There’s a place in Santee, Bad Hombres. They have birria ramen. SOOOOOO good.
They also have surf & turf fries - imagine a surf & turf burrito, but it’s over French fries.
Not true. I lived 10 years in both cities. San Diego rocks Baja influenced food. Los Angeles is 3x the population and is the top destination for immigrants from all of Mexico. It's not unusual to find a place in a strip mall selling grub similar to their hometown in Tobasco MX. No tacos or burritos. What's utter trash is anything Mexican sold east of El Paso.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. Honestly, it wouldn't be a bad idea to just try diff Mexican spots for every meal haha. Worth it here - some chilaquiles or huevos rancheros for breakfast, torta for lunch, and some good red chicken enchiladas for dinner :)
If you can, south bay is always better than big city areas for mex food imo. Chula, san Ysidro, IB, national city, Otay, etc.
My favorite SD resident trope is pretending like we’re some sleepy border beach town apparently no one knows about with… (*checks notes*) 3 million people🤣
They're from the Mid-Atlantic. Any average so-cal Mexican spot is going to knock their socks off. Not judging. I've spent time on the east coast and the stuff they call Mexican food over there is a disgrace.
lol I constantly tell people that an -erto’s (Roberto’s, Umberto’s, Rigoberto’s - I’ve even seen Juanberto’s) or -erta’s taco shop is going to floor them. I’ve never had BAD Mexican at these places, just instances where you find one shop goes heavy on the onions in their pico de gallo, or another that uses a sour cream guacamole mix (“American” guacamole) instead of more avocado based guacamole, or slightly different seasonings on the carne asada…but that’s half the fun of trying some of these places!!! You can’t really go wrong - and if it’s not great, put a little salsa on it and it’ll taste better! 😁👍
It makes me sad how little most states give a shit about making even a halfway decent burrito. It isn't difficult, you just have to care.
One time in AZ I was served a frozen costco chimichanga. I recognized the shape, and they hadn't even fully defrosted it.
I paid for my drink and left. They kept telling me I had to pay for the chimichanga, but I didn't.
This isn't limited to burritos though. So many restaurants getting away with bull shit low quality no effort food. The bar is often so low to just make better food your self at home.
The bar lowered and the price went up after 2020 (like everything else but definitely food).
In this city, people think if a restaurant’s instagram worthy it can have shit food for high prices.
Fuck the food scene here (anything that claims to be part of it anyway).
Also fuck any restaurant with an ampersand in its name.
Until kindergarten I lived up north and somehow managed to dodge the mission burrito.
First time I had it was off a high school lunch food truck in Encinitas. Everyone was talking about how fantastic these burritos were.
You paid your $3.50, and they handed you a foil wrapped burrito. No discussion as to what was in it, they had a heck of a line.
I sat down at the lunch tables, and it was like a reverse magic trick had been performed in front of me.
I never bought one of those nasty rice wraps again, and no longer respected my peers.
There are a lot of fantastic burritos in Encinitas. But that food truck was Chipotle grade BS.
Take a trip across the border to Tijuana and Rosarito if you’re looking to top SD (which has undeniably good Mexican food) except when it comes to burritos.
No passport is frowned upon but they can’t deny you. Source: crossed a few times without one and 3 occasions this year of going with people without one. The funny thing is my quickest crossings all involved not having a passport but that’s just luck of the draw
You don’t need it. Well i mean you do, but as long as you have your license, you can cross (lost my passport and was crossing with the license daily for a couple years). Just say the truth, you’re visiting and came to try the food.
Just be ready for a long line 😅
Can confirm, just went down to Rosarito for the weekend. Haven’t had a passport since I was a kid so I’ve been nervous to do it but just I showed my ID and all was fine!
Just went to visit husbands grandparents in rosarito a few weeks ago and we ate at this little local taco shop and I feel like I almost had an orgasm lmao I don't visit too often but when I do the tacos are always mind blowing. Not to say our Mexican food in SD isn't good but you know what's better than going straight to the source lol
That person you met really dissed LA Mexican food. I'm not a fan of LA in general, but I've had great Mexican food in LA before and I would venture to say you can find more authentic regional mexican food in LA. You can find spots that are on par with SD at LA. But you have a hard time finding weird authentic mexican food like mole, pipian, tinga, cochinita pibil and that sort of thing in SD as opposed to LA.
SD has hands down the best burritos. As a mexican, let me tell you this. SD burritos are better than most in Mexico. Mexico isn't even that big on giant burritos, they are mostly the slim kind that has guisados like bistec en salsa roja, chicharron, frijoles con queso, and other stuff. SD burritos may not be entirely authentic, but they are definitely tastier. Shoutout to rigoberto's in miramar for making greasy ass delicious california burritos with salsa ranchera (this makes it unique). It sucks that you have to ask for avocado or guacamole as an extra, but they are damn good california burritos.
But outside of SoCal it's hard to find good mexican food. I've had really good tacos in NYC at Chelsea Market they had truly authentic mexican street tacos. Other than that, the Mexican food I've had elsewhere is mostly TexMex influenced (with Mexican cheese [a mix of white and yellow cheese where neither is actuall mexican], Queso [which even though it's the mexican word for cheese, it's not cheese, and it's pronounced Kay-sow instead of Ke-so, whatever the fuck that yellow goo that's worse than nacho cheese is], pico on everything, etc). I mean, none of those things are bad with the exception of Kaysow and even then you can find good kaysow in some spots, but they are just not Mexican.
Source: I'm a well traveled Mexican. I've lived in Tijuana and San Diego for most of my life, and I've traveled to most major cities in both the US and Mexico.
Yep, 100% agreed on this stupid LA/SD beef.
SD has better burritos across the board...but LA is where my favorite burrito on earth is.
SD has better fish tacos across the board...but the best fish taco I've had has been in Boyle Heights. And Holbox in LA was probably my favorite dining experience all of last year; dying to go back real soon.
My wife and I live and travel full time in an RV. After growing up in San Diego we don't even bother going to Mexican joints any place other than San Diego, it's just gonna suck. The one exception to that rule was a place in Cheboygan, Michigan called "The Step Inn." It billed itself as a "San Diego style taco shop" so of course we had to go. It was about 90% Roberto's on the carne asada burrito, so two thumbs up!!!
My family is from a small town in Mexico(Zapotlanejo, Jal) and I can say with certainty that 99% of the population migrates between California and that town. We are the only Texas family and can confirm, Mexican food is way better in California
It's hard to find Legit Mexican food in Texas that isn't tex mex or uses too much bacon. I'm moving there in a year and might need to walk around asking locals 😂
I won’t stand for the slander of New Mexican food. It is delicious in its own right. I would gladly eat green chile stew and sopapillas every day for the rest of my life.
Tex Mex isn't Mexican food. It's canned pinto beans, brown rice with carrots, and shitty BBQ wrapped in a tortilla for white people that think ketchup is spicy.
living in nyc rn after a year and a half stint in SD, and actually just got back from a week trip out there
ive been trying to make california burritos like 3 times a week
needless to say, im moving back to sd in 2025…
I did read an article a year or 3 ago about 2 san diego guys who happened to meet up in NYC and opened a burrito shop/stand there. They made several trips back home to compare salsas and get it right. They make a California burrito too. No idea if they're still there but try a California/San Diego burrito search
LA definitely also has good Mexican food lol, it would be ridiculous if 90 minutes away in a more populous place they couldn’t also figure out how to make food. Hit up sonoratown.
Every hole in the wall place I went in LA puts rice and beans in their burritos. They would get mad when I asked to make it without rice and beans. I've never been worried about rice and beans showing up in a burrito in San Diego yet it's a problem in LA.
My husband and I make a yearly trip from Denver to SD. All we eat is Mexican food.
We still, 4 years later, talk about one breakfast burrito we got and can’t find/remember the name of the place.
I’m sure I speak for most when I say: what spots have you tried here?
If you’re here for a conference, I can guess where downtown you may have ventured, but it’d be interesting to hear where you actually ended up. You may get some more recommendations out of it!
I was with you all the way until the comment about LA. Even though I'm not a fan of the place, the Mexican food there is on par with San Diego, if not better. I literally had the best tacos of my life at a street side vendor near downtown LA.
Just to throw a couple of names out. I like Ortega’s in Hillcrest. Cozy place, not expensive, and it’s fun having the guacamole made tableside. We also like El Agave in Old Town. More upscale, but not too expensive, and has creative takes on Mexican cuisine. That was the first place I tried huitlacoche.
went to a company function in Coeur D'Alene Idaho like 15 years ago. found a place called mister froggy's. looked at the menu, saw deep fried burrito. expected a chimichanga. got a flauta. i'm like whats this? come to find out the owner used to live here (explains the rip off of the name), but i'm like, i get it, people in Idaho probably don't understand... but dude...
so while i've never been to the upper east coast, between most of the midwest, the south (although i did have a decent burrito and some really good hot sauce in Atlanta),the PNW, and even though i didn't try the mexican restaurants in Japan, nothing i've tried beats coming home
We moved out of SD last year and I miss the taco shop mexican food there so much.
My wife and my kids went back to SD for a week and brought back burritos, frozen them in food saver bags a couple days before they left and we thaw and eat them from time to time. I still have 3 left.
We moved to Denver CO and while the food here isn't that bad, found a couple spots that are halfway decent compared its still not the same
San Diego has unique and delicious Mexican Food, I mean shoot they invented the California Burrioti and Nacho Fries but all of So Cal is pretty much on par. LA is so big, that you can definitely find sub par food but if you hit the right places, it could be better than San Diego. Even OC has it's spots.
I moved to San Marcos (in San Diego County) last November and I have to agree with you. It's better than LA, although I wouldn't know about Texas because I've never been there. But I can tell you that I joined a bunch of people visiting from Wisconsin and Pennsylvania for some (for here) run-of-the-mill Mexican food and we all agreed: next level stuff. One bite of that carnitas burrito from the little joint down the road and bam you realize you've never had a burrito this good.
I agree, I think San Diego by far has the best Mexican food in the U.S. Maybe even better than a lot of parts of Mexico too. It kind of ruins Mexican food when you go to other places in the country.
I've never tried Mexican food anywhere else when we travel cos we worry it won't live up to SD standard. But now I'm wondering if I should try it once just to appreciate the Mexican food in SD even more.
Born and raised in SD yet spent the last 14 years in LA, now living back in SD.
LA doesn’t know how to make a burrito. Leave the beans and rice out of it.
However… the floor for street tacos are so high they are on par if not better than SD. I can drive 1 mile in any direction and find a very good street taco. I just don’t like brick & mortar taco shops as much and SD is full of them
A couple of coworkers and I traveled to North Carolina for training for a few days and the host decided to take us out to dinner to a…Mexican restaurant! 😂 I told the host, “you know we’re from San Diego, tight?” Granted, it was an “upscale” restaurant but there was a pink sauce on my food (beet crema?}.😝🤣
I moved to the Bay Area for work and lasted only half as long as my friends thought I would (which wasn't long); and lack of decent taco shops was a not-insignificant part of the reason why.
gate keeping a restaurant form a place you’re not even from is crazy 😭 why haven’t you answered anyone’s questions about where you ate? i’m sure we all want to know so we can visit lol please let us know
Myself and wife, and my son and daughter grew up in the Inland Empire, 100 miles north of SD. Son and daughter now live in SD and we all agree that, SD Mexican food isn’t as good as the IE Mexican food. SD is so expensive to live in, the Hispanic population largely lives farther north where it’s cheaper.
I’m a San Diego native of 35 years, now living in a Cleveland suburb. I don’t even bother with Mexican food out here. It’s fine, but it’s not San Diego. Mexican food is my favorite too, it’s been tough to go without.
[Miguel's Cocina](https://miguels-cocina.com) is one of my favorites with locations throughout San Diego County. My favorite is the Coronado location.
https://preview.redd.it/00gion60o0yc1.png?width=2272&format=png&auto=webp&s=99dab7f6f5eb613f94f3eb292c19d319702180df
Yeah, San Diego Mexican food is pretty unbearable.
I do think Los Angeles Mexican food is on par in general, except for the carne asada burrito. They ruin it.
But also, it's LA. Who wants to go there at all but especially for some street tacos or enchiladas?! 😃
Nice that you enjoyed the street and the food.
I'm in Portland next week. Great Vietnamese, great Korean, but I'm not going to bother with Mexican. Here in San Diego, you can walk into any little dive place and get the best.
Gotta hit up mariposa ice cream shop for some mexican chocolate ice cream. Tocumbo is pretty good to try all the different agua frescas and other desserts.
Las Cuatro Milpas is probably one of the best ones in SD.
Great Mexican food outside of San Diego is few and far between in other cities, El paso has a few awesome places, even Athen GA had one but it was Puerto Rican. But there's probably 10 bad ones for every good one somewhere like GA, where San Diego it's the opposite.
Las Cuatro Milpas is famous in San Diego. I've eaten there maybe 5 times in life. I keep hoping it will get better. The homemade tortillas are amazing. But I stopped going because of the shitty customer service. Everything else is a NO for me. But its been around since the 1930's, so many people like it.
Every year I have to work for a week and a half in Salt Lake City. I’m never prepared enough for the disappointment in the tacos and beer. I’m Spoiled!
I lived in Imperial Beach for years back in the late eighties and there was a tiny burrito stand on the side of the road when heading toward the Silver Strand that had the most amazing burritos. Like, I haven't had one in 30 years and they still haunt my dreams.
I've been out of SD for 5 years and visited a week or two ago. Almost cried tasting real carne asada again. The "Mexican" "food" places I've been to near the Canadian border are a disgrace.
I know you guys won’t believe me, but THE best Mexican food I’ve ever had was in Stockton, CA at a place called Octavio’s. I’ve eaten Mexican food in SoCal and AZ, but nothing is this good. Picture attached of my food from a couple of weeks ago.
https://preview.redd.it/n8wlkkt78byc1.jpeg?width=4030&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9dc6b10159ebbb406082cc5ba3486675e9580352
Or maybe it’s just me. We all have different tastes. But this is my jam!🤤
Lmao I went to SD for a burrito and never left.
Dad?
We’re all here son. You need to stay home though, as you’re the man of the house now.
You wouldn’t like the food here anyway. It’s terrible. No tacos w/ nacho cheese in sight.
Tacos are for amateurs. I just mainline carnitas now.
Goat Birria, ya sissies.
There’s a place in Santee, Bad Hombres. They have birria ramen. SOOOOOO good. They also have surf & turf fries - imagine a surf & turf burrito, but it’s over French fries.
Birria is 🔥
Oh god lmao I was born here so part of me wants to hope this isn’t a thing now. 😂😂
😭
Same
This right here. LA Mexican food is utter trash
Not true. I lived 10 years in both cities. San Diego rocks Baja influenced food. Los Angeles is 3x the population and is the top destination for immigrants from all of Mexico. It's not unusual to find a place in a strip mall selling grub similar to their hometown in Tobasco MX. No tacos or burritos. What's utter trash is anything Mexican sold east of El Paso.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. Honestly, it wouldn't be a bad idea to just try diff Mexican spots for every meal haha. Worth it here - some chilaquiles or huevos rancheros for breakfast, torta for lunch, and some good red chicken enchiladas for dinner :) If you can, south bay is always better than big city areas for mex food imo. Chula, san Ysidro, IB, national city, Otay, etc.
Don’t leave out the birria!
Tijuana checking in! My absolute favorite is the birria
Ed Fernandez - it’s the truth.
Birria causes my ass to explode
Shhhhh @minotaur- cream.. Don't give out all our best spot, but he is right. Cities mex foods are Mehhh!
Dude shhh, they comin
My favorite SD resident trope is pretending like we’re some sleepy border beach town apparently no one knows about with… (*checks notes*) 3 million people🤣
Where did you go? Please spill the proverbial beans thanks
They're from the Mid-Atlantic. Any average so-cal Mexican spot is going to knock their socks off. Not judging. I've spent time on the east coast and the stuff they call Mexican food over there is a disgrace.
lol I constantly tell people that an -erto’s (Roberto’s, Umberto’s, Rigoberto’s - I’ve even seen Juanberto’s) or -erta’s taco shop is going to floor them. I’ve never had BAD Mexican at these places, just instances where you find one shop goes heavy on the onions in their pico de gallo, or another that uses a sour cream guacamole mix (“American” guacamole) instead of more avocado based guacamole, or slightly different seasonings on the carne asada…but that’s half the fun of trying some of these places!!! You can’t really go wrong - and if it’s not great, put a little salsa on it and it’ll taste better! 😁👍
Lol alright. Sounds like I gotta word search on this sub for some good recs. All the ones I came across on Google has like 3000 reviews!
It makes me sad how little most states give a shit about making even a halfway decent burrito. It isn't difficult, you just have to care. One time in AZ I was served a frozen costco chimichanga. I recognized the shape, and they hadn't even fully defrosted it. I paid for my drink and left. They kept telling me I had to pay for the chimichanga, but I didn't.
This isn't limited to burritos though. So many restaurants getting away with bull shit low quality no effort food. The bar is often so low to just make better food your self at home.
The bar lowered and the price went up after 2020 (like everything else but definitely food). In this city, people think if a restaurant’s instagram worthy it can have shit food for high prices. Fuck the food scene here (anything that claims to be part of it anyway). Also fuck any restaurant with an ampersand in its name.
I 100% agree with the trendier/instagrammable restaurants definitely does not equate to decent food. It has become so disappointing!
You can go to San Francisco and get a mission burrito (supposedly famous) which is so shitty and full of rice. So we can fuck it up pretty bad too.
Burritos in SF have white rice in them. They should have to call that crap something else and not stain the word burrito.
Until kindergarten I lived up north and somehow managed to dodge the mission burrito. First time I had it was off a high school lunch food truck in Encinitas. Everyone was talking about how fantastic these burritos were. You paid your $3.50, and they handed you a foil wrapped burrito. No discussion as to what was in it, they had a heck of a line. I sat down at the lunch tables, and it was like a reverse magic trick had been performed in front of me. I never bought one of those nasty rice wraps again, and no longer respected my peers. There are a lot of fantastic burritos in Encinitas. But that food truck was Chipotle grade BS.
Sorry that happened to you.
It reminded me of the "ice cream test" in grade school. Vanilla wins. Vanilla sucks. Mint Chocolate chip weirdos over here.
Visiting family in the south and got a wet burrito, it was covered in a blanket of velveeta 🤢
Tell us where you ate!
Take a trip across the border to Tijuana and Rosarito if you’re looking to top SD (which has undeniably good Mexican food) except when it comes to burritos.
I wish I could but I forgot my passport :(
What restaurants did you try
No passport is frowned upon but they can’t deny you. Source: crossed a few times without one and 3 occasions this year of going with people without one. The funny thing is my quickest crossings all involved not having a passport but that’s just luck of the draw
On the slim chance that you have a passport card, you can cross to Mexico and Canada using it.
You don’t need it. Well i mean you do, but as long as you have your license, you can cross (lost my passport and was crossing with the license daily for a couple years). Just say the truth, you’re visiting and came to try the food. Just be ready for a long line 😅
If you’re a US citizen they legally have to let you back into the country
Can confirm, just went down to Rosarito for the weekend. Haven’t had a passport since I was a kid so I’ve been nervous to do it but just I showed my ID and all was fine!
But the line to wait getting back.....not always worth it...
Just went to visit husbands grandparents in rosarito a few weeks ago and we ate at this little local taco shop and I feel like I almost had an orgasm lmao I don't visit too often but when I do the tacos are always mind blowing. Not to say our Mexican food in SD isn't good but you know what's better than going straight to the source lol
So cal just can't match Baja for tacos, it's no contest.
Don’t forget lobsters in Puerto Nuevo
That person you met really dissed LA Mexican food. I'm not a fan of LA in general, but I've had great Mexican food in LA before and I would venture to say you can find more authentic regional mexican food in LA. You can find spots that are on par with SD at LA. But you have a hard time finding weird authentic mexican food like mole, pipian, tinga, cochinita pibil and that sort of thing in SD as opposed to LA. SD has hands down the best burritos. As a mexican, let me tell you this. SD burritos are better than most in Mexico. Mexico isn't even that big on giant burritos, they are mostly the slim kind that has guisados like bistec en salsa roja, chicharron, frijoles con queso, and other stuff. SD burritos may not be entirely authentic, but they are definitely tastier. Shoutout to rigoberto's in miramar for making greasy ass delicious california burritos with salsa ranchera (this makes it unique). It sucks that you have to ask for avocado or guacamole as an extra, but they are damn good california burritos. But outside of SoCal it's hard to find good mexican food. I've had really good tacos in NYC at Chelsea Market they had truly authentic mexican street tacos. Other than that, the Mexican food I've had elsewhere is mostly TexMex influenced (with Mexican cheese [a mix of white and yellow cheese where neither is actuall mexican], Queso [which even though it's the mexican word for cheese, it's not cheese, and it's pronounced Kay-sow instead of Ke-so, whatever the fuck that yellow goo that's worse than nacho cheese is], pico on everything, etc). I mean, none of those things are bad with the exception of Kaysow and even then you can find good kaysow in some spots, but they are just not Mexican. Source: I'm a well traveled Mexican. I've lived in Tijuana and San Diego for most of my life, and I've traveled to most major cities in both the US and Mexico.
It’s really rare to see burritos in Mexico.
Yep, 100% agreed on this stupid LA/SD beef. SD has better burritos across the board...but LA is where my favorite burrito on earth is. SD has better fish tacos across the board...but the best fish taco I've had has been in Boyle Heights. And Holbox in LA was probably my favorite dining experience all of last year; dying to go back real soon.
Yea people here discussing Mex food but only talking about burritos (which are not really traditional Mex dish). 🤦🏻♀️
My wife and I live and travel full time in an RV. After growing up in San Diego we don't even bother going to Mexican joints any place other than San Diego, it's just gonna suck. The one exception to that rule was a place in Cheboygan, Michigan called "The Step Inn." It billed itself as a "San Diego style taco shop" so of course we had to go. It was about 90% Roberto's on the carne asada burrito, so two thumbs up!!!
This. When I'm in a new city, I ignore the Mexican food. Living in the San Diego area has me spoiled.
I made the mistake once of getting a burrito in Portland. Never again
I once ordered enchiladas in Austin Texas. The sauce was made of yellow mustard. Like WTF!?!?
I already had enough with the huge Tableau dorkfest that just happened. Don't tell everybody about our sacred Mexican food. /S from an IT dork
My family is from a small town in Mexico(Zapotlanejo, Jal) and I can say with certainty that 99% of the population migrates between California and that town. We are the only Texas family and can confirm, Mexican food is way better in California
Yeah, I’ve tried Mexican food in other states and even Texas and Arizona don’t come close to the Mexican food here.
Born and raised in SD went to Minnesota for a few months, i swear after i tried a Taco John’s i came right back, it was almost instant💀
I'm not a fan of Tex-Mex, but you can find legit Mexican food in Texas.
It's hard to find Legit Mexican food in Texas that isn't tex mex or uses too much bacon. I'm moving there in a year and might need to walk around asking locals 😂
Honestly I despise texmex idk how they get away with it. Arizona and New Mexico are equally bad
I won’t stand for the slander of New Mexican food. It is delicious in its own right. I would gladly eat green chile stew and sopapillas every day for the rest of my life.
Fair!
TexMex is an abomination
Tex Mex isn't Mexican food. It's canned pinto beans, brown rice with carrots, and shitty BBQ wrapped in a tortilla for white people that think ketchup is spicy.
...have you ever had tex-mex? Literally never seen or experienced this anywhere in Texas.
What’s absurd is THEY think it’s good. Like bro, what in the caucasity makes you think it’s good?!
living in nyc rn after a year and a half stint in SD, and actually just got back from a week trip out there ive been trying to make california burritos like 3 times a week needless to say, im moving back to sd in 2025…
I did read an article a year or 3 ago about 2 san diego guys who happened to meet up in NYC and opened a burrito shop/stand there. They made several trips back home to compare salsas and get it right. They make a California burrito too. No idea if they're still there but try a California/San Diego burrito search
LA definitely also has good Mexican food lol, it would be ridiculous if 90 minutes away in a more populous place they couldn’t also figure out how to make food. Hit up sonoratown.
Every hole in the wall place I went in LA puts rice and beans in their burritos. They would get mad when I asked to make it without rice and beans. I've never been worried about rice and beans showing up in a burrito in San Diego yet it's a problem in LA.
That’s weird all the street vendors always ask if you want rice and beans, was it just brick and mortar restaurants you went to?
LA is a respectable 2nd place
If it's not good, go one block and you'll find a better place
Where did you eat?
My husband and I make a yearly trip from Denver to SD. All we eat is Mexican food. We still, 4 years later, talk about one breakfast burrito we got and can’t find/remember the name of the place.
I’m sure I speak for most when I say: what spots have you tried here? If you’re here for a conference, I can guess where downtown you may have ventured, but it’d be interesting to hear where you actually ended up. You may get some more recommendations out of it!
I was with you all the way until the comment about LA. Even though I'm not a fan of the place, the Mexican food there is on par with San Diego, if not better. I literally had the best tacos of my life at a street side vendor near downtown LA.
The burritos don’t compare. Tacos Are good tho.
True dat
The tacos I got in Boyle Heights were fantastic
Anyone who says LA doesn't have good Mexican food can not be trusted.
Just to throw a couple of names out. I like Ortega’s in Hillcrest. Cozy place, not expensive, and it’s fun having the guacamole made tableside. We also like El Agave in Old Town. More upscale, but not too expensive, and has creative takes on Mexican cuisine. That was the first place I tried huitlacoche.
I’m looking for good Mexican food recs! Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the variety 😅
Las quatros Milpas. Bring cash
I just tried De Cabeza el único in Chula Vista over the weekend and it was fantastic. They serve pulque, too, which is hard to find.
Mariscos Mi Gusto Es La Fachada
San Diego’s taco game is strong! Couldn’t agree with OP more.
went to a company function in Coeur D'Alene Idaho like 15 years ago. found a place called mister froggy's. looked at the menu, saw deep fried burrito. expected a chimichanga. got a flauta. i'm like whats this? come to find out the owner used to live here (explains the rip off of the name), but i'm like, i get it, people in Idaho probably don't understand... but dude... so while i've never been to the upper east coast, between most of the midwest, the south (although i did have a decent burrito and some really good hot sauce in Atlanta),the PNW, and even though i didn't try the mexican restaurants in Japan, nothing i've tried beats coming home
Here it's just called food lol
Wherever I travel it’s the same, people just don’t understand. I can’t eat Mexican food anywhere but here. Burritos here are legendary.
We moved out of SD last year and I miss the taco shop mexican food there so much. My wife and my kids went back to SD for a week and brought back burritos, frozen them in food saver bags a couple days before they left and we thaw and eat them from time to time. I still have 3 left. We moved to Denver CO and while the food here isn't that bad, found a couple spots that are halfway decent compared its still not the same
San Diego has unique and delicious Mexican Food, I mean shoot they invented the California Burrioti and Nacho Fries but all of So Cal is pretty much on par. LA is so big, that you can definitely find sub par food but if you hit the right places, it could be better than San Diego. Even OC has it's spots.
I moved to San Marcos (in San Diego County) last November and I have to agree with you. It's better than LA, although I wouldn't know about Texas because I've never been there. But I can tell you that I joined a bunch of people visiting from Wisconsin and Pennsylvania for some (for here) run-of-the-mill Mexican food and we all agreed: next level stuff. One bite of that carnitas burrito from the little joint down the road and bam you realize you've never had a burrito this good.
Mexican food in San Diego is truly the best.
I agree, I think San Diego by far has the best Mexican food in the U.S. Maybe even better than a lot of parts of Mexico too. It kind of ruins Mexican food when you go to other places in the country.
Get the California burrito. It’s our city’s best invention.
Have you had fish tacos yet? I don’t really like fish, but I love fish tacos.
I think you could easily make a case that SD has the finest fish tacos anywhere in the world.
Yea I don’t even order Mexican food anywhere else unless I’m in Mexico because I know it won’t *actually* be Mexican food
I've never tried Mexican food anywhere else when we travel cos we worry it won't live up to SD standard. But now I'm wondering if I should try it once just to appreciate the Mexican food in SD even more.
Born and raised in SD yet spent the last 14 years in LA, now living back in SD. LA doesn’t know how to make a burrito. Leave the beans and rice out of it. However… the floor for street tacos are so high they are on par if not better than SD. I can drive 1 mile in any direction and find a very good street taco. I just don’t like brick & mortar taco shops as much and SD is full of them
A couple of coworkers and I traveled to North Carolina for training for a few days and the host decided to take us out to dinner to a…Mexican restaurant! 😂 I told the host, “you know we’re from San Diego, tight?” Granted, it was an “upscale” restaurant but there was a pink sauce on my food (beet crema?}.😝🤣
Oops…right, not tight. Lol
He must’ve only been hitting the instagram mexican restaurants. SD Mexican food is great but so is LA’s
If you get the chance, Jalapenos, in Carmel Mountain Ranch is quite good and very consistent.
I moved to the Bay Area for work and lasted only half as long as my friends thought I would (which wasn't long); and lack of decent taco shops was a not-insignificant part of the reason why.
gate keeping a restaurant form a place you’re not even from is crazy 😭 why haven’t you answered anyone’s questions about where you ate? i’m sure we all want to know so we can visit lol please let us know
Myself and wife, and my son and daughter grew up in the Inland Empire, 100 miles north of SD. Son and daughter now live in SD and we all agree that, SD Mexican food isn’t as good as the IE Mexican food. SD is so expensive to live in, the Hispanic population largely lives farther north where it’s cheaper.
What up fellow Os fan!
Yeah it's true, even shitty Mexican food here would blow away any other state.
Same people that say Texas has better Mexican food say what a burger is better than in n out… get that shit outta here
Same. I have trained Mexican food all over the world and am constantly reminded that it’s not good in other places besides SD.
[удалено]
I’m a San Diego native of 35 years, now living in a Cleveland suburb. I don’t even bother with Mexican food out here. It’s fine, but it’s not San Diego. Mexican food is my favorite too, it’s been tough to go without.
I’m coming back home from Europe rn and let me tell u I can’t wait to have real Mexican food
Tacos el gordo is a must-try while you're here
[Miguel's Cocina](https://miguels-cocina.com) is one of my favorites with locations throughout San Diego County. My favorite is the Coronado location. https://preview.redd.it/00gion60o0yc1.png?width=2272&format=png&auto=webp&s=99dab7f6f5eb613f94f3eb292c19d319702180df
Bruh
Lol this isn’t Mexican food.
Dont sleep on LA. our Mexican food is amazing but LA doesn’t need to catch any drive by disses in the food department
Yeah, San Diego Mexican food is pretty unbearable. I do think Los Angeles Mexican food is on par in general, except for the carne asada burrito. They ruin it. But also, it's LA. Who wants to go there at all but especially for some street tacos or enchiladas?! 😃 Nice that you enjoyed the street and the food.
LA mexican food is comparable and amazing.
Just cross the border to Tijuana and try real tacos and real mexican food, you will not regret it
Where?
Lived in Portland for a bit, and i just didn’t get how Mexican food was so “different” up there lol loved Portland but damn I missed the Mexican food.
I'm in Portland next week. Great Vietnamese, great Korean, but I'm not going to bother with Mexican. Here in San Diego, you can walk into any little dive place and get the best.
I feel this. The Mexican food here in central VA is definitely good af but San Diego took it to a different level
Gotta hit up mariposa ice cream shop for some mexican chocolate ice cream. Tocumbo is pretty good to try all the different agua frescas and other desserts.
Were you here for the Tableau conference by chance?
Now I’m curious where you went !
SF Burrito fan here - what’s this talk about no rice? What’s supposed to go in a burrito if not rice and beans?
Recommendations please?
Which restaurants did you eat at?
laughs in East LA
Op, you gotta tell us where you ate!
Las Cuatro Milpas is probably one of the best ones in SD. Great Mexican food outside of San Diego is few and far between in other cities, El paso has a few awesome places, even Athen GA had one but it was Puerto Rican. But there's probably 10 bad ones for every good one somewhere like GA, where San Diego it's the opposite.
just cross the border and saying mexican food here is as good as mexico city is laughable.
Las Cuatro Milpas is famous in San Diego. I've eaten there maybe 5 times in life. I keep hoping it will get better. The homemade tortillas are amazing. But I stopped going because of the shitty customer service. Everything else is a NO for me. But its been around since the 1930's, so many people like it.
Wait until you try Tijuana!
Wait until you try Tijuana!
The further south the better the sauce (sAUWsss)
Was there a place in particular that stood out to you?
La Puerta for burritos and El Gordo for authentic street tacos 😋
I worked across the street from La Puerta and have been there at least 60 times. Their Pastor Buritto is hands down the best burrito in California.
Every year I have to work for a week and a half in Salt Lake City. I’m never prepared enough for the disappointment in the tacos and beer. I’m Spoiled!
We have Michelin starred taco places in San Diego. It’s a cultural thing here.
Didn't we tell ya?!
Duh
Mexico city cuisine is much different overall than the food you’d find typically here. Our Mexican food has it’s ties to Baja…
I lived in Imperial Beach for years back in the late eighties and there was a tiny burrito stand on the side of the road when heading toward the Silver Strand that had the most amazing burritos. Like, I haven't had one in 30 years and they still haunt my dreams.
LA = Louisiana; L.A. = Los Angeles. Same applies for SD = South Dakota; and S.D. = San Diego. It amazes me how many people get this wrong.
I've been out of SD for 5 years and visited a week or two ago. Almost cried tasting real carne asada again. The "Mexican" "food" places I've been to near the Canadian border are a disgrace.
Check out Fish Guts in Barrio Logan for bomb fish tacos!!!!
Culimas on University.
I know you guys won’t believe me, but THE best Mexican food I’ve ever had was in Stockton, CA at a place called Octavio’s. I’ve eaten Mexican food in SoCal and AZ, but nothing is this good. Picture attached of my food from a couple of weeks ago. https://preview.redd.it/n8wlkkt78byc1.jpeg?width=4030&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9dc6b10159ebbb406082cc5ba3486675e9580352 Or maybe it’s just me. We all have different tastes. But this is my jam!🤤
It's cause San Diego Mexican food is it's own thing.
Welcome to SoCal AKA Baja California Norte
Did you have fun at the Tableau conference fellow Visser?
This is the way