Taco Shops

It's hard to find an example of "local" food in San Diego. Pretty much everyone here is a recent immigrant, most within the last 20 to 50 years. Thus there's a huge diversity of food here from all over the world. Taco shops are something that seems to be unique to the area though. This is what feeds college students: cheap, big, and open 24 hours a day.

There's one in every neighborhood, typically painted orange and yellow, and usually end with "berto's". The original was Roberto's, but there are Alberto's Adalberto's, Filiberto's as well. They're known for large portions of good, fresh food, cheap. If you're driving, they usually have a drive-through- always fun when they read your order back in machinegun fast Baja Spanish "Carneasadaburritoguacamolenoonionsextracheese,dosbeeftaco,ydoshorchatas...that's it?" You find them throughout California, but they tend to stray from the original tastes as you move north.

Examples of classic San Diego items are:

Carne asada- burrito the size of your leg or a taco with spiced lean beef and guacamole (mashed avocados). Usually close to a pound in weight.

Tortas- big fresh flat roll with beef or pork as a sandwich.

Rolled tacos- shredded beef wrapped in a corn tortilla (like a cigar) and fried, usually topped with guacamole and cheese.

Carnitas- spicy pork is slow roasted, then fried on the grill.

Bean burrito- savory, slow cooked mashed beans in a flour tortilla with cheese. Every place takes pride in having a larger bean burrito than the next.

Machaca burrito- for breakfast, chorizo sausage scrambled with eggs and salsa.