r/FoodSanDiego • u/TripNo5926 • 4d ago
Fast Food I wonder if taco stands realize we can tell when they don’t change out the oil.
I went to El Pollo Loco and Filiberto’s on midway order a couple of tacos and rolled tacos they both were horrible. Disappointed is putting it politely I was craving tacos this just sucked avoid both.
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u/super-stew 4d ago
Filiberto’s just sucks in general. Very few good items on the menu even on a good day.
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u/Take_Some_Soma 4d ago edited 3d ago
For real.
We need to talk about the average taco shop quality in this city. It’s gone down considerably over the years. Got too comfortable, or it’s gone to their heads, but 9/10 are fucking mid.
At best.
Grey carne asada. Stale tortillas. Boring hot sauces. Flavorless beans. Everywhere.
Anyone who shills a “bertos” is a moron homer or a transplant.
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u/thebochman 3d ago
Whenever I see someone comment in this sub saying the best burrito/taco place is “whatever’s close to you” I shake my head.
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u/Friendly_Age9160 3d ago
lol so untrue. The ones by me are all bad. There are about 10 within under 5 minutes where I live. Everyone of them pretty much sucks. The flavorless beans and the watery fucking red sauce. Kills me.
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u/super-stew 3d ago edited 2d ago
The salsas at a lot of these places are nasty. It’s a shame. Get that shit to go and cover it Lao Gan Ma instead of watery jelly nasty taco shop salsa. That stuff is not right.
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u/super-stew 3d ago edited 3d ago
Seriously. Every city has good and bad spots. San Diego is no exception. People who say all the Mexican food here is perfect are delusional and haven’t tried the good stuff.
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u/super-stew 4d ago edited 4d ago
1,000% agree, you are preaching to the choir. I skip the tacos shops and go to taquerias, restaurants, and street setups instead. Tacos La Ocho just opened up and is bangin. Tijuanazo opened a few months ago and was pretty solid as well.
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u/Take_Some_Soma 3d ago
Man, I loved that joint when it was Taconazo. For adobada I always rode for them over Francs which is a block away.
But this Hillcrest location is a shadow of what that was. Went twice. Disappointed. 😔
Will give Ocho a shot. Thanks.
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u/super-stew 3d ago
What did you order at Tijuanazo in Hillcrest? The adobada was really disappointing but I liked the buche, suadero, and tripa. I only went once during their soft opening.
Tacos La Ocho’s beans and flour tortillas are really nice. Don’t skip the beans taco if you’re into that. I want to try their marrow next time I go.
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u/SDdrohead 3d ago
Taco stands and you mention polio loco? wtf?
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u/Significant_Way_1720 3d ago
polio? like the illness?
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u/SDdrohead 3d ago
lol man I was hammered last night!
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u/Jay-Dubbb 3d ago
I thought it was a clever play on words. I'm calling it that from now on. Merry Christmas! 🎄
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u/Fickle_Baseball_9596 2d ago
You ever see those barbecues made from converted 55 gallon drums? Polio Loco does something similar with iron lungs.
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u/Hagfist 3d ago
TIL El Pollo Loco is a taco stand, AMA
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u/WhatAmIDoingHere05 3d ago
How do you feel about your whole life being shaken to the core with this news?
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u/Naive-Emergency-7254 3d ago
The origin of taco shops in Southern California with names ending in “-ertos,” such as “Robertos,” traces back to the early 1960s. The trend began with Roberto Robledo, who founded Roberto’s Taco Shop in San Diego in 1964. Roberto’s offered a new, convenient take on Mexican food, featuring fast service and a menu centered around tacos, burritos, and other Mexican staples. The success of Roberto’s inspired numerous imitators, leading to a proliferation of taco shops with similar names. These establishments, often family-owned, have become iconic in Southern California, known for their casual atmosphere and authentic Mexican cuisine. The “-ertos” suffix became a recognizable branding strategy, signaling affordable, quick, and tasty Mexican food.
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u/isahoneypie 3d ago
Thank you for sharing this cool bit of history! I went looking for a source - your succinct and accurate summary is supported by this NBC article.
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u/wasdtomove 4d ago
If you have a shop you regularly go to, you should ask what days they change out the oil and work around that.
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u/some_yum_vees 3d ago
Does anyone know if Tacos El Franc from TJ has opened up at Bonita mall yet!!???
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u/MeanDoctrine 3d ago
Even for us, who would happily eat any taco-shop food north of the 8 (since there are few of them), we don't count El Pollo Loco among them--why should we count a LA creation as a taco shop?
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u/mebetiffbeme 3d ago
LOL I grew up in LA county and I don’t know anyone here would consider it a taco shop. I don’t know OP was expecting it to be one.
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u/super-stew 3d ago
I reject your argument based on false premise
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u/MeanDoctrine 3d ago
Please elaborate what you mean by "false premise" here. Otherwise, that's pretty much a ploy in shutting me up.
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u/TripNo5926 3d ago
It was Christmas Eve I was hungry was actually looking for pozole and last year el pollo had it. But not this year so I got two burnt tacos then went o Filiberto’s up the street. I would’ve avoided both but it was the convenience of a drive thru ugh my mistake.
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u/Lemonjello23 3d ago
When you said taco stands, I didn't think you'd mention Pollo loco