Circling Back to Talavera Azul

After a tumultuous couple of eating years; it seems that the Missus and I are slowly, carefully, treading back to dining out. And one recent evening, the Missus requested a revisit to Talavera Azul. She was craving the menudo rojo there. It's seems that Talavera Azul was a breakfast favorite for us for a blink of an eye. It's hard to believe that our last visit there was over four-and-a-half years ago! I guess all those trips to Mexico and the pandemic put a damper on things.

So, to right our course, we decided to head on down to Talavera Azul on a recent Sunday morning. We arrived 10 minutes before the 8am opening. 

We went and stood at the door. At about 5 till, what seemed like a mob of people got out of their cars and former a line behind us. I guess this is SOP here....at five to the line forms? A minute later one of the women came out and guided us in party by party. We took a window table.

We were going to order our old favorites here; the Missus got the Menudo Rojo ($14) which is still only served on weekends and I tried to order the Machaca Sonora, but was told they were out of it. So, I went with the Machaca Ranchera ($12.50 + $4 for two eggs) and of course some Cafe de Olla.

I like the version here; not overly sweet, with just enough cinnamon.

Soon enough things started arriving at our table.

The Missus just loves fragrant Mexican oregano. And we both enjoyed the smoky heat of the chipotle salsa.

Our food arrived in tandem, along with some corn tortillas.

   The eggs were nice and runny, though it needed salt. The country style potatoes were on the dry side, though I did like the beans. The shredded beef which in this case was stir fried with red and green peppers, onions, and a scant bit of tomato were fine; though I prefer the more salty, beefy, toothsome, and intense flavor of the Machaca Sonora.

The Missus's Menudo was a mixed bag.

It lacked the richness and spice of what we'd had here before. It also needed a good bit of salt. And of course, the Missus laid it on with the oregano and lime. What was really good was the tripe, which had been cooked to an almost buttery texture.

Service was nice as always; though things were perhaps not as good as what we recalled in the days "BC" (before Covid). Though I'm sure that if Talavera Azul was in our neighborhood we'd visit every so often. These days, a 20 mile drive seems a bit long for us.

Talavera Azul
365 3rd Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91910
Current Hours:
Daily 8am - 2pm

Comments

[kat]

bummer it wasn’t as good as before

[Alan]

I eat menudo rojo almost every weekend at the food court of one of our grocery stores that cater to the Mexican population. While admittedly not the best menudo in the world, it is always rich and hearty and the condiment bar has lots of chopped onions, cilantro, lemons (not limes), and sometimes chopped cabbage or lettuce. They also always have load of chili flakes and Mexican oregano to add to your hearts content. When I used to live in HNL, I always ate Hawaiian style tripe stew, but now I always eat menudo since it is easier to find here. I love it!!

[Kirk]

Yes, we were a bit disappointed Kat!

I recall you mentioning that before Alan! Hope all is well; great to hear from you!