85622 Thu Apr 15 16:26:38 -0700 2004 2 3 California 0 473504 any 'houndly pros or cons on deciding between: El Agave Old Towne Mexican Cafe Ranch La Lena Or should we just go to Candela's ??? Help Please. Thanks Thu Apr 15 16:26:38 -0700 2004 0 l.g.i. 1 473507 Candalas is in downtown, the other 3 are in Old Town. The two areas are about 10 miles apart. There are about as many opinions of Candalas as there are people on this board. What you need to know about Candalas is that it's food is based on that of Mexico City, not necessarily what most Americans would know as "Mexican" food. The French occupied Mexico for a number of years (think Maximillian and Carlotta) and a lot of their cooking traditions and methods took root. The cooking in Mexico City can be rather Continential. So it is with Candalas, it's going to be Mexican food that will seem awfully Continental. If you're looking for the usual burritos, tacos, shrimps, huachinango, etc, Candalas is probably not the restaurant you want. El Agave is upscale and pricey. But if you go, try the flight of Del Maguey single distilled, hand-crafted, organic Mezcal. This stuff is wonderful and bears absolutely NO resemblence to mescal with the gringo worm in the bottle (a marketing ploy for Americans) Chilangos between 1st and 2nd on University in Hillcrest gets my vote for Mexican food. Thu Apr 15 17:45:11 -0700 2004 473504 0 Gayla 1 473540 Rancho La Lena. without a doubt. this is our absolute favorite sit down mexican restaurant when we lived in san diego, and 5 years later, we STILL visit Rancho la Lena EVERY time we visit home. the chips and 2 salsas are homemade. flour tortillas are made on site. if you order a dinner, you'll get incredibly flavorful chicken and rice soup, served with cilantro, white onions and lime on the side..mmm. highly recommend the Shrimp Coctail, served in a big sundae glass, filled with fat shrimp,avacado, onion,cilantro,cucumber and tomato juice. excelent tamales, full of meat and flavor ~ and the masa is firm but not dry. the flan..oh the FLAN.. i always say i'll share mine since im SO full from dinner ~yet, my husband will only get 2 spoonfuls before i move it out of his reach. i'm jealous. it'll be another few months before we return to SD.. Sun Apr 18 15:50:02 -0700 2004 473504 0 elicia