previous trip, so I contacted Mexico a Pie tours, inquiring about downtown tour options. Ana quickly returned my email and after mentioning we enjoyed the cuisine as well, she proposed the private Tortilla and History tour.

Which is how we ended up "Ubering" to the Zocalo to meet up with our guide, the wonderful and enthusiastic Daniela.

After introductions, we swung on over to Templo Mayor, where we were treated to the history of Tenochtitlan, thought to be founded in the 14th century, home of the Mexica people, and the center of the Aztec Empire. Tenochtitlan was built on the shores of Lake Texcoco, which was eventually mostly drained. It is in this basin that Mexico City now exists.

This temple was dedicated to Huītzilōpōchtli (God of the sun) and Tlaloc which Andres had gone over with us during our tour of the Museo Nacional de Antropologia. Daniela seemed quite pleased that knew a bit about Tlaloc….she got a kick when we remembered the identifying features of Tlaloc; the round eyes and fangs.

We noticed many serpents and was told that these are symbols of fertility and rebirth.

One of the most famous items excavated here is the Coyolxauhqui Stone.

The next stop was just around the corner.

This is the Colegio de San Ildefonso, formerly a college established by the Jesuits, it is now a museum and performance venue.

Though it has some impressive murals and such, we found the elegant little touches to be impressive.

We were taken to the former Colegio de San Gregorio, now known as Universidad Obrera “Vicente Lombardo Toledano” – the "Worker's University", which bears the name of one of the most famous labor leaders in Mexico.

It was here when we discovered how flexible Daniela was. We noticed this dome from the courtyard of the University.

Daniela smiled and said, "let's go". And we were guided to and entered Nuestra Señora de Loreto Church – Church of Our Lady of Loreto.

The interior is quite stunning, though it does look a bit worn.

We notice all the bracing in the interior and was told because of the different types of stone used in the construction, the entire church is starting to tilt to one side.

And then it was time for our first "food stop". At a shop named Xaachila Comida Oaxaquena.

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Having been to Oaxaca the year before, the Missus was interested in trying a tamal.

The Missus was interested in trying the Tamal Chepil.

Which She enjoyed with a nice refreshing cup of Horchata! Good smoky flavors, nice maize tones. Would it make us forget Oaxaca? Heck no, but this was a nice little brunchy start to things.

And the Missus chugged that Horchata like there was no tomorrow!

Xaachila Comida Oaxaquena
De La Santísima 17-22
Cuauhtémoc, 06060 Ciudad de México, Mexico

We then headed back to the Cathedral. But because of services going on, Daniela would not be able to guide us thru the cathedral. She did provide us with some interesting things to see though.

We were told to look for the arm of what was supposed to be the wax figure of Saint Felicitas. Yes, there are human bones there!

Which had become quite a story.

The next stop was a place we didn't know about, the Gran Hotel Ciudad de México.

According to what I've read, this structure dates back to 1526!!!! It then became a shopping center in 1895 and then an hotel.

The Tiffany glass ceiling dates back to 1899.

Personally, I loved the elevator.

The grandness of the hotel looks like it came out of a book from another time.

Our next stop was a favorite of mine.

This interesting, well adorned building is the site of one of the oldest pharmacies in the Americas.

Originally a Augustine Monastery, in 1944 this became Farmacias Paris.

And it is still an operating pharmacy, with different areas to this day.

We were told that the most popular area deals with Homeopathy.

And it's still very busy……

This was quite interesting.

We were then told that it was "taco time" and led to this unassuming shop around the corner on Calle de Mesones.

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We had told Daniela that we "eat everything" and she took us here. I was told that there are three "El Toritos" on the street, apparently there's an interesting story about a family taqueria and a falling out between them.

I will say, these were our favorite tacos of the trip. We started with the Suadero, a mix of cuts and the Tripa.

My goodness, the crisp intestine was amazing! We got a second Tacos de Tripa!

It's hard to explain; there's some nice deep, offaly goodness, with a wonderful crispness. I'll just leave it at that.

Taquería El Torito
Calle de Mesones 48
Cuauhtémoc, 06080 Centro, Mexico

From here, we made a couple of more stops like the Biblioteca Miguel Lerdo de Tejada, which had some interesting murals.

We were then headed down Republica de el Salvador.

And then to 16 de Septiembre for our last food stop. This place had me fooled as the sign looked like it was some kind of cell phone shop. But the customers were all having eats and drinks.

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In spite of the sign, this is Quesadillas Bolivar.

We enjoyed the Quesadillas de Nopales and Flor de Calabazas.

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The blue corn tortillas was so full of maize goodness.

Quesadillas Bolivar
16 de Septiembre,
Pasaje Savoy 6-Local #3
Cuauhtémoc, 06000 Centro, Mexico

As we walked to our final destination, the Palacio Postal, the Central Post Office, we asked Daniela how she finds all these places to eat. She told us that she's out trying places every week, to see if it is worth taking folks on the tour to and which customers would fit with what place.

We ended at the beautiful "Postal Palace", the Central Post Office, which was built in 1907.

We had visited before, but it's no less amazing…….

And as we ended our day, Daniela took us to the best spot for an Uber pick-up.

It was indeed another fun, educational, and delicious day in CDMX.

And of course we had Romeo (kinda) greet us when we returned to the Red Tree House.

Mike’s Red Tacos (Clairemont)

March 14, 2023 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

I recently had to run some errands and was in the area near Genesee and Balboa. In need of some lunch I decided to give Mike's Red Tacos a try…or make that another try. You see, I paid several visits to the truck when it was parked on Morena and was rather unimpressed. The truck was super popular, especially since birria had taken the US by storm….one of those food fads. I was interested to see if the birria (and consomme) at the newish brick and mortar shop would be better.

Mikes Red 01

Mike's occupies the former location of Wings Republic which I visited once, but had such a lousy meal that I never returned, nor ever did a post.

Mikes Red 02

The young ladies working the front were very nice and cheerful. I ordered the #2 combo which came with chips and consomme. My order was ready fairly quickly and I made sure to grab some salsa from the salsa bar before heading home.

Mikes Red 03

Arriving home I opened things up and proceeded to dig in.

Mikes Red 04 Mikes Red 05 First thing I did was take a sip of the consomme. Which, sadly is the same as it was from the truck. Weak in flavor, greasy tongue feel, in my opinion only good for moistening your taco. The birria itself is a bit better than what I'd had on my visits to the truck. It is less stringy and more tender though still not quite as beefy as I enjoy.

Mikes Red 08

Strangely, my favorite item were the chips as they were crisp, had a nice maize-ness to them, and were well dusted with seasoning.

Mikes Red 06 Mikes Red 10 I did enjoy the salsa rojo which had a nice spice and a kick of citrus. The tortillas this time around did not hold up as well, they started to tear as I picked my tacos up. These tacos just aren't beefy-savory-spicy (without the salsas) enough with that flavor which dances with a hint of smokiness from dried chilies. Like I've said before, to me this is "birria not to offend".

Mikes Red 09

And before you say "look at Kirk, he's going to pull the Fernandez card again", let me just stay in the area and say I prefer the birria (and consomme) from El Viejon. And KennethB, I do wish Emily's was still open!

For now, I'm going to head further down to Convoy, if I'm not checking out Fernanadez or other places for birria. That said, Mike's seems to have improved a bit, but not enough to stop me from looking for other options in the area.

Mikes Red 12 Mikes Red 11 Please check out Soo's post on Mike's as well.

Mike's Red Tacos
4310 Genesee Ave. Suite 104
San Diego, CA 92117
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 930pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 1030pm

Crack Taco Shop (San Diego)

November 21, 2022 Cathy Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy this Monday of Thanksgiving week. Kirk and His Missus have arrived at the first stop of their holiday destination.

In May of 2019, this storefront location of "Cardiff Crack" opened in Mission Valley (on Camino Del Rio North, at the Northwest corner where it crosses Mission Gorge Road at the 8). The owners of the Seaside Market in Cardiff, which has been selling the infamous burgundy-pepper marinated tri-tip since 1985 expanded to a location between San Diego State University and the new Snapdragon Stadium. 4DF17C0F-A3E2-4B27-B9E9-CC8741A9CC08
F901D44A-ED58-41D5-A5D6-0A69F122B447 Walk in, order and pay, grab your beverages, find a seat and wait for your meal and condiments to be brought out.
1289CA07-6370-4B90-BEAC-F9CD5F69E0C9 The menu board is above the two cash registers. ( I was wearing sunglasses and it looked black/not working, so I didn't take a photo).
F901D44A-ED58-41D5-A5D6-0A69F122B447 The Grilled Cactus Taco was just something different that I'd never seen on a menu, so we decided to order one ($3.95). This is served on a home made corn tortilla- very nice, very flavorful (corny)(ha) and it stood up to all the ingredients (house made guacamole (also very good), cilantro, onions). This was a really tasty taco. I would order it again.
F901D44A-ED58-41D5-A5D6-0A69F122B447 We also decided to try an Al Pastor taco ($3.95) . There were some pineapple bits in addition to the guacamole, cilantro and onion. The pork was very tender and had a nice char-grill flavor. The sweetness of the pineapple marinade was subtle if you tried a bite of the (plain) meat. Quite good quality.
E33F6BA6-89C6-4EB5-8A4B-A4F1869DC4E6 We ordered the Roasted Pepper Caesar Salad ($10.95) add crack ($4.95). It arrived without the roasted peppers, but plenty of the tri-tip.
44D2F12C-4879-419F-A0B7-8C2169BA6EAF A good size portion of the roasted peppers was brought out and these were very good. (I've been buying jarred roasted peppers for use on sandwiches at home and really kind of crave them).

Because of this mistake, we were able to try tie 'Crack' unadorned. The meat was tender and had a nice char on some pieces but wasn't extraordinary and really was fairly dull.

However, we have returned with friends; it's not terrible; everything is fresh. Soo was here!

Crack Taco Shop 4242 Camino De Rio North, Suite 28, San Diego 92108 (619) 269-2828 Open daily 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Website

Mexico City (2022) – Taco Crawl – El Pescadito, Tacos Hola, La Guerrerense, and El Califa. And a Return to Panadería Almuerzos

October 9, 2022 mmm-yoso Bakery, Croissants, Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Mexico City, Seafood, Taco Shops, Travel

Before our trip to CDMX, I had read a really nice cookbook named Made in Mexico by Chef Danny Mena. The cookbook featured based on the Chef's (who is from CDMX) favorite dishes from various restaurants and stands in Mexico City. I loved that there was a separate restaurant index in the back of the cookbook with all the locations. There were a couple that were rather close to where we were staying (Colonia Condesa) and I thought it would be nice to do a sort of taco crawl like we had done in the days before Covid.

We were a bit hungry after visiting the Museo Nacional de Antropologia. And El Pescadito was on the way back to the hotel, so we decided to stop there. I'd seen El Pescadito before as it is right across the street from Tacos Don Juan which we visited before.

Man, this place was quite busy; but they had a pretty awesome system. Order, get a number, find a table, pick up your food when called, and pay before leaving. It seemed like half the customers were non-locals here.

According to what I had read; this place specializes in Tacos de Marlin – smoked fish tacos, here it is smoked tuna. Something I really love. I ordered (left to right), a Tacochango (MarlinTun/Shrimp), MarlinTun, and the item in the book, the Chile Relleno Taco (MalinTun stuff in a Chile).

So, first the good; man were things fried here good! The batter on the shrimp was crisp and light; the shrimp plump, moist, and tasty. The poblano chile likewise. Sadly, the MarlinTun was dry, fishy, and not very smoky in terms of flavor. The tortillas were decent and up to the task at hand.

Sadly, I'd have to say I've had better tacos de marlyn here in San Diego!

And while the tacos may have been borderline disappointing; that "dude" to the right was not!

Remember that I've mentioned the amazing dog walkers of Mexico City before? Well this guy was "going for the gold". He had 9 pooches in tow…nine! He saw us jaw agape and even stopped for a photo. Take a look and count 'em…..9. And they were all pretty well behaved.

El Pescadito
Calle Atlixco 38
06140 Ciudad de México

We headed back to our hotel and relaxed for a bit; then headed back out. We got to Avenida Amsterdam and found what we thought was the correct address, but nope….we asked at a nearby shop and the nice gentleman pointed us in the right direction; to Tacos Hola; a tiny shop which was doing good business.

The Missus got the little table with the two kiddie stools, shades of Hanoi! I went inside to order and found that a bunch of items were sold out!

Luckily, the recommended item; the Tacos de Bistec en Pasilla was still available. And I thought the Missus would enjoy the Tacos Acelgas (Chard).

Tacos Hola specializes in Tacos Guisados, braised and stewed ingredients for tacos. So, even though it says bistec; it's actually braised beef; really tasty braised beef, with a very bright pasilla chile-tomato based sauce. The Missus really loved the beans here…She still mentions those beans, as in "why can't you make beans like those." The chard was quite tender, but quite mild in flavor….man, I could imagine this with collards! The tortillas were excellent.

I really want to return here.

Tacos Hola El Güero
Amsterdam 135
06100 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico

Our next stop was in a familiar locale; the Parian Condesa Food Hall. Pasillo de Humo is located on the second floor. We've walked past La Guerrerense before.

Here it's the Tacos de Pescado and the Tacos de Camaron that are recommended, so that's what we ordered.

We didn't care for these very much. The fish in the Taco de Pescado was the width of my pinky and not even as long. It's the batter that is supposed to be special; it's made with vodka which is supposed make a delicate, crisp crust. We couldn't make out much.

The shrimp was the better of the two, more flavor, better texture. The tortillas broke apart while eating our tacos.

It was strange; we were the only customers in the place.

La Guerrerense
Avenida Nuevo León 107
06100 Cuauhtemoc, CDMX, Mexico

For our last stop, we decided to go with a favorite from our previous taco crawl, El Califa.

We enjoyed the Al Pastor here on our previous visit, so we had two each. It did not disappoint.

The Al Pastor had that nice balance of sweet and salty; nice savory tones, the meat had a crispness to it as well. The onions added pungency and that pineapple was icing on the cake!

Still a favorite of ours.

Taquería El Califa
Altata 22
06170 Ciudad de México

We were tempted to do an Al Pastor comparison and head on over to El Farolito across the street, but we were full and that comparison will have to wait for another day. We were pooped; it was time to hit the hay.

The next morning we hit up our favorite croissant stop, Panadería Almuerzos. Man, there was a line! We'd never seen this before. Word must have gotten out!

It was interesting; the two guys in front of us just spoke English and didn't even try to speak Spanish, as did the woman behind us. Like I mentioned in my previous post; we saw many more ex-pat/tourists than we had seen before. Panadería Almuerzos had also spiffed things up. It used to just look like a garage before, now they had a bakery case and everything.

And then I got my croissant and was crestfallen.

It wasn't crisp and flakey enough, lacked butter, was too doughy.

Here's what it used to look like.

Man, this used to be my favorite croissant outside of France. What happened here? Have they lowered their standards?

I'm not sure, but I sure was disappointed.

Panadería Almuerzos
Av. Vicente Suárez 64A
Colonia Condesa, CDMX, Mexico

I truly hope this was just a bad day…..but I'm thinking it wasn't.

Well, I didn't have too much time to dwell on this, we had an Uber on the way and had to get to the airport.

Next stop, Oaxaca!

Midweek Meanderings – Sunmerry, The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, and Kitakata Ramen Coming to Kearny Mesa, Palomino’s #3 and Matador Mexican Grill “Under New Management”

August 3, 2022 mmm-yoso Bakery, Chains, Greek Food, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, Taco Shops

It's amazing what you can find during one short drive. Here's what I noticed when I went to get some groceries and lunch from Nijiya. I took the "long way"; which meant starting on Clairemont Mesa, then down Convoy, then all the way down Linda Vista to Morena.

Here's what I saw.

Sunmerry, The Great Greek, and Kitakata Ramen Coming to Kearny Mesa:

Even though I haven't done a post on Sunmerry; a bakery chain from Taiwan, it's a must stop on our road trips North and during visits to Bistro Na's. We'll also stop in at the Rowland Heights location as well. For some reason, this past week, I mentioned that Sunmerry was opening somewhere near Convoy to the Missus, so She'd be able to get Her Pineapple Cake fix locally. I was thus instructed to find out the location. Finding the location was simple using our friend……Google.

In the same strip mall as Costco Business and Target I saw three structures and this sign:

So, I got three for the price of one here.

The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, a small chain out of Nevada and Sunmerry will occupy one building.

7951 Othello Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111

And Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai which according to Eater, originated in Fukushima in another.

8001 Othello Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111

Looks like I got a "three for one" here…..

Palomino's #3 "Under New Management":

I go to Nijiya so frequently that I usually just head on in and then back to my car without a glance; but today I noticed that the Taco Shop in the strip mall had a "Under New Management" sign. Which I believe means new ownership.

Cathy has done several posts on Palomino's #2, but not on this location. I last visited in the days BB ("before blogging").

3860 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

So maybe…..and no, I haven't tried Two Hands Corn Dog yet either…..

Matador Mexican Grill Reopening:

On my way back, heading down Linda Vista, I took a look at the spot that used to house Matador Mexican Grill which closed several months back and noticed they were reopening. Of course; it's under the ubiquitous "under new management".

I'd never been; though an ex-coworker of mine used to like the place.

5201 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA 92110

And under the you never know what you'll see label……

I noticed a bit of a crowd on the Convoy side of Jasmine as I stopped at the light. There were news teams and bit of a hubbub. While sitting at the light, I noticed someone holding a freeway sign. And then it became clear. I know that there was an effort to raise money for six "Convoy Asian Cultural District" signs and it looks like they've raised the money and the signs are done.

Good for them!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

El Zarape 10 (!!!) Years Later and a Walk Around University Heights

August 1, 2022 mmm-yoso Exploring San Diego, Taco Shops, yoso-silly

Recently I was thinking about areas that I hadn't been to in a while and University Heights came to mind. I couldn't recall the last time I was in the area…..at least not since Covid. So, on a recent weekend morning I decided to drop by and take a nice stroll.

I parked across from Trolley Barn Park and crossed the street.

U Heights 01

In case you're wondering why this is called Trolley Barn Park.

U Heights 02

This was the actual site of the Trolley Car Barn from 1913 – 1949.

While crossing the street, I realized that over the years I've driven by the park many times; but had never walked through the park. Well, this morning was as good a time as ever to do so!

I actually entered the park from Panorama Drive.

U Heights 03

It was mid-morning and all the "activities" were just getting started……yoga…

U Heights 06

Soccer for little "kiddies"….

U Heights 07

The sidewalk has markings of the streets along the old trolley route.

U Heights 05

There's an interesting marker that details the route of the trolley.

U Heights 08

And there's also a very nice view of Mission Valley at the south end of the park.

U Heights 09

U Heights 10 U Heights 11 I'm sure you've noticed all the signage and artwork with ostriches in the University Heights area.

Do you know why?

Well, the area at the southern end of Park Boulevard was W. H. “Harvey” Bentley's Ostrich Farm; yes, for real! According to the University Heights Historical Society:

"In 1904, John D. Spreckels invited Harvey Bentley to relocate his ostrich farm from Coronado."

There's this gate which was the entrance to the ostrich farm.

U Heights 12

And there's this sign, which I didn't recall seeing before. According to this post, the sign just went up in May of this year.

U Heights 13

I also noticed the mention of "William Hilton's Silk Mill". It turns out that the structure that now houses Meraki Café was once the location of a silk mill!

U Heights 14

Around this time, I decided to grab a bite. Over the last couple of months, I'd been wondering how some of the "old time" (to me) places that I hadn't visited in years were doing. So I decided to head on over to El Zarape. Now I knew that I hadn't been to El Zarape in a while; but man, it had been a decade since I last visited. And before that visit was a seven year gap! I knew that El Zarape currently opens at 10 in the morning on weekends, so I was fairly certain that I wouldn't have a problem placing a takeout order.

El Z 01

The layout and design looks basically the same as it did a decade ago……

El Z 02

As did the menu….with the hipster additions of "Beyond Meat"…and the other stuffs that I would never try like the "Aloha/Wasabi/Soy" burritos.

El Z 03

For old time's sake I ordered two of my "standards" from the old days; a Fish Taco and a Shrimp Taco. The gentleman working was very friendly and it was a short wait….I sat outside for my order. I then made the short walk back to Trolley Park to eat.

El Z 04

Opening things up….well, the tacos didn't look too promising.

Though I will say that the avocado sauce and salsa rojo taste exactly the same. Though I'm guessing that due to Covid precautions the old salsa bar is gone and now the sauces are served in containers.

El Z 05

The shrimp taco ($4.25) was less than pleasing.

El Z 06 El Z 07 The shrimp was rubbery, the tortilla didn't hold up and fell to pieces after my second bite, even with a protective layer of cheese. This was just so very bland, I didn't expect the sweet-richness of wild caught shrimp, but this just had so little "shrimpiness"….take a look at what the shrimp taco looked like before.

El Zarape rev 06

It doesn't even look like it's from the same restaurant….though I guess a lot can change in a decade.

It used to be that the Fish Taco at EZ was sort of a loss leader….it was still 99 cents in 2012! Now it's $2.50 which I think is a good price in this day and age. But the main question that came to mind when I looked at my taco was where's the fish????

El Z 08

It was just covered with a ton of cabbage, which was much more thickly sliced than before. As you can tell by the color, the fish had been fried too long; the batter had really darkened and the fish El Z 09 was dry…..though the crema and the avocado sauce helped things out a bit; the sliver of fish made this more a cabbage taco with a garnish of fish.

I really didn't expect too much from EZ, but it seems that time hasn't been too kind to the tacos at El Zarape. It's kind of sad really, since there was a time when I thought the fish tacos here were delici-yoso, of course that was a very long time ago.

Still, I was quite sad…..

El Zarape
4642 Park Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92116
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 11am – 10pm
Fri – Sun 10am – 11pm

On the bright side of things, I did learn a bit about the history of University Heights.

U Heights 15

Sunday Stuffs, Is It Getting Hot Around Here Edition – Mike’s Red Tacos Brick and Mortar Coming to Clairemont, Yin Tang Hot Pot Replacing A-Bowl, and Jomaru Korean Hot Pot Coming to Kearny Mesa.

July 10, 2022 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants

Is it getting "hot" around here or what? I went and did my morning shopping this past weekend and decided to take a bit more time to see what was up in the Clairemont and Kearny Mesa area. And by coincidence all three places I noticed have a bit of "heat or spice" to them……

Mike's Red Tacos Brick and Mortar Coming to Clairemont:

I noticed the sign while driving up Genesee, so I took a short detour into the parking lot where Kroran is located.

This is where I believe Wings Republic was located. Even though I wasn't the biggest fan of the food truck, I'll probably check out the brick and mortar location when they open. I have a feeling they'll be pretty busy.

4310 Genesee Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Driving down Convoy, I went into the parking lot of Convoy Pointe Plaza to see what was up with the rebuilding of China Max (actually not much). And saw this……

Yin Tang Hot Pot Replacing A-Bowl:

In the former location of A-Bowl.

Bummer…..

4690 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Jomaru Korean Hot Pot Coming to Kearny Mesa:

Drove past the strip mall that houses Tajima, Song Hak, and Steamy Piggy. I noticed a sign saying "Jomaru Korean Hot Pot".

The name sounded familiar….and reading this post jogged my memory. We saw Jomaru Gamjatang locations in Seoul. Never got to try them though.

4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Stay safe!