El Rodeo Mexican Food

I know someone who swears by the Super Sergio's on Convoy, and El Rodeo Mexican Food, located on El Cajon Boulevard, near the intersection of 69th street. Bad thing is, he has a "convenient bad memory" which I'll explain a bit later on. What he did tell me was, you get around 69th street, you can't miss the place. And you know what, he was right. Screaming oranges and yellows, it really does stand out.

I was in the neighborhood, and it was past lunch time on a weekend afternoon a few months back. So why not? I parked the car, check out the murals, and walked to the front counter.....and stopped dead.

At first I thought that perhaps this gal was unconscious, or passed out. At which time she let out a huge snore......at least I knew she was alive. I quietly crept to the counter to order, but could find no one. I could hear music blasting from the rear of the place, but there was no one in sight. I whispered, "hello? hello?" "ola?" And the gal let out a "snort-snort-snort". A bit of sleep apnea perhaps? Not wanting to wake her, I decided to revisit El Rodeo at a later time, and tip-toed back to my car.

About a week later, I was back in the area, so I decided to give it another go. Not knowing what awaited me in the dining area, I peered around the corner, and noticed no sleeping, snoring women.

My eyes were assaulted by the reflection of orange...everywhere. But I managed to order what I came for: a Carne Asada Torta. As I waited, I noticed how busy the phone booth right in front of the restaurant was.

It even rang twice while I was waiting. And 2 different young women walked up to answer the phone. I believe this is probably one of the last remaining pay phones left in the area, but it was strangely busy....and the only persons using the phone were young ladies. Hmmmm.....

When my Torta was ready($4.25), I grabbed it quickly and headed home. The bread on the sandwich was nothing to write home about, there was just too much shredded lettuce, and the Guacamole is pasty and tasteless. But I really enjoyed the Carne Asada, it was nicely caramelized and had a nice overall flavor.

Yes, the bread was heading to the land of soggy pretty quickly, but that could be explained away by the ride home. Soon after, I ran into "MrC" and told him that the Carne Asada Torta was pretty good. He stared at me blankly and said, "Carne Asada? I didn't tell you carne asada, did I? You have to have the Milanesa."

So back I was for the Milanesa Torta($4.25). This time here was no activity at the pay phone, and there were a few other customers eating in the patio area. I decided to grab my sandwich, and consume it in the car. As I was walking to the car, I was stopped by 2 young women, "we need a ride, can you give us a ride?" My reply? "Ummm no." Which is about as close to a "hell, no, not a chance" as I could muster up. Next request, "can we use your cell phone?" I gave them 2 quarters....I'm pretty sure they knew where the pay phone was. As they walked to the pay phone, I entered my car, sat, took a deep breath and removed the foil from my sandwich.

This was not a very good Torta. First, the bread was stale and crumbly. Second, the Milanesa, which was totally overwhelmed by lettuce, had no taste. I suppose it would have been nice texturally, if there was a bite less lettuce. But the meat, which looked to be breaded pork, was tasteless. It was so bland I couldn't make out what kind of meat it was.

About a week later, I run into MrC; "hey, that Milanesa wasn't very good." "No-no-no, not the Milanesa, you should have the Carne Asada!"

Sigh. You gotta love early onset senility. No more snoring young ladies, being accosted for a ride or my cell phone, or that strangely busy pay phone for me for a while.

El Rodeo Mexican Food
6924 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Comments

[Carol]

Hey Kirk, tour story gave me a good chuckle. The things we do and places we go for food. :0)

[santos.]

bwaah! i would have stopped going after the snoring girl incident.

[The Guilty Carnivore]

Hey, that was me calling on the other end!

[liver]

Should google that payphone number to see what interesting craigslist ads come up...maybe some clinical trials on ambien or something.

[kat]

sounds like a scary neighborhood...

[Kirk]

Hi Carol - You're right.....I'm a bit crazed huh? Crazy Asian Bruddah....a CAB! ;o)

Hi Santos - Can you tell I'm a bit obsessive.....

Hi GC - I shoulda' checked the caller ID! ;o) Truth was, I didn't want to touch the phone.

Hi Liver - Or something.....

Hi Kat - Sorry, I didn't want to give that impression. It's pretty near to San Diego State, but I just thought everything that happened was weird.

[Michael]

Kirk,
You truly are the real deal food detective. we need to give you a purple heart or maybe a golden stomach medal of valor.That is a scary place.

[nhbilly]

WoW felt like I was in TJ trying to get some goooooooood torta. Nothing like the add excitement in a day of a torta ;-)

[Susan]

Lol! You are full of heart! I would have demanded a refund for the Milanesa from Mr. C, plus the 2 quarters!

[RONW]

It's the urban equivalent of foraging for fuud in the forest. You stumble across a few nettles.

[Carol]

Yay! 2 CABs all da way!

[Kathy]

haha, this was a hilarious read! ^_^...now I'm curious as to what those young women were up to! o_O!

[Kirk]

Hi Michael - It is kinda strange...I don't think scary, but very strange.

Hi Billy - I'm glad to have added a bit of excitement.

Hi Susan - You are too kind. I have another story about MrC coming up.

Hi RONW - Right you are.

Hi Carol - LOL!

Hi Kathy - I think you can figure that out......