6924 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115
(619) 466-3244
Southern California may not have rain, but one thing it's saturated with is Mexican restaurants. You can walk down any given street and stumble across a resident offering a burrito or claiming to serve the best tacos north of Tijuana. The problem is: who to believe? What attracted me to El Rodeo was a cursory glance at their specials. While driving down El Cajon Boulevard one sunny September morning, I was caught by a huge mural of a sub sandwich against a big yellow building. As I passed it, I noticed the banner outside offering "Breakfast Burrito: Ham, Egg, Cheese, Potatoes - $3.99 with your choice of drink or 12oz Coffee." Being a fan of breakfast burritos and cheap combos, I was quick to earmark the location. Recruiting my fellow burrito bargain aficionado (and Spectrum Culture writer) Danny Djeljosevic, we traversed down to El Rodeo.
The first impression was very positive- the building looked relatively clean, and the tables were painted red and yellow- a very warm and welcoming décor. The menu board was expansive, almost intimidating. Along the walls were also pictures of the gigantic sandwiches they offer, from traditional subs such as pastrami to "tortas," as well as reward posters for Pancho Villa, just for authenticity. Average plate price was close to $6, but it almost guarantees to be a two-part meal. Daniel and I chose to attack the burritos.
A good Mexican place can often be judged by how grimy the location is, and although the exterior is nicely done, you still have to order through a window to an employee who does not have the best grasp of English. I am bilingual, but I ordered in English to test the employees' demeanor. The woman behind the counter was courteous and was patient when I asked what drink I could get with the combo. I ordered the breakfast burrito combo with a Coke, and a beef taco. Daniel ordered the vegetarian burrito, containing cheese, potatoes, onions, lettuce, tomato, beans and rice. We were asked to take a seat at one of the small tables under the overhang and we were given a plate of chips and two sauces: red and green.
The green sauce was primarily composed of green chiles, tending to be chunkier than the red sauce and had a hell of a kick. The red sauce is tomato based and less spicy. It is savory, however, and worth testing. Daniel's burrito was roughly half a meter long, and as I spied through the prep window, contained by two tortillas. Mine was a bit thinner and smaller, but still sizable. Danny thoroughly enjoyed his veggie; mine had perfectly cooked eggs, with enough heat to melt the cheese, and a more than standard amount of ham slices and even whole French fries inside the burrito.
While at first this seems off-putting, one bite of a burrito with French Fries in it is enough to make you question why it hasn't always been this way. The aforementioned red sauce blended considerably better with the breakfast burrito, but if you want spice and chewiness, the green sauce is the choice. The taco was freshly fried, and was overstuffed with cheese, lettuce and tomato. It was on its own plate and it looked like they had stuffed a salad and a streak inside a tortilla. It was crispy without being soggy, the meat was delicious and slow-cooked, locking in all the spices and flavors.
We finished our burritos, cleared our trays and returned them. The very nice woman behind the counter thanked us, and wished us a good day. We responded in kind. I have been to El Rodeo roughly five times since I discovered it (including twice in one week) and I don't plan on reducing this frequency anytime. It is relatively no-frills, as you might expect from a small place offering a $3.99 deal, but what it lacks in air conditioning and indoor seating it makes up for in the quality and quantity of the ingredients, as well as the diversity of the condiments.
The prices are extremely reasonable- a burrito the size of Danny's should really cost more than $5.25, but let's be grateful El Rodeo hasn't figured that out yet. With excellent prices, portions that are far more than generous, and a diverse array of sauces, accompaniments and flavors, El Rodeo is truly a hidden treasure. In San Diego, restaurants like these are hidden in plain sight.
by Rafael Gaitan
