San Diego is funny in that everybody living here thinks they know where the best Mexican food is located, but here is the thing, unless they are talking about the taco truck that stops by the car wash up El Cajon over by Pancho Villa's, they don't know what they are talking about.
The confusion gets deeper when these people begin speaking on separate dishes that make up the ultimate Mexican joint, tending to create pillars by which to judge another's selection. Most hang their hat on the burrito, some the taco, it varies. Many progressives speak to a plate as a whole, the taco, beans, presentation, fixins. Not to mention red versus green salsa, as that is a whole separate debate.
The fatal flaw in all of these worthy dishes is that they are super hard to fuck up. The danger is mostly in too much salt vs. I can't even eat this without my tongue shoveling to the back of my throat. The real litmus test of a taco joint is and has always been the fish taco, and this is where the taco truck over by Pancho Villa's soars. It gets it in, the damn thing, it does it.
I ended up chatting with the owner one day while on a pilgrimage to the promised Winnebago. He told me at first he just rocked for the love like everybody else, a block party here, a quinceañera there, but when people got a taste of the goods they wanted to know where they can get that piff regular. And then he got to thinking about it, and the weird thing was he actually enjoyed making the food for them, the process, the looks on peoples faces when they enjoy what he made. He was sold, he decided to open up his own spot.
Only problem was his credit was jacked, he tried to go to banks to get loans but they weren't trying to hear all that good vibes jazz, they deal in bulk units of guap, and burritos don't trade on nastaq. He was getting hit with rejection left and right and nobody would fuck with him, until he stumbled on this local non profit. He told them what he was trying to get into, they ran a credit check, and got back to him in a week saying he was accepted, he was floored.
They said "Yeah whatever, you good." and had him fax over some stuff, then had him go to their offices to demonstrate his chef steez by hooking up some food in a manner not unlike a business plan/stage. They had his fish tacos, a few months later a Winnebago rolls up to a parking lot outside a car wash everyday and runs Bartertown, yeah, that good. Go have a fish taco there, then come back and tell me about a California burrito. I bet you can't. Best you could say is "well, other stuff is aiiight, but that taco truck though..."
The Protoculture Mixtape V.19
