[Food] Tacos El Gordo

Happy New Year, everyone! To start 2013 year off, here's a quick post on Tacos El Gordo. When in San Diego, you eat Mexican food. Seriously. When you're that close to the border, you could get some ridiculously good Mexican food without having to cross over. In fact, Tacos El Gordo came to the states from our southern neighbor.

The tacos at Tacos El Gordo are reminiscent of the tacos you get when eating on the streets of Mexico. There's a certain charm you don't get with the taco trucks in LA that you do get here (definitely not downplaying those tacos, they're delicious as well).

These are the famous tacos de adobada, basically al pastor. They start with 2 corn tortillas, slice pork off the spit, cover it with onions and cilantro, then top it off with salsa and their creamy green sauce. In all my years of loving Mexican food, I've never really been able to figure out just what's in this thing. My guess would be a crema base with the possibilities of cilantro, tomatillo, lime, and/or avocado. Did I just name the major green elements of Mexican food? Probably.

The big corn flavor from the tortillas, meaty pork, and the sauces give the taco a huge flavor and the onions and cilantro cut through. Everything just works so well in this taco, but that crema sauce is what really makes it. It has a distinctive tang to it. Just writing about it makes me want to make a trip down. I do wish there was a sliver of pineapple on top. That would perfect this taco.

The lack of pineapple is not the only downside. The tacos are $2. Mind you, these are of the small street taco variety. Maybe I'm spoiled with tacos that range from $0.50 to $1, but $2 is a bit steep for what you get. Still, these things are great.

Oh, and for you first timers, the ordering system may be a bit confusing. You walk in past the cash registers, stand in the line for the respective meat you desire, get your food, then go back and pay for it. Usually there's a line for adobada and another line for everything else (asada, cabeza, lengua, etc.).

Next time you're by the border, stop by Tacos El Gordo. There are multiple locations, but this is their most popular one.

Tacos El Gordo 689 H St. Chula Vista, CA 91910 (619) 691-8848

[Photo] The Trumpeter

Sorry again for the lack of posts as of late. I have several planned in the near future. For now, here's a photo I grabbed on the streets of San Diego. As a musician, I love stopping to listen to buskers. This cat was great...and loud. We heard him from way down the street. Grabbing this shot right in front of his horn nearly destroyed my ears, but it was well worth it. You could actually see the volume in this shot. Just look at the amount of air in his cheeks. Ridiculous.

[Edit] So according to reader, Andrew, that's just bad technique in his cheeks. I don't play any brass or woodwind instruments so I wouldn't know. Thanks, Andrew! Do you have anything to add? Is Andrew right? Let us know in the comments!

[Food] Phil's BBQ

This post has been a long time coming. I'm surprised it took me this long to get it up. But alas, in all its glory, Phil's BBQ. For many Southern Californians, Phil's needs no introduction. The 2 hour waits to get in testify to that. However, if you are not familiar with this San Diego institution, it was founded in 1998 by owner, Phil Pace. BBQ in California? Barbecue purists are probably calling heresy. Calm yourselves, perhaps this isn't "real," but this is good stuff. Really good.

On a side note, there's some great BBQ in SoCal. There's always Bludso's Texas style BBQ in Compton.

Whenever we make a trek down to San Diego, it's usually for our pilgrimage to Phil's. As I mentioned before, the lines get long. However, if you get there before the rush, say, around 4 pm, you'll get your food in no time (relative to the typical 2 hour wait). Just remember, they are closed on Mondays. If you're at Phil's for your first time, you'll have plenty of time to wrestle with your heart in regards to what you'll order. My typical order is the half rack baby back dinner with fries and slaw. Some swear by their sandwiches, beef ribs, or chicken, but I stick to the tried and true baby back ribs. Also, don't you ever dare forget to order onion rings. Just do it.

If you survive the wait, successfully procure a table, and wait a little longer for your food, you'll be greeted with something like this. As I said, this is my typical order. And it's perfect. You have your mesquite grilled baby back ribs, fries, and some sort of vegetable, if you want to call it that.

The cole slaw is essential. You need some cool, creamy veggies to cleanse your palette between mouthfuls of tangy, slightly spicy meat and fried potatoes. The slaw is actually not too heavy like some other slaws you'll have. It's light and refreshing. Perfect. The fries are the quintessential carbohydrate. They aren't particularly crispy at Phil's. They kind of remind me of thicker In-n-Out fries. Don't let that drive you away, I know some people hate In-n-Out fries (I don't). The fries are perfect for sopping up all that extra sauce. Oh, and the portions. Dear lord, the amount of fries and slaw you get is almost scary. You'll be more than happy.

You didn't forget those onions rings, now, did you? These are some of my favorite onions rings. Ever. They have a light, crispy crust with a sweet, tender onion on the inside. Absolute perfection (I'm using that big word quite a bit here). Maybe I've developed some unhealthy affection toward Phil's onion rings, but I don't care. They are some of the best I've had. Please do dunk these in the buttermilk ranch they serve them with. Moving on.

Here is the main attraction. These are the tender, fall-off-the-bone ribs you hope to have when you eat BBQ. Yes, great. But do you know what's better? The sauce. The sauce really brings these ribs to life. It's definitely a unique sauce in the world of BBQ. It has the viscosity of a Kansas City BBQ sauce, but with a flavor akin to a North Carolina BBQ Sauce. Thick, vinegary, and a slight bit spicy. Oh, and Phil created this sauce when he was 15 years old... You have to try this. It's really that good.

On our trip in December, the table we were sitting at had these awesome sticker labels on the malt vinegar. The Korean in me was proud and a slight bit embarrassed. Who even thinks of doing this?

Anyway, there you have it. If you live in San Diego, are visiting San Diego, or don't live anywhere near San Diego, you have to go to Phil's. Please. For me.

Phil's BBQ 3750 Sports Arena Blvd San Diego, CA 92110 (619) 226-6333 www.philsbbq.net

[Photo] Mt. Soledad Long Exposures

I apologize for my lack of posts as of late. It's been midterm season, so things have been a bit crazy. Thankfully, everything is starting to calm down again, so I have time for new content! Anyway, let's get to my first post-hiatus post. Back in December, I took a road trip down to San Diego with some friends. The main purpose behind it was food (posts on that to come soon), but in between eating, we took a digestion break up at Mt. Soledad. That night, the fog was rolling in and it looked beautiful. I immediately thought, "long exposures!" Here are the results from that night.

Here's a view South of Mt. Soledad. You can see the 5 Freeway illuminated by cars. This one is actually an HDR photo. In fact, it was probably my first ever HDR photo. I'm not a big fan of HDR photos, but I thought I would take the opportunity to try it out for once. It doesn't look as hideous as most HDRs tend to be.

Here's a Southeast view from the Mountain. The silky fog was covering everything around San Diego that night.

Finally, this is the cross that sits on the top of Mt. Soledad. There are usually tons of tourists sitting around it, but people tend to clear out once darkness sets in.