Week 12 - Las Cuatro Milpas

Las Cuatro Milpas
Barrio Logan - Near Chicano Park.

Eater #1 - Taco, rolled tacos and a tortilla (plus a couple of stolen bites off eater #4's beans)

My buddy Mike would bring us takeout from Las Cuatro Milpas every once in a while. It’s been a few years now since I worked with him, and I had forgotten how damn good the tortillas and beans are there. This is the real shit man – tortillas and beans made with lard and love the way my mom and grandma used to make ‘em.

I had never eaten in the restaurant, though. There was a line – but while waiting you get to peek in the window and get a pre-view of what’s cooking. The self-service water from the little sink in the back was a nice touch.

The rolled tacos were nice and fat, slathered in Mexican cream and cotija cheese, the salsa was really spicy and flavorful… but I can’t get over the tortillas. Thick, hot and oh so good… I could have just had those for lunch, maybe with a little butter.

It was worth the wait.

Eater #2 - 3 Pork tacos, rice and beans, tortillas

Taco Friday Haiku
Three pork tacos beans
Could not eat all beans, tacos yes
Tasty the food was.

Eater #3 - MIA in the OC

Eater #4 - Chicken taco, rice and beans, tortillas

LOVE the atmosphere and the smiling faces. I stepped a bit out of my comfort zone as I stepped into this run-down establishment hidden in Barrio Logan. Actually we had to wait in the line that stretched from the entrance down the sidewalk first. I instantly felt at ease when the woman behind the counter greeted me with a smile and took my order. Even though there was a language barrier, I ordered my chicken taco, rice & beans, and diet coke without a hitch. The chicken was yummy and moist, the rice very authentic and the servings were huge and wonderfully priced. BEST tortillas I've ever had. I'd go back again, worth the wait.

Eater #5 - Rice and brans, tortillas

Las Cuatro Milpas is a great Mexican Food Restaurant. The location is in a rough area of town, but the staff was friendly and eager to get you to your table with yummy food. I ordered a side of beans and rice. The beans were tasty, but the rice was a little dry. I loved the 'home made' tortillas.

Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/TacoFriday/Week12

Week 11 - Alambres

Alambres - Gaslamp, San Diego.

Eater #1 - 3 Carnitas Tacos, rice and beans.

The Mexican music blaring from the crappy, tinny speakers was the only bad thing that I have to say. The finely chopped carnitas was excellent, flavorful and well presented. Good beans, too (I’m a sucker for good beans).
Nice place, I’ll defiantly go back… but maybe not on a Friday.

Eater #2 - Al Pastor Burrito

This place was great. I was glad the place wasn't packed with tourists on such a nice day in paradise. Instead I got to enjoy my period of gustation in peace. The "huge" pastor burrito, though not huge, was huge in taste. I rate it the second best pastor this side of the border. I wish I got beer and my only gripe is trying to find parking downtown. Mahalo. God save the Queen.

Eater #3 - Pastor Tacos - Dos Equis

tacos al pastor: GOOD - The meat is laid out on a three tortillas and you put it together yourself with the cilantro, onion, beans, and rice that are served on the plate. The al pastor was great!!
Beans: GOOD
Rice: eh, okay.
Beer: GOOD - $3.50 for a Dos Equis, for downtown thats pretty good.

Eater #5 - Ensalada Alambres

Alambres is a great place to eat and relax. The Ensalada Alambres was excellent! The salad was made up of crispy romaine lettuce with Feta Cheese, Strawberries, Apples & delicious house dressing. The prices were pretty reasonable and there were a lot of different items to choose from on the menu. I probably wouldn't go back on a Friday, but I would definitely go back.

Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/TacoFriday/Week11

Week 10 - Don Lucio's Taco Shop II‎

Don Lucio's Taco Shop II‎
Mira Mesa

Eater #1 - Horchata and a Beef Taco
Too sick to eat - bailed home. The Horchata was rancid. The joint was funky. The only reason we went there was to bring lunch to Eater #6's casa - she is down after having Hip Dysplasia surgery.

Eater #2 - some kinda combo
Shitty soggy rolled tacos and the beans must have been imported from the Fumunda region of Mexico. The best thing about them is they had a credit card machine.

Eater #4 - Chicken Taco - Mexican Coke
Soggy fall apart chicken taco. No real veggies, more soggy. Long wait, scary decor...BUT they did sell coke in a bottle.

Eater #5 - Chicken Taco, beans and Rice
I thought the Pollo Asado Taco was pretty bland. The beans were awful, but the rice was pretty good. I liked that they had a credit card machine. The place was kinda dingy and smelly. The lady overcharged my credit card for my taco, but later gave me $1.25 cash.

Eater #6 - Some kinda taco, Mexican Coke
my taco tasted good, but was mushy. Where is this place so I know not to go there. ;)

No Pictures. Unless Eater #6 agrees to posting pix of her scar!

Week 9

El Sol
North Park

Eater #1 – Shrimp Taco and Carnitas Taco, Horchata
El Sol is a little hole in the wall on University near Florida. You wouldn’t expect the damn good tacos that are to be had by looking at the outside of the building. The shrimp taco was stuffed with nice big shrimp, cheese, onions and bell peppers – all seasoned with black pepper and other spices – it was really rich, and I loved it. The carnitas were pretty good, the pork was a little tough, not soft and stringy like I like it, but the quacamole was perfect – good guacamole goes a long way. The waiter was a nice guy, but the service was a little slow – but what do you expect when the food is that well prepared? Another nice touch was the “real” plates, glasses and silverware. El Sol could have easily been a paper plate and plastic fork kinda joint.

I’m going back, I’ll bet that the pollo kills.

Eater #2 - m i a

Eater #4 - m i a

Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/TacoFriday/Week9

Week 8 - El Comal

El Comal
North Park
http://www.elcomalsd.com/

Eater #1 – Azteca Taco, Adobada Quesadilla, Horchata
The place looked great, brightly painted walls and a well stocked bar. The food looked great. The cactus tasted OK, kinda smoky… but the chips were greasy. The beef was marginal - no real flavor, . The salsa’s were really good, expecially the green – way spicy and flavorful.

If you have never had a traditional quesadilla – these are not what you expect. Deep fried with queso blanco, sour cream (I think) and cotjia cheese. El Comal had a few different ones, I ordered one stuffed with Adobado. The pork was tender and spicy – but I couldn’t get over the grease. I can still smell the canola oil that they drenched it in.

Oh well.

Eater #2 - Adobada Taco, Beef Gordita
El Comal in North Park San Di-fucking-ego was a great looking little spot tucked in between condos and old houses. The place from the outside looked like it could have been a dry cleaners. But once you walk in the bright colored walls and full bar shelved full of tequila grabs your attention like a little kid selling gum in Rosarito pulling at your shirt, you have to say "No gracias" since it's still a work day. The waitress delivered three tasty salsas ranging from a mild red to a spicy green. Just about everything besides the goat meat on the menu sounded good, but I finally settled on the adobada taco and a beef 'gordita' that was like a shredded beef meat bun in a tortilla. The texture of the tortilla was great, it was soft, thick, and little crispy, crispy on the outside, like a sunburned fat chick. I enjoyed the food and the atmosphere was great besides the 6' 2'' 250lbs sheman sitting behind me eye fucking what I hope was my taco. , I think it would be a neat place for a happy hour taco and vodka. Mahalo. God save the Queen.



Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/TacoFriday/Week8

Week 7 - Chiquita's

Chiquita’s
Home Ave near 805 and 94

Eater #1 - Carne Asada Taco with Guacamole and Civiche Tostada
Chiquita’s is one of my favorite restaurants. I have been there many times before. The only disappointment today was that I didn’t order a beer. Damn, a Negra Modello would have been just the thing after a shitty week like this one was.

The chips, salsa and hot carrots came first. They pull the chips screaming out of the hot oil, a dash of salt and they are in front of you… tasty, but too hot to touch. The salsa was “salsa fresca” with plenty of cilantro. Good carrots, too.

I love good civiche, and Chiquita’s is the best. The fish was firm and flavorful, mixed with nice tomatoes and other stuff. If you haven’t tried chiviche, do. Don’t be a sissy. The carne asada was perfect. Thin slices of seasoned beef , tomatoes, lettuce, cotija cheese and Chiquita’s quacamole. The tacos are pretty damn big here, 2 would have killed me.

Kicking it by the fountain on the patio, eating tacos… that is the way to start a weekend.

Eater #2 - Combo: chili rellano, cheese enchilada and carne asada taco
Uh, when you say next door, do you mean Chili's or Flingers? Neither I mean the patio at Chiquita's. When you walk in you're greeted by a full bar with all local looking riff raff, no Zoneys. (Go home Zoneys!) Rather than walking straight to the patio I walked straight to the pisser, where they had a witty piece of prose next to the urinal.

On a beautiful sunny day like today I thought, "Fuck I don't want to go back to the office!", but the patio at Chiquita's eased my worries as I slouched into the iron chair. The combo I had was a chili rellano, cheese enchilada and carne asada taco. All three were well above par and the green creamy chili rellano sauce was the first of its kind for me and was a pleasant surprise, and was the best part of the dish.

I would definitely go back and I put Chiquita's towards the top of the Taco Friday list. Mahalo. God save the Queen.
(is it time to start the weekend yet)

Eater #3 - Combo: chili rellano, chicken enchilada and carne asada taco

I agree that the slightly creamy light green sauce on the chile rellano was a very yummy surprise and probably my favorite part. Although the chicken enchilada was very good too, it was all smothered with a bit too much cheese, but it all tasted good. The carne asada taco was sub-par, especially in comparison to the yumminess of everything else. The meat was chewy, and it was overall pretty bland. But, the rest of the food was so filling I didn't eat the taco and was still overly filled. I think its a bit lame that their 'combos' don't come with beans and rice, and that you have to order chips - even though they bring you salsa (and spicy carrots) automatically, like you are going to just sit there and stare at the salsa with nothing to eat it with.
Sadly there was no witty prose, or funny pictures in the women's bathroom there is a full size mirror which can (sometimes?) be nice.

Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/TacoFriday/Week7

Week 6 - El Borrego

El Borrego “The Sheep” Taco Shop
Near Pearson Ford at Fairmont and El Cajon

Eater #1 - Lamb taco, lamb rolled taco, quesadilla, horchata.
I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in the door at El Borrego. Clean, inviting atmosphere. While I waited I had time to check out the Mexican handcrafts that decorated the walls. The woman behind the counter was very sweet, we expected to order at the counter, but she shooed us back to our table and took our order there.

The presentation was excellent. She placed a big earthenware bowl full of cilantro, limes and onions on the table and then brought the food.

The rice was killer, the “salad” of tomatoes, pickled peppers and queso blanco was damn good. The lamb taco, rolled taco and the quesadilla were not good at all. It might be that I just don’t like lamb, but it was like eating carnitas that had gone strange. The sour cream on the rolled taco was all soupy. The meat was nicely prepared, but I couldn’t get past the taste.

Nice people, nice place – I won’t be back.
- Oh, the bathroom was nice, too. Not funky at all, especially compared to other taco shops.

Eater #2 - Lamb taco, lamb rolled taco, quesadilla, horchata.
I don't like lamb. I liked the restaurant with the bright colors and decorations. The best part of the food was the rice. I gotta say it was the best taco shop rice I've had in a long time. Because all they had was barbacoa (lamb) the options were limited. The combo of a taco, rolled taco, quesadilla, rice and chili salad was the order of the day. I appreciate the effort and presentation, but lamb just aint my thing. I'm glad I tried it, but I wont be going back. Mahalo. God save the Queen.

Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/TacoFriday/Week6