nibot ([personal profile] nibot) wrote2004-07-28 10:27 pm

life in san diego II: el portal

Just around the corner from here is a fast food Mexican restaurant called El Portal. It is divine. I rarely stray from Combo #3, "Two carne asada tacos, beans, rice, and a side of corn cake":

[Combo #3 from El Portal]

The beverage on the left (sort of invisible) is horchata. yum! The paper bag in the upper left is corn chips.

That doesn't quite do it justice. Let's zoom in a bit.

[Combo #3 from El Portal - detail]

mmmm.. good.

Just for kicks, let's compare this to the CERN Standard Breakfast from last summer:

And sometimes we splurged:

I wish I had a picture of the Dinner of Champions. Right now you can only read about it in the Camp CERN Manifesto.

(deleted comment)

[identity profile] nibot.livejournal.com 2004-07-28 10:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Corner of Genessee and Mt. Alifan

[identity profile] nibot.livejournal.com 2004-07-28 10:33 pm (UTC)(link)
And El Cotixan's, just a block away, is open all night!

I think El Portal's food is yummier, though.

[identity profile] ragnus.livejournal.com 2004-07-28 10:33 pm (UTC)(link)
mmm i'm hungry

[identity profile] trashmonster.livejournal.com 2004-07-28 10:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Seriously, there are very few things I miss about San Diego in general (I miss certain things like people and moments), but Mexican food is definitely one of them. I say that I come home for the beach and mexican food. SD in two and a half weeks!

[identity profile] fanlain.livejournal.com 2004-07-28 11:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmm I never had horchata (http://www.xmission.com/~dderhak/recipe/horchc.htm) - is it anywhere close to thai ice tea in taste? or more like ice milk? i might be going to san diego with [livejournal.com profile] hukuma in august so maybe i'll try to find some.

[identity profile] nibot.livejournal.com 2004-07-28 11:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmm. I've never heard of this Chufa Nut stuff.. but Mexican horchata is made from rice, and maybe some cinammon. I don't think it's too much like iced tea at all... but it's yummy! the stuff that comes from soda drink dispensers (like at El Portal) is much too sweet... usually they ladle it out of a big glass jar. You can get horchata at La Burrita in Berkeley too.

[identity profile] monsterbunny.livejournal.com 2004-07-28 11:20 pm (UTC)(link)
goodness that is too delicious looking!!!!

it makes me want to eat meat again ::drool::

[identity profile] codetoad.livejournal.com 2004-07-29 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
I saw that icon and I thought "hey, that's like kozyanddan or something." Turns out YOU ARE ANNIE. Is that your new journal?

[identity profile] monsterbunny.livejournal.com 2004-07-29 05:30 pm (UTC)(link)
technically its supposed to be tom and annie but it is mainly i who uses it (that sounds weird)

ps. kozyndan totally rocks!

[identity profile] quirkyfemme.livejournal.com 2004-07-29 02:52 am (UTC)(link)
European food is so expensive and tiny!
I miss mexican food because I know I cant get a proper enchilada or tamale in this country.

[identity profile] heike.livejournal.com 2004-07-29 03:15 pm (UTC)(link)
But, but...the bakeries have so many wonderful things in them you can find so rarely in the US. And it makes for a super cheap lunch!
Mmmmm bakery.
And matjes. I think Nordsee needs to open some franchises in the US. Now there's one fastfood chain I'd frequent.
And my husband would like the cheap beer, and would like to pay less for his Emmentaler and Jarlsberg as well.
(heh heh, yes, I even have my American husband eating imported cheese and drinking German beer now.)

[identity profile] quirkyfemme.livejournal.com 2004-07-29 03:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah if I were rich, id fly my food from all over the world.

[identity profile] nibot.livejournal.com 2004-07-30 01:30 am (UTC)(link)
Isn't "Nordsee" all over the East Coast?