Cafe Coyote is one of the many restaurants nestled into Old Town offering up flavorful Mexican food to locals and visitors for many years. As a San Diego native, I tend to avoid going into Old Town just so I don’t have to deal with tourists and crazy parking situations. I found myself in the area one afternoon with my friend, Laura, to catch a play over at the Cygnet Theater. After we finished watching the play, we wandered around the main drag on Old Town before finding a good spot to eat. We skipped the Old Town Mexican Cafe just because the line was long and headed over to Cafe Coyote to sit outdoors for some grub.
Our hostess tried to sit us inside at first, but we wanted to sit outdoors. It was such a nice day out and this place is HUGE so we figured we would wait the extra couple of minutes while they cleaned off a table so we could sit outside.
We sat near the ladies making the fresh tortillas and it made the place smell wonderful as we looked over the menu.
We got chips and salsa to munch on before our food. The chips tasted freshly made and had a good crunch without being too greasy. The salsa had a nice little kick, not too hot or too mild. It was a little chunky for me, so I mostly just dipped my chips into the juices.
I ended up getting the Vegetarian Combo Plate ($12.95) for my lunch. This came with (from left to right, clockwise): a guacamole toastada, black beans, a potato taco, and a cheese enchilada. My favorite was the guacamole toastada because it was simply smothered with guacamole on the bottom and topped off with lettuce and cheese. The potato taco was just okay; it wasn’t as good as I was hoping it to be. I felt like the potato could have been seasoned a bit more, but it was better than some potato tacos I have tried in the past. The cheese enchilada was good, too, though not really memorable. Pretty standard fare for what I got.
They were also running a special by offering up Dessert Tamales for after lunch (or dinner). I don’t remember exactly the flavor for these dessert tamales – mostly I remember it just tasted like sweet corn. It just had a touch of sweetness and no real filling inside, which was kind of a disappointment to me. I’ve tried dessert tamales from the farmer’s market as well with not good results. My expectations for them never seem to fit what I actually get. That said, these were just okay. Slightly sweet, a little dry, just average. Wouldn’t order them again but still glad that I tried them.
Cafe Coyote
2461 San Diego Avenue
San Diego, CA 92110
619-291-HOWL (4695)
I recently rediscovered Old Town again. It’s such a neat place and definitely more enjoyable on weekdays when there are less people. Been wanting to try some of the eateries and I think I’m going to head over to this place next time. Thanks for the post!
.-= Dennis´s last blog ..An Overdue Revisit To Lucky’s Breakfast =-.
Old Town is really lovely and I feel like I should go there more often, totally avoiding those weekends! Hope you enjoy it when you visit! Be sure to snag a seat outside 🙂