Tacos El Compita

*** El Compita is gone....to where who knows.....

I'll let you in on a little secret right now. If I'm deeply engrossed or otherwise distracted....perhaps concentrating on the ratio of soup to meat in a Xiao Long Bao, or some other similar task,  there's a way to get my complete, and undivided attention.....you simply whisper "Barbacoa de Borrego", "Birria de Chivo", or maybe "Cabeza" into my oreja, and you will have an attent, straight backed, wide eyed, slobbering, taco lover on your hands. Or you could simply wave a banner....perhaps like this one, in front of my face:

My eyes were instantly glued to this sign.....affixed.....in fact, I'd even say that my head rotated a complete 360 degrees as I drove past, a la the Exorcist. At that moment I knew...that I must, no needed, to check this place out. I had driven by the corner of 25th and Imperial dozens of times, but never noticed this taco truck. Probably because it is covered with a tarp when not in service.

I parked on a side street, and walked toward the taco truck. As I entered the parking lot, I saw the 6 tough looking gentleman sitting at the portable tables set-up in front of the truck stand up, all eyes were fixed on me......I noticed that none of them were eating, which made me a tad uncomfortable. The first thought that crossed my mind was "uh-oh, this must be a front for some illicit business." One of the Guys starting walking up to me, and I quickly said "you have Barbacoa????" The Guy stopped in his tracks, stared at me suspiciously, tilted his head, and said, "Si, goooood Barbacoa!" He turned and walked into the doorway into one of the strip mall's "offices". I could hear a flurry of Spanish, and soon enough a lady walked out, and started talking to me....and I couldn't understand a darn thing, She didn't speak English...... But once it got to food, I had no problems, "Dos Barbacoa.......Cabeza, Lengua." She walked into the taco truck, opened a container of masa, and proceeded to make tortillas with the skill of an Itamae making Nigiri sushi.

So here they are......2 Barbacoa de Borrego, 1 Cabeza, and 1 Lengua taco - each cost a mere $1.25! Four tacos - 5 bucks.

First off, these were the best tortillas I've had in a while, great texture, great flavor. The cabeza had a nice beefiness to it, but was a bit on the dry side. The Lengua was a bit too greasy for me, but had decent beef flavor, and some gelatinous goodness. The Barbacoa de Borrego was nice, very moist, mildy "wild"....great roasted flavor. The one thing that the meat lacked was salt, but with the addition of one of the salsas it was very good.

Four different salsas, and the usual garnishes are provided on what looks like a retired taco cart. The only problem I had was that the onions look to be a bit on the "sour" side. Still, these tacos were very good, and well worth the price.

I had visited on a week day during the Christmas long weekend. On a recent weekend, I decided to head on down to El Compita. On this day, the woman was working on the "cart", and the Taco Truck was empty.

As I waited, I could see the various trays in the steam table being opened, and the wonderful aroma of the various roasted meats hit me, which got my salivary glands going.

On this day I ordered 2 Barbacoa, 2 Birria de Chivo, and 1 Adobada(marinated pork):

I saved one Barbacoa, and one Birria for the Missus, and consumed the other 3. I found the Adobada to be a bit too oily for me, and the flavor was surpisingly mild. The meat was very tender and moist.

The Birria de Chivo was nice and gamey, but lacked the spicy bite that I've had with other versions. As with all the other meats, it was very moist and tender.

The Barbacoa on this occasion was even better than my previous visit, rich, moist, tender...with a nice dollop of salsa, some onions and cilantro...things don't get much better than this. In fact, though the tortillas were not as good this time around, I'd say all the meats were much more succulent. Looks like weekends are the way to go. And I'll be sure to be back soon.

Overall, it's hard to feel ripped off when you pay $1.25 for tacos. And these are much better than those that start with the word 'Del' or end in 'Bell'. Light years better.......in fact, it is of a completely different universe.

Tacos El Compita
2586 Imperial Avenue
San Diego, CA 92102

Comments

[alex]

You are king.

[Kat]

wow, definitely $1.25 can't beat the price :)

[ed (from Yuma)]

You hit the jackpot. Great looking tortillas.

Congrats on 1,000,000 visitors.

[Kirk]

Hi Alex - No....food is king! ;o)

Hi Kat - Without a doubt, a bargain.

Hi Ed - The tortillas, especially on the first visit were outstanding. Thanks for the congrats....much of the credit goes to You, Cathy, Vicky, and Omar.

[janfrederick]

I had an errand to run near Camino Ruiz in Mira Mesa just now. So I was originally going to pop into the R&B Filipino restaurant I mentioned in one of yuour recent blogs about sisig in National City: http://www.miramesa.com/content/mall_camino_ruiz_plaza.php

But after reading this, I changed my mind and decided to get a langua burrito at Mexican Fiesta next door. I'd tried one a couple months back. Although it was decent, it was a little flavorless and rubbery. But I figured I'd see if anything else on the menu sparked an interest.

Looking at the menu, I just couldn't get my mind off the lengua so I tried it again. And this time it was wonderful. The endorphins are kicking right now. ¿Lengua para desayunos? ¿Por que no? ;)

[Kirk]

Hi Jan - I've got to give you credit....I may have not gone back and tried something I didn't enjoy! I'm glad it was better the second time around. It just goes to show, sometimes it depends on who's cooking.

[janfrederick]

Au contrere. How many times did you go back to the place in National City? Anyway, I give you credit for pointing in in many of your posts that one visit may not do a place or item justice.
That being said, it's just as likely it could be bad again next time. But who knows? It's just nice that there is at least one place in Mira Mesa that isn't a chain.

Now all I need to do is check out that place near Bolsa on Mira Mesa blvd.

[janfrederick]

Oh, and to be fair, my first burrito waited quite a bit longer for consumption. And I think I'll taco next time right there in the store.

[jeffrey C]

Man, Kirk, just when I think I got one place in AZ thats ok then you show me this. The tacos had my stomach rumbling from the first jpeg file. Anyways, glad to know some people like to eat lengua.

[Kirk]

Hi Jan - You know, I've got to check out RB soon...a co-worker's husband who works in the area said it's pretty good.

Hi Jeffrey - When lengua, or cabeza, is made right, the dish seems to capture the essense of beefiness. I'm sure there're a ton places that make good tacos in the area....it's finding them that are sometimes difficult.

[The Guilty Carnivore]

I will have these tacos someday.

[Kirk]

Hey GC - Give me a holler when you get into town...and we'll check 'em out together!

[Chris]

I love you.

[Kirk]

Hi Chris - ahem.....do you mean El Compita, or mmm-yoso???

[Alf]

Kirk,

I've had lengua, cabeza and buche burritos!!

Not things I order regularly but each was a meaty and savory heaven.

I've settled on the cabeza as the king of all. Haven't any birria here in Norcal.

[Kirk]

Hi Alf - To me good cabeza is like the enitre flavor of the bow condensed into one bite.