After all, that's what "El Indio" is..."The Indian".
El Indio has been around since 1940 and is considered one of San Diego's iconic eateries. I haven't been here in years and my lunch adventure with TC took us here only because I couldn't find parking where I wanted in Little Italy (our original destination) and then, like a doofus, got lost on the one way streets and ended up on the freeway, so...
TC once again suggested this place and then perhaps gelato afterwards at Gelato Vero. Luckily, I had a coupon which made the choice a bit easier...
We got there before the lunch rush. There were a lot of military personnel, mail carriers, and a few folks in painter's overalls.
Bags and bags of their famous tortilla chips, which I actually do like. They are thick with a satisfying crunch and not overly salty. The folks working here are super nice and very efficient. I'm sure they are used to handling large crowds. Although I'm not a fan of this show, El Indio was featured on "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives" several years ago. Because of the exposure, they became even more popular with tourists wanting to eat where that guy ate.
We didn't want to eat inside since many of the tables were occupied already and the other seating area outside was in the sun. Instead, we ate in a covered courtyard/patio area, which was nice and cool and relaxing, complete with a pretty tiled fountain.
With the buy one get one coupon, both of our entrees came out to be $9.89 total. I had the mini chicken chimichanga combo plate while TC got the pork tamale combo plate; both are served with rice, beans. I had a huge scoop of sour cream and guacamole on mine which I shared with TC. Very carb heavy. I actually only wanted to eat the crispy fried exterior. I haven't had a chimichanga in years. The interior was a bit "bean heavy" and hardly had any meat, but kind of sucked. The chips were good but I wish they had given us a few more. Five tortilla chips aren't enough.
Mmm, fried burrito...
The tamale is under there somewhere...
The mini size was actually perfect. I couldn't fathom finishing a normal sized one. Needed more meat instead of the filler beans.
TC and I weren't feeling it for gelato, so instead we went up Washington St. to the main drag of Mission Hills to walk off our lunch. We visited the library to see if any cheap books were on sale (none that we wanted) and also to M-Theory records. Instead of dessert, we again wanted cold drinks, so we walked over to the little coffee kiosk on the corner of Stockton and Golfinch, Meshuggah Shack. On our way, we passed by several trendy eateries like the newly opened Harley Gray Kitchen and Bar, and the Patio on Goldfinch along with Brooklyn Girl. Very pricy these places were.
At the shack, we pondered our choices. Once again, TC got a white peach flavored Italian soda while I got a drink called the Meshuggah Mensch (a Yiddish word that means "person of integrity and honor" or someone that you admire) - which from the description, seemed like a Vietnamese iced coffee since it had condensed milk. TC was enjoying looking at all of their tacky religious decor. As we waited for our drinks on the side, we saw that the shack would be opening another location downtown at the corner of Park Blvd and Market St. I'm also happy to say that our service here was so much better than my first time (with the unfriendly monosyllabic girl). The guys working the shack were so funny and had friendly and welcoming personalities, which I think makes a big difference.
My iced coffee had way too much condensed milk. It wasn't as strong as I would have liked but then, I wasn't sure what to expect. I think in the future, I will do what TC does and get a flavored Italian soda.
Better yet, we just need to buy some Monin syrups of our own so we can make Italian sodas anytime we want!
Who else went to El Indio?
Cathy went here for breakfast back in May 2010
El Indio
3695 India Street
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 299-0333
www.el-indio.com
Previous visit to Meshuggah Shack
May 2014 with Astroboi
While I don't think El Indio has the "best" Mexican food in San Diego, itt was decent for what we had plus we got to enjoy our lunch in the covered patio before it got crazy busy with everyone else and their mother...
2 comments:
I really like El Indio's tamales, but I like them without any "stuff" on top. I actually ordered a bunch of cold ones so I could have them for lunch later in the week. Too bad your fried burrito was mostly bean filler. I wouldn't have enjoyed that, either.
Yeah, the filling in my.chimichanga sucked
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