South Bay Food Crawl

Recently Jake and I went on a fun little food crawl down in the South Bay with CC from Pink Candles at Ridgemont High and Lynn from Oh-So Yummy! CC graciously planned the whole ordeal and even drove us around because she’s cool like that. We did a South Bay Food Crawl back with CC in 2014!! 

Aqui Es Texcoco

Our first stop was at Aqui Es Texcoco. They are famous for their lamb barbacoa. 

We got one lamb taco and one cabeza (head) taco to share. I’ve had the lamb before and I like it, though CC and Jake declined since they don’t care for lamb. 

I’ve never had cabeza before and I was surprised at how tender it was (taco on the left)! I think the idea of eating head meat has always turned me off from ordering it (I mean… come on, it sounds really weird, right?) but I found it to be incredibly delicious and …. I would even order it again! I liked it that much! It packed so much flavor and tenderness so I was happy to find something new to try. 

The lamb is also quite good, very moist and tender, though not the same level of flavor as the cabeza. But I like it! 

We also shared a squash blossom quesadilla. I like squash blossoms when they’re stuffed with cheese, and this has cheese and squash blossom together, but I found the flavor was a little too… I don’t know… earthy for me on this one. 

Under all of that lettuce are some potato rolled tacos. They were yummy. 

Aqui Es Texcoco
1043 Broadway, Chula Vista, CA 91911

This was CC’s South Bay Crawl itinerary with plans A, B, and C because she is extra prepared for possibilities. 

After a meaty taco breakfast, we were planning on going to Mexipino but there was a crowd, so we skipped it and instead stopped at a little market.

Otay Farms Market & Mexican Food

We just came in here to poke around. They had freshly made tortillas (still hot in the bag) ready and waiting.

Tortilla prices. 

Pan Dulce! 

I didn’t buy anything at the market. Just fun to browse!

Otay Farms Market & Mexican Food
1716 Broadway, Chula Vista, CA 91911

Tamales Ancira

Our next stop was just down the road at Tamales Ancira.

It’s been awhile since Jake and I visited here! If ever want to try one of their Gorditas, you have to go during the week, they don’t make them on the weekends. The tamales here are great – I even bought half a dozen to take home. 

1 hot tamale is $2.15. When I first visited Tamales Ancira back in 2015, they were $1.99, so not a big price change. The price was also $2.15 last year when I went for a gordita. 

We got four different flavors to try.

We got one pork, one beef, one picadillo, and one beans & cheese. The picadillo was my favorite that day – it’s kind of like a beef stew filling with chunks of carrots and peas mixed in with some beef instead the soft, tender masa. That’s the tamale flavor I choose to take home in frozen form. 

Tamales Ancira
2260 Main Street, Chula Vista, CA 91911

Trident Coffee

We moved down towards Imperial Beach after eating the tamales and made a stop for some cold brew coffee at Trident Coffee. 

They have a bunch of different flavors of coffee available! 

CC let me pick the flavors since it was my first time here and Lynn and Jake aren’t really into drinking coffee. We shared a flight of cold brew for $4. The cold brew comes out in little sample cups with a California shaped holder! 

CC had tiny shot glasses so we could pour a little bit in to sample each flavor. We got Rising Tide, Ambrotos…

Freedom of the Seas and Anchors Aweigh. I loved the names of the cold brews! Lynn and I had the same favorite cold brew – the Rising Tide – which was the lightest tasting cold brew of the bunch. I remember it had a nice smooth flavor that I enjoyed. 

Jake and I shared a couple of treats they had in the cold case at Trident Coffee. I’ve seen these at my local Sprouts Market. 

The Meyer lemon cup was really yummy! It had a good punch of lemon flavor. I didn’t like the chocolate chip cookie dough treats as much but I’d get the lemon cups again.

Trident Coffee 
536 13th Street, Imperial Beach, CA 91932

Deb’s Cookie Jar

Our next stop was to pick up some cookies from Deb’s Cookie Jar. CC had an Entertainment Book coupon to use and we split a dozen cookies. 

Jake and I shared a stack of four cookies (which we enjoyed later that evening). I got (from top to bottom): Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Snickerdoodle, Peanut Butter, and Butter Walnut. 

The butter walnut was actually my favorite of the bunch! It was packed full of tiny walnut bits and had a nice buttery flavor and a good crunch on the edges. Also it was HUGE! Probably the biggest cookie of the pack (and why it’s on the bottom holding up the rest of the stack). 

Deb’s Cookie Jar
1002 Palm Avenue, Imperial Beach, CA 91932

Stardust Donuts

Ahh Stardust Donuts. They totally have regular hours now, which is so nice.

The donuts here are simply and not frilly at all. 

Jake got an Old Fashioned donut and let me have a bite. It was very sweet but quite tender. A little too sweet for me these days, but still an enjoyable treat to share. I would need some cold brew to have another bite. 

Stardust Donuts
698 CA-75, Imperial Beach, CA 91932

TJ Tortas & Tacos

We drove by TJ Tortas and Tacos on our way somewhere else, and decided to stop in. CC said it was new! We like new things. 

We shared an adobada taco. Good amount of guac, which I love. 

And the Oxacquena Torta which came with chicken breast, chile poblano, oaxaca cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. I dug the fresh, melted stringy cheese paired with the tender chicken breast on a tasty torta roll. 

Fish taco. The fish was incredibly small so it was hard sharing this one. It was okay.

And…. here’s a taco I don’t remember. Sorry. 

Jake told me later he wasn’t really digging the tacos here. I liked the torta myself. It wasn’t a standout place for us, but it’s always fun trying out different taco shops!

TJ Tortas & Tacos
1850 Coronado Ave, San Diego, CA 92154

Oasis Ice Cream Parlor

Our final stop of the South Bay Food Crawl was at Oasis Ice Cream Parlor. They have amazing paletas there (ice cream bars either fruit or dairy based) and we each got one (well, minus Jake, he was already full and isn’t much of a dessert person like me). 

From left to right… pistachio (mine), banana dip (Lynn’s), and watermelon (CC). 

I loved how creamy the pistachio was and there were bits of pistachio mixed in to give it some nice texture. The fruit paletas are $1.65, the creamy dairy ones like mine are $1.75, and if you’re feeling fancy like Lynn was, the chocolate dipped one is $3. 

When I was about halfway done with my paleta, it fell off the stick. That made me a little sad but I was full already so it was probably for the best, really. 

It was great fun hanging out with CC and Lynn for a morning and trying tons of food with other food loving people! Thanks to CC for organizing everything!

Head over to read Lynn’s recap over on her blog!

CC has her recaps up as well. Check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of the Food Crawl!