Painted utlity box with a Victorian on the corner of W. Washington and India St.
The line wasn't that long outside but it was mega crowded inside. I was kind of worried that we wouldn't be able to get a table. Every chair was taken except for a few on the outdoor patio.
Look at the gold Champions booth? See the bald guy? Turns out he is some famous wrestler dude. Later towards the end of lunch, he took a group photo by the back wall with practically the whole crew of Lucha Libre. A bunch of people were taking photos but for the life of me (and Bert), we had no idea who he was.
Lots of quirky and kitschy wrestling decor...
We were lucky enough to get a table but there weren't enough chairs. The three girls had to share two chairs. I felt like I was getting bumped into a lot since my back was facing the drinks machine whenever people would walk by, which was pretty much the whole damn time. Plus,we were in the front in the line of sight of the folks in line.
These chips were pretty good - nice and thick with the right amount of salt. There were regular salsa and cilantro sauce (OMFG, I wanted to just drink that!). There were about six different kinds but I only got three (the third was hidden).
Here's most of our order....
One of the girls got the three rolled tacos without guacamole. TC got hers WITH guacamole (not pictured). The rolled tacos were beef; the other filling choice was potato (ooh, must try that next time!).
Older neighbor girl got two carne asada tacos. In retrospect, we should have just ordered one for her because we didn't know how big or small these would be. In any case, the extra one was taken home as leftovers. It looked pretty meaty and filling.
Bert, TC and I shared a TJ style bacon wrapped dog with grilled onions and peppers and ketchup. I asked for it WITHOUT mustard but it kind of looks like a tiny dollop was on there. It was okay but not earthshattering with God's rays coming out of clouds. I could barely taste the bacon underneath all the toppings and ketchup.
Underneath the shredded cabbage are juicy and tender shrimps in the "Undefeated Seafood Taco" (gotta love these names). I should have moved the greenery so you could see the shrimp but trust me on this, there was a lot of shrimp under there. The other choice of filling was grilled mahi mahi but I wanted my skrimps.
The Surf and Turf Burrito, one of their most popular items:
Oh yeah, this was pretty gigantor and chock full of steak and shrimp. I could do without the rice filler though. The avocados, cheese and pica de gallo and "super secret" chipotle sauce made this gourmet burrito awesome! Bert and I shared this one...
Ooh, lookie here...the Gold Champions booth which is roped off from the rest of the peons. You have to reserve this at least two days in advance.
Time to GTFO and get some dessert. Even as we left, the place was still packed wall to wall...
Diagonally across the street was our dessert destination, Gelato Vero Caffe.
This place is tiny but luckily it wasn't mega crowded like Lucha Libre. The girls snagged a couple of tables in the back...
The girls had their choice of one or two flavors for the small size. At 9 o'clock, Strawberry with Vanilla, at 1 o'clock, just Vanilla, and at 5 o'clock, dark chocolate with Vanilla.
Bert and I got the medium size with two flavors: Chocolate Hazelnut and Espresso. The gelato melted kinda fast so I didn't like how soft or soupy it was...The flavors were great though!
Bert took this shot from our table...That's Lucha Libre across the way....
Who else ate at Lucha Libre?
Darlene from My Burning Kitchen
Kirk of Mmm-Yoso
Mary from Foodies: A Southern California Food Blog (complete with way better pictures of the sauces and the Champions booth)
Jorgina of San Diego Food
Alice of Alice Q. Foodie
and the review from the SD Reader
While the food was good, I didn't care too much for the crowded atmosphere. Some people might enjoy or even thrive in a high energy setting, but I felt like one of those tiny little hermit crabs at the OB tidepools scurrying away into watery nooks.
It was jam packed in there and I somewhat felt "pressured" when eating in such an atmosphere. I could feel the people "eyeing" our prime table and even before we got up to leave, some chick with tray in hand was ready to take my chair (Bitch, get back, heh!).
But really, apart from the cool decor (pink walls, Mexican wrestling memorabilia, discoballs, etc), and the notoriety they got from Man vs. Food, their food is just regular Mexican food but priced a dollar or two more. The quality is also better so that's also factors into the cost. It's a fun place to be if you like tacos and crowds. It's worth going at least once.
Orale!
5 comments:
Unfortunately I think the quality of Luche Libre has gone down since it's appearance on Man V. Food. But the lines are still out the door. My favorite salsa is the peach one.
My fav flavor at gelato v is spumoni! Never been to Lucha Lib after all this time..
hi darlene - i hadn't been there before the man vs food hype so i can't compare. i'd like to try this place again but right when it opens instead of during the crazy lunch hour. i hate crowds. i didn't try the peach one - sounds so good. thanx for the rec. i really liked the creamy cilantro.
hi dennis - ooh, spumoni! good choice! :D about lucha libre, ain't no BFD, but worth a try at least once.
I've only sat in the Champion's Booth here and when you do that there's less pressure - and it's fun for the kids to ring the bell for service. I've found much better hot dogs elsewhere but I still like the food.
hi mary -i remember your post which is why i wanted to go there! :) so that's what that bell is for! very cool! i want to try that peach salsa!
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