San Diego Mexican Food Reviews

October 20, 2009 10:10 AM

San Diego Mexican Food Reviews
San Diego doesn't have a food blog or site devoted to Mexican restaurants. With approximately 700 taco shops, mariscos, and Mexican restaurants in the metro area, this seems like a seriously needed resource. So............ Okay, now San Diego has a food blog dedicated devoted to Mexican restaurants.
posted by y6y6y6 (10 comments total)

Hey, this is quite an undertaking and it looks great. It's very easy to navigate and I love your reviews and your take on Mexican food in S.D. Surprisingly I haven't tried any of your top 6. Candelas I know about but figured it was spendy/touristy as opposed to spendy/worth every penny.

I'm curious about your take on El Indio and Ponce's (on Adams Ave & the 15 if you've ever been there).

Both places have big red X's on my internal taco map and yet people keep asking me to go eat there with them. MEH.

Anyway, great job! I can't wait to go try some of your suggestions and I will definitely spread the word about this site.
posted by snsranch at 5:17 PM on October 20

This is very awesome, and I can't say I disagree with any of the reviews I've read so far. I've got a couple of faves I'll post to your suggestions list as well.
posted by stefanie at 6:16 PM on October 20

"I'm curious about your take on El Indio and Ponce's"

El Indio is more of a great SD tradition than a great Mexican restaurant. It's worth trying, since they have a rather particular take on "Mexican food" and they take it seriously. It's just not, in my opinion, Mexican food. And that means I'm uinlikely to review it on the site any time soon.

Ponce's is something I still need to try. I'll make a point of trying it soon. But I'm not too optimistic it will get a review. I've decided I don't want to do negative reviews. But we'll see. It's got a strong following.
posted by y6y6y6 at 6:50 PM on October 20

This is quite an undertaking. I will posit that San Diego has by far the best Mexican food, when compared to any other U.S. city, including anywhere in Orange County, or Los Angeles (don't even mention bordertowns in other states - blech!). And there are just a ton of Mexican places all throughout San Diego.

I'm wondering if you can categorize the restaurants in terms of what kind they are - sit-down dining vs. trucks vs. taco shops, as I really don't care for most sit-down places and always gravitate toward taco shops.

If you're ever in, say, Rancho San Diego (that El Cajon / Spring Valley adjacent town) hit up Las Parillas on Jamacha.
posted by jabberjaw at 1:07 PM on October 21 [1 favorite]

"This is quite an undertaking."

Here is my thinking - Yelp hints at 672 restaurants labeled "Mexican". But I don't need to eat at every one of those, only ones that have better than average food/experience. That's manageable. So far, between asking people, Yelp, and Chowhound I think I have a very good shot at actually finding all of the good stuff. And I'm going to guess, based on what I've already seen, that I might end up trying around 200 places, resulting in around 50 worth reviewing. I don't mind doing this for years, so that seems doable.

"I'm wondering if you can categorize the restaurants in terms of what kind they are"

Yes. I need to build that out. But I do plan on having a full taxonomy.

"If you're ever in, say, Rancho San Diego"

One of the things I'm struggling with is - What is "San Diego" for the purpose of this site? How far east? How far north? I'm still not sure. Doing the entire metro area from Oceanside to the border seems a bit much. And how far east is going to be arbitrary no matter what.

Rancho San Diego is an open question at this point. But I'll make a point of trying that place. During the making of this site I've eaten some seriously foul Mexican food. Anything recommended by a real person is worth trying.
posted by y6y6y6 at 2:22 PM on October 21

San Diego is geographically immense. I don't think you need to venture out into East County or South Bay or even North County, often, even though there is good Mexican food out there, because there is plenty of good stuff in a fairly tight radius from downtown. I think your central San Diego focus works as long it's not a hard-and-fast rule. Awesome!
posted by jabberjaw at 3:16 PM on October 21

Congrats on launching the blog! If you want inspiration, BurritoEater is my go-to site for San Francisco taqueria reviews. He's got the funny vs. useful tone just right, and there's enough comprehensive coverage that I can always find a good burrito.
posted by Nelson at 7:33 PM on October 21

snsranch - I'm going to give Ponce's a thumbs up. I just got back from lunch there and it was quite good. I'll need to go back to try a few more things, but the adobada and shrimp tacos I had convinced me. It's the real deal. Unique and delicious flavor, and plenty of it.

However, prices were high. $5 for a taco is just too much in this town. I'd still recommend it, but for the flavor, despite being a poor value.

I'll do a longer review on the site when I get caught up to there.
posted by y6y6y6 at 12:24 PM on October 22

Man, you take this job seriously! I usually avoid places like Ponce's because the hype leads me to believe that yea, sure it's good after a couple margaritas. So thanks for that, I will go eat some awesome adobada!

Also thanks for the review of Northgate Market. AWESOME!
posted by snsranch at 7:59 PM on October 22

Hooray for more San Diego food blogs! Let me know if you need any help investigating.
posted by exceptinsects at 4:42 PM on November 8