Hanging around Navy folk in my recent life, I know there
occasions they call “Dining In” and “Dining Out” that have various traditional
behaviors associated with them, some less savory (non-culinary sense) than
others. But, that doesn’t apply here.
During our stay in San Diego, we did both “out” and “in”, meaning we ate in
restaurants some times, and at home some times.
As it turned out our expeditions sort of fell into “local” and
“traditional” categories. So, in order
not to stun you with verbosity (however clever and entertaining), we’ll just
tackle them individually today for "local" one.
When planning our trip I was asked what cuisine we would enjoy while there, I told my friends that I would like “Mexican”, but not the normal
Tex-Mex taco/tortilla/burrito smothered in red stuff with smushy beans and
blown out rice, rather something “autentico”.
Being food enthusiasts themselves they researched a little and finally
settled (and tried) a little storefront, called Ranas (translation:
the Frog) which had fairly recently opened in a non – descript strip mall in nearby Spring Valley. We stopped by for lunch.
As you can see they feature Mexico City cuisine. The interior is plain but colorful and there are only a few tables (plus some outdoor seating hidden behind the car).
The owners make it a point to be “out front”, and they are the ones in the yellow shirts. They both are friendly and easy to talk to, and they stop by the tables regularly to check on you. There are obviously a lot of “regulars” as they knew many by name. Always a good sign. By the way, you notice St. Mary’s County doesn’t have the monopoly on ball caps in eating places.
Anyway the colorful menu offers plenty of choices (they are open for
all meals).
Although some familiar names appear there are some that were unfamiliar (at least to me). The “Huaraches” in the upper left are apparently a common dish in Mexico, and are made with a fried masa base with a variety of toppings. Of course you probably know that the name is borrowed from footwear of the same name, and indeed it takes that shape. I ordered one “Ranas” style which meant it was topped with Nopales, Carne Asada plus the other stuff…MFO tried a selection called Cochinita Pibil consisting of marinated pork strips in Annato Paste, with freshly squeezed orange juice. The owner lady cautioned that it contained Habaneras (despite having no little red peppers by the menu item) and would leave them off. Another Huaraches and an order of Chilaqueles completed our selections. The ubiquitous basket of chips and little cup of salsa was brought to the table, but the sauce was over my limit. We were checked on frequently, and in all fairness I have to report the phrase “ you guys” was used liberally. Of course any good food critic is bound to try a margarita in any situation such as this…
It was quite good and filled the void before the food
arrived.. led by my "sandal":
And MFO’s Pibil
And it being California, there are helpful signs in the parking lots to direct you to a local feature (hopefully pointing toward LA)
And so was our first “out” experience… more to come. And although I will never condone a worn ball
cap while eating, I suppose most other diners were acceptably
DFD
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