El Ranchero Factory Taco Shop
This is a new place, in El Cajon, in the same building Tijuana Taco Shop used to be in (and, coincidentally, they serve Tijuana style tacos).
They have been working on the building for the last month (I stopped by to check it out when the new sign went up) and they opened on Monday.
The menu is simple: tacos, burritos, soup & fruit flavored drinks (raspados).
For the tacos, burritos, etc, you have a choice of pot roast (barbacoa), fish, shrimp, carne asada and cabeza (head meat, which they refer to as cheeks).
There are the usual side dishes such as beans and rice, they have a full salsa bar and the other items you'd expect, such as brand name sodas and beer.
For my visit, I had the carne asada taco, a shrimp taco and a Coke (in the can).
The carne asada was a little too well done for me (or maybe old), the cilantro was too dominant and it was too spicy from the sauce they added in the kitchen (the guy who took my order said it was mild).
The shrimp may have been past their prime and the salsa was also too spicy.
They tossed me a side of fresh, hot rice as well.
The total was $8.77, a bit too pricey for a couple of tacos and a Coke and I now see I was charged for a second shrimp taco, which I did not get.
The carne asada taco is $2.25 on the menu board, the shrimp taco is $2.50 and the Coke was only 85 cents...
Parking is tight, there are 6 stools at the counter, 4 four top tables and one 4 seat booth, I was their only customer and it was already after 11:00 AM.
They have several other locations (2 in Chula Vista and 1 in San Diego) but apparently there is no web site.
UPDATE: 9 January 2008
The wife and I dropped by for lunch today and my opinion has changed for the better. Without the hot sauce, everything was just about perfect.
I had a barbacoa taco and another shrimp taco. The wife had a carne asada taco and a fish taco. We both agree the barbacoa is probably their best.
Again, the carne asada was tough, meaning it may be overcooked or old.
And they set out free chips for their salsa bar and we thoroughly enjoyed both salsas (in moderation); a green chili verde style and the other salsa had a nice smoky flavor, even if both were a little to hot for me...
