Right across from Clairemont Town Square, lies La Tiendita, a Mexican Market that has been around for quite a while.
Over the last couple of years, on weekends, La Tiendita has been doing tacos. I went when they first started selling tacos, and was not very impressed.
But, a few months ago, I noticed the existence of a trompo (verticle spit) with what looked like Al Pastor on it. I made a mental note to try out the tacos again, but didn't have a chance to until we returned from our trip to China.
Even though the sign says they had Buche, I was told by the very friendly gentleman running the stand that they didn't have any on this day. This guy is really nice, and seems to really want to please his customers, so he opened some pans and actually started giving me samples!
After tasting the Birria de Res (stewed beef), I immediately crossed that one off my list. But having sampled the gentleman's hospitality, I went in and paid the cashier for four tacos. At $1.75 a piece it might seem expensive, but these are pretty good sized tacos. Actually, two tacos would have been enough, but I wanted to sample a couple of items.
The woman behind the counter was hand pressing tortillas. Along with smelling the carne asada on the grill, this really gives you the impression that everything is made super fresh to order. This was not necessarily true, the tortillas are stacked in a bowl under a towel, which is perfectly fine. The adobada has been trimmed earlier and is in a covered pan. Even though there was meat loaded on the trompo, it was not even on when I arrived. The carne asada was removed from the grill and tossed into a pan and mixed with whatever was there earlier. Still the salsas were good, and those tacos were pretty hefty.
First up, the Carnitas (braised pork):
This was a bit on the bland and dry side, and lacked the richness that I look for in carnitas.
The best of the bunch was the Cabeza (beef head), which actually benefitted from being in that covered pan for a while.
Rich, moist, and wearing its rendered collagen like a badge of honor, the cabeza gad a wonderful beefiness. It was perhaps too moist, because the tortilla just fell apart, and I ended up scooping everything up with my fingers. Good thing it didn't all fall off onto my hood (yes, I was actually eating on the hood of my car).
The adobada was okay.
It didn't quite have the texture I enjoy having gotten a bit dry, and lacking the great crispy bits like stuff cut off the trompo topped with charred bits. The meat had good heat, but lacked the fruity, complex sweetness and a decent savory component that I look for in Al Pastor/Adobada.
The carne asada was pretty mediocre.
It was pretty dry, with some tough sinewy bits. The flavor was very mild, though I'm sure it would be much better coming straight off the grill.
The positives for me here was the cabeza (and I'm looking forward to lengua), the good salsas, and the really friendly staff. I arrived at noon, which should be peak time, so perhaps lack of constant business forces them to make the carne asada and adobada ahead, but I'm sure it would be much better fresh off the grill/trompo. There's no dining area, so you'll be eating coctail party style, or on the hood of your car...... or a reasonable facsimile.
The market is pretty good place to shop, though sometimes the produce and bakery products can be a little past its time.....
La Tiendita Mexican Market - Tacos on weekends only.
3851 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117
hope the lengua doesn't let you down.
Posted by: kat | Thursday, 09 September 2010 at 12:40 AM
Hi Kat - I hope so too!
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 09 September 2010 at 05:26 PM
They sell something called 'Pollo para asar' in the meat case which is wonderful. You get chicken breasts covered in an orange-ish rub. It makes the chicken moist and full of flavor. It's great on the grill.
Posted by: Uncle Lefty | Saturday, 11 September 2010 at 12:10 PM