A few months ago we noticed a new restaurant opening on El Cajon Boulevard. You really couldn't miss the colorful paint and signs. And finally this past weekend we made our way to El Borrego Restaurant.
And the clean and bright interior was just as colorful as the exterior.
As were brought our menus, a smiling (and very tall) Young Lady came over to our table, and welcomed us. She also asked us "Do you like lamb?" When we answered with a very positive "yes", she said, "Then I think you'll like us!" She then proceeded to go over the one page menu, that featured, what else? Lamb! The Young Lady whose name was Rodnia explained that Borrego style Barbacoa was the specialty of the house. She explained that the standard Barbacoa was lamb steamed in a "vaporera". We placed our orders and soon enough our Tamarindo and Horchata arrived along with the "condiments" for our order:
The condiments were accompanied by a salsa verde, and a red salsa. Rodnia also gave us a taste of the Lamb Broth:
A nice and hearty dark brown broth, full of flavor. Strips of Barbacoa, garbanzo beans, and rice dotted the consomme'. With a squeeze of lime this was very tasty, and really made us look forward to our food which arrived in a few minutes.
First to arrive was the Mixiote($10).
This seemed to be a seasoned Lamb Leg wrapped in a parchment like paper (papel de mixiote?). We stripped off pieces of lamb and proceeded to make tacos with the fresh tortillas and condiments.
First off, we noticed that every table used the salt shaker provided and took this to be the "norm". The salt was needed because, though the lamb was rubbed with seasoning, the meat didn't seem to have been salted. As good as the Mixiote looked, we both thought that the "rub" took away all the "wildness" from the lamb. I also found out that the salsa verde had quite a bit of "zip" to it.
We also ordered a half pound of Barbacoa($9).
Now with a touch of salt, these made wonderful tacos. The combination of flavors and textures that the onion, cilantro, tortilla, and lamb provided made for a very rich and tasty taco. I showed extreme restraint by only eating 6 of these.
We enjoyed our meal enough to ensure that we'll be back. The only item we really didn't care much for were the tortillas, very mushy and bland, but at least they were fresh.
The people at El Borrego were very nice and friendly, they seemed intent on making sure that we enjoyed meal, and obviously took great pride in the food they served, shown by the amount of time they took in explaining each dish in detail(Of course we kind of stood out). In this day and age when it seems that many restaurants just want to serve you food, really not caring how you enjoyed it, and then get you out the door, the amount of pride that Rodnia and the others at El Borrego have in what they serve was refreshing. I think I'll have a large bowl of the Lamb Soup($3.75), and a Nopal Salad($1.50) next time, along with the barbacoa of course.
El Borrego Restaurant
4280 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115
Ooo, this place looks good. It's nice to see a variety of Mexican joints opening up in San Diego and represent more diverse dishes. BTW how was the Horchata and Tamarindo Kirk?
Posted by: James | Monday, 01 May 2006 at 10:08 PM
love barbacoa... good find kirk!
that looks pretty authentic, love those kinda places..
but why do i sometimes crave boiled in a bag taco bell tacos... kirk ?
Posted by: dietchilicheesefries | Monday, 01 May 2006 at 10:19 PM
Hi James - I really enjoyed tasting the meat, not coevered by layers of salt, grease, cheese, sour cream...you know real meat! The Tamarindo was very "puckery", but the horchata tasted watered down, which is the norm for most places.
Hi DCCF - Are you talking about the post-drinking JIB mystery meat tacos? It's not Mexican food, but it has it's place.
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 01 May 2006 at 10:42 PM
Thanks for the heads up on this place, Kirk. I know mexican food is new to you, but you certainly found a great gem at this place. It's fun to learn about new options with something more than the usualy taqueria menu, and lamb barbacoa is a real find. At $10 a kilo it would make for great party catering too.
Posted by: Joseph E | Monday, 01 May 2006 at 10:51 PM
wow, everything looks delicious. i don't have much experience cooking with lamb, but i've always read that you should never salt it while it's cooking as it makes the meat tough.
Posted by: santos. | Monday, 01 May 2006 at 11:14 PM
That looks pretty delicioso! Can you believe I've never eaten lamb? I think I'll give it a try once I'm back home. That bowl of limes though, mmm mmm mmmm!
Posted by: Jenn | Tuesday, 02 May 2006 at 07:39 AM
Wow that looks so mouth wateringly delicious! Yum
Posted by: milgwimper | Tuesday, 02 May 2006 at 08:14 AM
Amazing. Out here in the desert, barbacoa is like beef pot roast cooked in a mild chili sauce, but I had heard/read about something like this before - but I believe it was in Mexico. My memory says that Gayla once wrote up her visit to a place in Mexico that did the whole barbacoa thing. Who would think that there'd be one in SD.
Keep on postin', helps keep me sane.
Posted by: ed | Tuesday, 02 May 2006 at 08:16 AM
Oh, that lamb soup sounds delicious!
And even the barbacoa, in my weird anti-meat phase, still sounds good!
And the tacos look awesome!
Posted by: Barbara Fisher | Tuesday, 02 May 2006 at 06:14 PM
kirk,
JITB tacos are a part of my regular diet...
i'm talking about weird cravings like Taco Bell tacos which is unexplainable
Posted by: dietchilicheesefries | Tuesday, 02 May 2006 at 08:47 PM
oooh, that looks delish man! I could definitely go for lamb, your posts always make me hungry even though I'm full. I can't believe I've lived in Southern Cal for nearly a year but never ate at a single mexican restaurant. lol. That's what happens when Rowland Heights is so close by - you get warped in a Asian food world!
Posted by: Kathy | Tuesday, 02 May 2006 at 09:01 PM
Hi JosephE - I think the statement should be "Good Mexican Food is new to me", I think I've been having lousy Mexican food all of my life! ;O)
Hi Santos - Really, you shouldn't salt lamb while it's cooking - I never heard that one before, I'll need to check.
Hi Jenn - I never ate lamb growing-up, but once I tried it, I was hooked. So you may enjoy it!
Hi Mills - The Barbacoa was good, the Mixiote was just ok.
Hi Ed - I think we'll get into what is Birria, what is Barbacoa discussion again! I asked about Birria, and was told it's a Lamb Stew/Soup from a different region.
Hi Barbara - The lamb soup was nice. You could almost feel the "yang" warmth through your body as you ate it. I guess that's odd; Chinese Food Philosophy with a Mexican Lamb Soup.......
Hi DCCF - Well, I enjoy a burrito supreme once in a while......
Hi Kathy - I guess one blessing about moving away from the SGV is that I've started eating Mexican food alot more...though I still miss all of the Asian Food you have there!
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 03 May 2006 at 07:44 AM
This place is terrific. Be sure to try the quesadillas, which come in a number of varieties, depending on what they made that day. The huitlacoche (a corn fungus) is excellent, and they also served one made of pumpkin which was excellent too. I didn't try the others. Too much food! I'll have to go back. :)
Posted by: Matt | Monday, 02 April 2007 at 04:33 PM
Hi Matt - Really? They weren't serving that the last time we visited...so we'll have to return soon. Thanks for the recommendations....
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 03 April 2007 at 12:19 AM