When Yelp was first really hitting popular strides a few years back, Arthur Frommer, the founder of the famous travel guides, critiqued the "critics" both in an editorial and in several interviews on Rick Steves' travel show on NPR.
The basic premise is this... While everybody is entitled to their opinion, somebody who offers a truly expert opinion will always run circles around a social media site.On the one hand, you have a critic who's done research to the tune of tasting and trying every restaurant in a given area and is able to compare that to restaurants in surrounding areas or even other parts of the world while educating and infusing his or her culinary knowledge combined with insights into the true value of what it is you are about to eat. On the other hand, you have your next door neighbor who's been to Phoenix twice and managed to find the VERY BEST BARBECUE IN THE SOUTHWEST and is insistent upon the fact based on the fact that he had one meal at Phil's and he discovered that he doesn't like BBQ sauce, but watch out, because at $15 a plate it be WAY more expensive than what BBQ is worth, but hey they serve High Life.
So, I agree with Arthur Frommer and I take every piece of advice on Yelp with a grain of salt.
And yet... That does not stop me from asking you what Mentor has asked of us... To help him find the "best" foods in San Diego.
Today's topic.... What is the best taco in San Diego?
To be sure, it is just about impossible to find a bad taco in San Diego. You have to try really hard. Like you have to be going to Del Taco and then letting their #1 meal sit and go stale before you find a bad taco and even then, it's better than what you'll find at a taco shop in Missouri.
On my personal short list:
- El Indio's Morditos and/or rolled tacos
- Lucha Libre Surf & Turf
- Rubio's Fish Taco Especial (Please don't pitch Wahoo's, Orange County lover)
- La Posta tacos, any flavor
- Whatever is going into a taco shell at El Take It Easy's (Jay will likely be super pissed at the company he's keeping in this list)
- Taco Bell's Chalupa
- Dos Amigos Grille street tacos
- ???-berto's
Like seriously, as long as it's shredded beef or deep fried fish or sufficiently fatty carnitas, how far off could you possibly be from a great taco in San Diego? San Diego is a place where you could have 4 taco shops on a single block and all of them have a line out the door at lunch time with every single person talking about how this one is their favorite taco shop ever.
IT SHOULD NOT BE HARD TO SERVE A FANTASTIC TACO AT PETCO PARK.
So let's help Mentor figure out what he should be emulating.
I also will also take a moment of silence to remember El Asadero Market, formerly on El Cajon Blvd in the college area. The best tacos in San Diego and for no good reason, they just poof vanished while I wasn't looking. Seriously, you don't even know. Don't mess around. Five street tacos there and you're in heaven. Also mighty fine carne asada burritos.