Taking On Imperial Ave with Masa Assassin SD
MA has damn fine taste. I honestly could not think of a better partner in crime in exploring San Diego's Mexican street food scene. Have to thank him immensely[!] for the invitation to lunch yesterday that turned into a crawl of amazing proportions.
>>La Fachada<<
We met up at the 'facade' to dine in the open air, next to the restaurant's outside dining set up. There was Abuelita was grilling up a storm of cebollitas, chiles, tomatillos and tomates. Also on her grill were good frijoles de la olla complimentary for the taking for a little side dish to your antojitos.
On the recomendation of Masa Assassin, I got a gordita and decided on a filling of tripas as well as a carnitas taco.
Man oh man, was that gordita executed with precision. Lighter than air, crisp masa encasing, light application of melted cheese with the delicious tripas. Topped off with crema, lettuce and the first grated queso enchilado I have seen at a SD mex restaurant. So nice! Add to this a balanced, extremely sabroso tomato-arbol sauce and thus further affirmation of my love for Mexican cuisine.
Hand made tortillas here set the facades tacos apart from your run of the mill taqueria. That they understand this alone and are willing to elevate the simple taco in the face of the powerful yet insuperior industrial machine is hard not to smile at and respect. The edges of the carnitas took on almost a chinese pork sung texture and flavor, so wispy was this filling. My only criticism would be that I wished for a portion of moist braised meat along with the crunchy part. But hey - its usually the other way around.
This Place will enter my rotation and you guys need to check this place out
>>Panaderia Lily's<<
I had been meaning to check out this 31st St bakery's Cemitas Poblanas - MA was up for it so it was a perfect opportunity to do so. This area is definitely sketch so be careful. The mother and daughter team running the bakery are extremely nice and offer different tortas on their menu.
We took the sandwich to the smoky Pollos al Carbon to eat. The bread was indeed the cemita in true form of Puebla. The milanesa left a lot to be desired. Absent was Papalo - the green traditional to these sandwiches and the quesillo [shredded oax cheese] and instead of pickled chipotles we got more of a chipotle based salsa. Not so good.
>>Tejuino La Dona<<
This little Palapa set up next to the Pollos al Carbon puts out a Tejuino that rivals that of Honey Bananas in National. Not one overpowering flavor, fresh key lime juice - very, very refreshing.
>>Dulceria Raspados<<
MA treated me to my first raspado - in this interesting Dulceria/Tiendita. I had the ciruehla con coco. The combination of a fresh plum based syrup and creamy grated coconut over shaved ice is unbelievable in 90 degree weather. I foresee many of these in my future.
>> Mariscos Acapulco<<
I was pretty KOed by this point but the unstoppable MA pressed on and I followed suit. Here MA had an artfully presented ceviche tostada. I started talking to the wife of the owner at a neighboring table about the menu. They have some really intriguing camarones dishes, like shrimp with a pineapple, cream sauce, & camarones culichi in a poblano cream. Even pescado Veracruzana. Then she mentioned they are famous for their oysters - they brought out 2. You will not believe how gigante these oysters from the Sol Azul in Baja are! Amazing. MA ordered a half dozen and I helped him with 2. Sweet, meaty, and a salty finish. Seriously some of the best oysters I have had - and this is coming from someone who works at a fish market. MA even took the largest shell home - seriously almost as long as the plate. This place must be looked into further.
Again, thank you MA for one of the best days of Mexican eating in SD ever.
-
Inspired by these posts I went by La Fachada on Saturday afternoon. Eating under the tarps in the open air was pretty nice. I had an al pastor taco and a carnitas taco and both were great. Though I liked the al pastor the best. I was also really impressed with the grilled green onions. I usually pass on those at taco places, but no more. Thanks for the recommendation guys.
›1 Reply-
re: jasont
Masa Assassin
May 27, 2008 02:47 PM
Nice to hear :) I love the open air seating as well. Be sure to try the Gorditas and Mulitas, they are great.
-
-
Masa Assassin
May 26, 2008 03:58 AM
Cruising down Imperial yesterday I found myself craving a raspado. The Dulceria KR and I visted on our last trip was not selling any raspados. The Dulceria apparently only sells raspados when its hot out. They will usually put a sign outside when Raspados are in effect.
Craving something refreshing I pulled into Tejuino La Dona.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/mrstranger/food/Imperial012.jpgI remembered a sign form my original post that kept me curious "Nieve de Grarfa".
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/mrstranger/food/Tejuinomixing.jpgThey have two flavors Limon and Mango. I ordered both and boy were they awesome.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/mrstranger/food/NieveDeGarafa.jpgNieve De Garafa is basically homemade ice cream, churned with old-fashioned ice cream maker. They use larger metal tins, lined with salt and ice on the outside layer to bring down the temperature of the ice cream mixture. The mixture is plunged in vertical motion to churn the ingredients. The end result is a delicious snow like treat. The texture is very different than Ice Cream.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63...I loved the Limon. The Limon taste like fresh squeezed lemonade with hints of sugar. if your in the area definitely check these out. They are priced a little high at 3.00, but definitely worth it. I'm hooked.
Anbody know other places in SD that make this treat???
›1 Reply-
re: Masa Assassin
notjustastomach
May 26, 2008 07:19 AM
The Nieve De Garafa looks just like what, on the East coast, we call "Italian Ices."
-
-
Gypsy Jan
May 21, 2008 01:59 PM
kr,
What other names does queso enchilado have? I haven't seen anything labeled as such in my local Baja markets, but I know that many Mexican cheeses have more than one name, i.e., your reference to quesilla/queso oaxaca.
›3 Replies-
re: Gypsy Jan
-
-
re: Gypsy Jan
Kaelin's in El Cajon has queso enchilado. It's a staple in my household.
They also have a little luncheonette and hot prepared food to go so it's worth the trip.
If you make it there be sure and get some of the coconut stuffed limes.Kaelin's Market
1435 E Main
El Cajon CA
-
-
-
-
Masa Assassin
May 20, 2008 08:45 AM
Yes Indeed KR it’s always a pleasure to dine with someone who shares the passion for Mexican Cusine. I’m amazed how well you capture your experiences.
I love La Fachada this is my favorite spot for Gorditas and Mulitas.
What’s not to love?
Ample covered outdoor seating
Family owned and operated
They take credit cards
Adobada off the spit
Handmade tortillas
Agua frescas
Outdoor grill with complimentary frijoles de la olla, and much moreAlex your awesome description of the Gordita makes me crave more. I just love the whole vibe of the place. La Fachada Truck will always be in heavy in rotation for me.
The La Fachada Truck
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/mrstranger/food/TacosLaFachadaTruck.jpgAbuelas Grill. The grill had way more in effect in the afternoon
(This picture was taken at an earlier date in the morning) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/mrstranger/food/LaFachadaOnionsPeppersandBeansoverc.jpgKR’s Gordita de Tripa before he tore it up :
)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/mrstranger/food/LAfachadaGordita.jpgInside Gordita de Adobada
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/mrstranger/food/GorditaInsideFachada.jpgCarnitas Taco
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/mrstranger/food/LaFachadaCarnitas.jpgIt’s always exciting to try something new and when KR suggested Cemitas Poblanes I was very interested. Although we both agreed the sandwich at Lucy’s was not the best, I’m still very interested in finding another spot that makes these.
Lucy’s
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/mrstranger/food/LucysOutside.jpgLucy’s Menu
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/mrstranger/food/LucysMenu.jpgCemitas Poblanes
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/mrstranger/food/lucysCem-1.jpgCemitas Poblanes Inside
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/mrstranger/food/LucysCemInside.jpgI’ve been meaning to try Tejuino, and on a hot day like Sunday it was a perfect choice. Defiantly refreshing. It was also cool to watch the vendor at Tejuino La Dona mix these up.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/mrstranger/food/Tejuino.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/mrstranger/food/Tejuinomixing.jpg
We were pretty stuffed by the time we hit Mariscos Acapulco but we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to sample some goods so we pressed on.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/mrstranger/food/Picture446.jpgMost notable here is definitely the Sol Azul Oysters; in fact whenever I roll down Imperial I must try these again.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/mrstranger/food/Picture444.jpg
The size is deceiving in the picture; they look so much bigger in person. I have one of the shells sitting on my desk and it dwarfs my stapler.I did some research on these oysters. The seeding and infancy stage take place in Manuela Lagoon, county of Ensenada. The oysters are then moved to a second 400 acre farm located in San Ignacio Lagoon, county of Mulegé, in the intertidal zone of El Cardón estuary, for the maturation process.
If it wasn’t for KR being so outgoing with the proprietors I would have totally missed these oysters. I was busy stuffing dollars into the jukebox.
Here is the deep red salsa, it was very tasty
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63...Sorry I didn’t get any good pics of the raspados, I’m still learning things on this new camera. I love Imperial Ave. There is so much more to discover here. Thanks again KR can’t wait for the next crawl.
›4 Replies-
-
re: Masa Assassin
foodiechick
May 20, 2008 09:47 AM
Great photos - I think between KR's descriptions and your photo's you should publish a guide book to authentic mexican eating in SD! Your are Chowdown beasts. Thanks for all the great info so we can bravely venture out ourselves.
-
-
-
-
-
kare_raisu
May 19, 2008 01:17 PM
I was pretty amazed by the deep red color of the salsa served at Acapulco. The salsas at La fachada are def. worth tasting. The grandma was grill tomatillos and tomatoes for them infront of us. Lot of veg at Facada too - cukes, escabeche, radishes, cebollitas etc.
MA documented the whole trip with his killer photography - he is going to contribute soon. He sent me some info on Sol Azul oysters - really cool!
-----
La Fachada
20 25th St, San Diego, CA 92102SUPER ANTOJITOS ACAPULCO
2851 Imperial Ave, San Diego, CA 92102LUCYS BAKERY
31 31ST ST, SAN DIEGO, CA 92102›1 Reply -
-
