Porkyland

With a name like Porkyland, well.....the food better be good! Located in Barrio Logan(and also La Jolla - go figure!), on the corner of Logan Avenue and Sampson Street, and right down the block from the landmark that many consider to be the "heart" of San Diego's Latino Community, the colorful Chicano Park, resides Porkyland Restaurant and Tortilla Factory.

Once in Porkyland (The Happiest Place on the Planet?), you'll notice that the kitchen area takes up over half of Porkyland's space. The menu is limited, but still has a pretty good variety of the "usual suspects."

I did have my mind made up, and with the help of the very friendly Young Lady, I placed my order. I originally ordered a pound of Carnitas, but the Young Lady, told me that for $8.99, I could get the "Carnitas Special." Which consists of a pound of carnitas, fresh tortillas, beans, cilantro, and onions. this being a mere 50 cents more then the price for a pound of carnitas she won me over. Of course, she then had to ask me, with a giggle, if I'd be eating this here! I think she was joking.........

For those who are used to the roasted then deep fried, greasy, and salty carnitas; these will surprise you. These carnitas are very tender, and the flavor is slightly smokey; rich, yet not greasy or overly salty in the slightest. Though the carnitas at Carnitas Michoacan have a much more assertive flavor, these are soft and mild, yet you know you are eating "oink".

I usually chose not to "defile" good carnitas with too many "accouterments", and prefer just some onions, cilantro, and a good hot sauce, on one of the steaming hot fresh tortillas. Delici-yoso!!!

The fresh tortillas were decent, with slight elasticity, and not brittle in the least. But not even close to those I had in Yuma, which had a nice rich corn flavor. The beans were good, slightly chunky, and not too salty or greasy.

Price wise, this was a bargain, about a dozen fresh and hot tortillas, a pound of carnitas, a container of beans, for $8.99. Enough for the four of us (Me, the Missus, Sammy, and Frankie), with a bit leftover.

The menu at Porkyland also features Rolled Tacos, Carne Asada, and even Salads(at Porkyland!!!), by if you make the effort to get there, you might as well get at least a Carnitas Burrito!

Porkyland Restaurant
2196 Logan Ave
San Diego, CA 92113

Comments

[Kady]

Sounds like a great family meal!

[dietchilicheesefries]

food served by the pound... i like it..

if i saw a name like porkyland, i woulda stopped by too..

any mascots??

[Rachel]

For some odd reason, the tune from Beverly Hills Cop III (the one based around the theme park) was playing in my head throughout reading of your post. :) Cute name and wonderful value. I wish I had some!! I am a sucker for pulled pork and wish they had it here in OZ. Only roast pork with apple sauce (very englishy isn't it?) to be found here. I absolutely love it in sandwiches but you have certainly won me over to try it in tortillas with those photos! Darn I'm so hungry! Why do I always read your blog at dinner time!?

[Candice]

Yum - you've got me craving Porkyland at 10 in the morning! They have a finely chopped fresh salsa that is incredibly spicy and so delicious with the carnitas.

[Kirk]

Hi Kady - Yes, the price is definitely right.

Hi DCCF - Nope no mascot, but lot's of good "oink."

Hi Rachel - Once I made kalua pork, and one of the Guys went to the market and bought KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce, and poured it all over the kalua pork.....

Hi Candice - I like the salsa too. The only problem this day was, that a "Guy" bought a bag of tortillas, and proceeded to fill little containers with all the salsa, and I didn't want to wait! Having Porkeyland at 10 am might be a good move....you'd have the rest of the day to burn it off! LOL!

[howie]

I think I've said it before, but you have the luckiest dogs in the world. This carnitas looks very good -- not quite as guilt-inducing as my local taqueria's.

[Didi]

Hey, this is news. I didn't know there is another Porkyland.
We've going to the one in La Jolla and been enjoying the carnitas there. Many times, we'd just buy this on the way home for dinner (Ok, it was a little out of the way).

I'm glad you found this. I must try Carnitas Michoacan.

[Kirk]

Hi Howie - Yes, I'm a lucky....umm, oh yeah, Sammy and Frankie are (literally) lucky dogs as well.

Hi Didi - I might have forgotten to mention. Carnitas Michoacan is located in the San Diego Farmers Market on Imperial. They sell carnitas by weight and "location" - that is, which part of the pig do you want??? The style of which I've been informed is the norm for carnitas in Michoacan. If you go during the weekend, go a bit early, they'll run out of the good cuts (maciza - the portion under the ribs) quickly.

[elmomonster]

Kirk,

You are one intrepid diner! But I agree with Diet Chili Fries...I wouldn't be able to stop in upon seeing the intriguing name.

[Andy]

Hi Kirk,

Since I've been to Porkyland many times over the last 10 years (many happy memories), I'll chime in on this one too.
Porkyland was always a good call in the past and I've enjoyed their al pastor tacos as well (not the best, but pretty good). It's been years since I've been to the La Jolla location, but the Barrio Logan location hasn't been as consistent as before. Recently, I had dry carnitas(!). Carnitas are supposed to be moist and succulent with loads of flavor (fat). That time around was not good eats, but I'm willing to forgive and forget and try it again since the past had such good memories.
Note that they have two sizes of burritos there, regular and large. The large is postively gigantic and my 250 pound friend had trouble finishing it. The tortillas are also sold at costco. I like to buy the uncooked tortillas and finish the cooking at home. You're guaranteed fresh tortillas that way.
As far as other really good carnitas, there is a place in Encinitas called carnitas tepititlan or something like that. I think it also goes by the name Juanita's. It's on PCH and serves up fantastic perfectly cooked carnitas, presumably since the owners are from Michoacan. It's a bit of a drive, but when I go biking up the coast, I like to stop by to help replace those expended calories.

[Pam]

that is the best name for a restaurant EVER!

ha ha, agree w/ DCCF...they need a mascot; that would be quite funny

[Kathy]

$8.99 for four (even though not all humans:)and leftovers? Sounds like a deal to me! I wonder what posessed/inspired the owners to name it Porkyland - although with a name like that, I'd be curious enough to walk in.

[Passionate Eater]

Holy cow! With those portions, no wonder it's called "Porkyland!" And as for the mascot, they should have Porky the Pig (from Looney Tunes) with a sombrero! Or, if they gave me free food, I'd be willing to be the mascot.

[Jeni]

Kirk...Porkyland sounds awesome! For some reason, I keep think of National Lampoon's Vacation.

OHhHH...I remember. It's cuz they dressed up as pigs in the beginning! hahah!

[Kirk]

Hi Elmo - The name Porkyland does get your attention, doesn't it?

Hi Andy - Well, dried out carnitas is just really bad stuff. I had forgotten that Costco sells Tortillaland stuff. BTW, those Jumbo Burritos are a bit too "jumbo" for me.

Hi Pam - The mascot idea cracks me up....

Hi Kathy - I think you'd like the carnitas here - really "porky", and not greasy.

Hi PE - Sorry, but I know that you're not "porky" enough! LOL!

Hi Jeni - You always crack me up.....

[JS]

If you go back, there's a chicken stewed with chipotle that is wonderful.

[Jo]

Oh ya, this sounds awesome Kirk. If things keep going in their current direction, I may be concocting carnitas in my very own kitchen pretty soon. By the by, the bbq sauce this way is VERY interesting. I'm hoping to concoct a few boxes of NC stuff to send around. A bottle of BBQ sauce will have to be included. The stuff is completely fat free and... well... Mike doesn't like it but I do. It's VERY interesting

[Kirk]

Hi JS - Hope all is well. I've just added that chicken to my ever growing list - I'll make sure to get it next time.

Hi Jo - Hope house hunting is going well. So let's see it's Carolina-style, so if I remember, NC style is vinegar based sauce, and SC style is mustard based - on pork shoulder. While in Georgia, I had a chance to sample a bunch of different regional "styles".....I suppose it's still not a good as the source, but still delicious.

[Michelle]

Doesnt it seem funny that these reviews came rapid fire one after another..... As if an internal person was writing them back to back. Porkyland is ok, but I doubt San Diegans are hammering away at their keyboards over it. Stop using such obvious marketing strategies. They make you look desperate.

[Kirk]

Hi Michelle - I love it! Such cynicism with a touch of sarcasm. In fact I love it so much - that I'll do a post on just this comment!