Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
For late night cravings or after a day at the beach, the 24 hour drive-thrus in San Diego can't be beat. This is the land of the California Burrito (Carne asada w/french fries), rolled tacos and fish tacos. And hell no, we don't put rice and beans in our burritos to fatten them up like they do in San Francisco and at Chipotle....yuck.
I will say that New Mexican food is pretty good, but I don't care for Tex-Mex.
What is the deal with SD people always downing the use of rice and beans?? They're freaking ingredients that are native to Mexican cuisine! French fries are not. Gimme a break lol.
I have yet to make it out to SD and actually see what all the hype is about, but I've grown really tired of all the critics coming from there when it comes to SF Mexican food. Its annoying. And from what I hear, your burritos are ultra gooey and filled with too much guac and sour cream, and an SF burrito is nothing at all like Chipotle. Is Rubios exactly like SD Mexican food?? Fish tacos with cabbage? Cause if it is then your food blows.
I have had a pretty good burrito in Long Beach that I enjoyed very much. I wasn't in the mindset of trying to see how much better ours were in SF at the time tho, so I can't recall where I'd rank it , but I don't recall a lack of rice and beans. Why is that such a gripe anyway? I've only known white people to complain about rice and beans.
I voted based on which city has the most of the good authentic mexican food.
Los Angeles is by far the winner. Los Angeles has thousands of small mexican shops/restaurants that make great authentic mexican food. No cheap crap. No americanized crap. No fake carne asada (carne asada is not a meat, but rather how you grill it). And no "lets throw some spice on the beans and rice and call it authentic" crap. There are alot of places like that.
Myth: San Diego and Houston have a ton of great mexican food. Nothing can be farther than the truth. I was surprised and disappointed in Houston based on the city's population, how disappointing their mexican food was. There were maybe a dozen or so places that make their mexican food authentic.
As the same with San Diego. I know of only a handful of places in San Diego that has authentic mexican food. Disappointing since Mexico is half an hour south. Chula Vista in fact has far better mexican food than San Diego.
Never been to Albequerque before, but im sure it has some good authentic food. Probably a bit more on the spicy side. Doubtful that there are as many true ones as LA since LA dwarfs ALB in population.
Nothing intrigues me about SD "Mexican" food. There's way too much snobbery/elitism involved (reminds me of NYers with pizza), and it just plain doesn't sound good to me by description. It definitely sounds completely unauthentic, which is bizarre considering its basically part of Mexico. But one day I'll grudgingly have to try it since my opinion doesn't count until I have, and I would really like to know what motivates so many SDers to bash SF's Mexican food so much.
I never cared for or was impressed with the Mexican food in the Bay Area, you can't even get a good fish taco there, at least not like in San Diego. I was born and raised in the Bay Area and have lived in SD for 8 years now and the Mexican food down here is better hands down. I have friends that I grew up with in the Bay Area that either live in SD still or have lived in SD and they all agree the Mexican food down here is better. Mexico is part of our metropolitan area and it just a bigger part of the food and culture here than it is in the Bay Area and more authentic. You can cross the border and get the real thing that you'd never be able to find in Northern CA. The food down around the border is basically the same stuff you'd find a few miles south in Mexico itself.
I'm mexican and the Bay Area is just not on the same level as San Diego or Southern CA in general when it comes to Mexican food.
At least coming from you I might be able to accept the assessment of SD Mexican supposedly being better than what we have up here. At least you'd most likely be giving an apples-to-apples comparison. Can you compare some of the spots down there to specific locations up here so I can get some perspective?
Mexico is like the worst country and you guys are touching it. that's why Socal sucks you know places like LA and San Diego filled with a bunch of mexicans. ugh!!!!
The city with the most restaurants per capita breeds insane competition. Which means if you are a bad restaurant, you get weeded out very quickly. My vote goes to HOUSTON as does my vote concerning any other type or ethnicity of food. Horribly hot, not that pretty, but damn! Houston has some great eats!
At least coming from you I might be able to accept the assessment of SD Mexican supposedly being better than what we have up here. At least you'd most likely be giving an apples-to-apples comparison. Can you compare some of the spots down there to specific locations up here so I can get some perspective?
I'm not trying to say the Mexican food is not good in the Bay Area or that it doesn't have some great places, I just never thought it was anything special. I just like the places, variety, and types of dishes down here more overall. There is just more too choose from and I love CA Burritos and Fish tacos, two things I really don't find much of up north.
I don't really remember the names of the Taco shops and restaurants I went to up there b/c I never really had a regular one that I always went to b/c never thought any were anything special. But some of the ones that I like in SD would be Wahoo's (just for fish tacos not a "real" mexican place though), Somberos, Santana's, El Zerape, El Agave are some that come to mind.
The Bay Area may have some places than can be just as good as down here or that serve a good burrito but overall there is just more to choose from and better variety in Southern CA and Baja CA.
SD's proximity to Mexico inflates the ego massively.
haha, I really don't think anyone from the Bay Area has room to talk when it comes to "inflated egos", especially when the topic is food.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And hell no, we don't put rice and beans in our burritos to fatten them up like they do in San Francisco and at Chipotle....yuck.
Gimme a break lol. 
, but I don't recall a lack of rice and beans. Why is that such a gripe anyway? I've only known white people to complain about rice and beans.
