After having an enjoyable visit to Mesa Agricola, I decided to try another of these “new style – concept based” taco shops. I had enjoyed the Hongos Al Ajillo at Mesa Agricola; so the possibility of Vegan/Vegetarian tacos had me a bit intrigued. I had passed the San Diego location of Tacotarian (their other locations are in Las Vegas) many times while driving down 30th Street. So, I decided it was time to check them out.
I found parking on ECB and walked on over.
It was just after 11 and the place was already starting to get somewhat busy. It’s one of those order and pay at the counter, then take your number and have a seat kinda places.
Tacos here run at $4.47 and up, I ordered three.
The gentleman running the counter was very friendly and asked me what kind of salsa I wanted….he asked me if I like “spicy” and recommended the habanero salsa….which is what I got.
Number in hand, I had a seat in the very airy dining room.
And soon enough my tacos arrived. Top to bottom, Barbacoa, Al Pastor, and Carne Asada….all priced at $4.47 and with “” marks, cause you know, right?
And some habanero salsa; which had some really acidic heat. This was no joke.
So, I first went with the Carne Asada, which is made with Satan seitan. I have usually enjoyed item made with Seitan at Kindred so this was an easy choice.
The tortillas were decent; they held up well, but was very mild in terms of maizey tones. The queso fresco had a weird mouthfeel and seemed a bit on the sour side. The Pico de Gallo was by the book and the avocado creamy with a hint of sweetness.
One of the good things about seitan is that the flavor is mild and the texture has a sort of almost fishcake like meatiness, so it’s a good meat replacement. The flavor was nice and savory, with a bit of smokiness and I could make out garlic and some pungency. This was by far my favorite item of the day.
Next up, the Al Pastor, also made with Seitan.
This was way too sweet for my taste, missing the complex smokey savoriness of the real thing. This may sound strange; but I do enjoy my al pastor having a “pass thru the oil”, this was lacking the richness of that.
My least favorite was the Barbacoa….the portion of shredded jackfruit was quite small.
Though it really looked like shredded meat; the texture was on the mushy side and the seasoning was too puckery and sour for my taste, even though this was mostly tortilla.
I was glad to have visited and tried some of the tacos here. I see that it’s a great option for Vegans and Vegetarians. But unlike Kindred, I’m not quite taken by the food. So, unless someone has a great go-to item here; this is probably one and done.
Tacotarian
4332 30th St.
San Diego, CA 92104
Current Hours:
Daily 11am – 9pm
First thing I noticed was how foamy the broth was, like it was kept at a rolling boil instead of a simmer. It was also on the thin side and seemed more like a thickened, slightly bitter, shoyu based broth. Like the tonkotsu I had here before, it also had a slight "metallic" tinge to it.
The chashu was a bit on the chewy side and lightly flavored, but not bad. The noodles were actually cooked decently and had a nice "springy pull" to them.
The pseudo tonkotsu bowl arrived seaming hot. There were some…well, interesting things about this bowl. My least favorite was the "impossible chicken karaage". It seemed to be sort of soybean based; but the texture was not to my liking; it was spongy and super chewy…think thick nylon sponge and had no flavor.
Not quite sure what to do with the slice of tomato? How much acidity, sweetness, will one slice of tomato provide for a bowl of ramen? The cabbage added a slight sweet-bitterness and was blanched. The corn also added some nice textural contrast and sweetness to the bowl.
While we didn't care much for the pita, which was too dense, hard, and "bready" for us, we thought the falafel were quite good. Crisp outside, mildy creamy interior, nice nutty herbaceousness, this was actually better than what we'd had at 
