We hadn’t been back to Carnitas Uruapan in awhile. If you remember, I like calling this place Uhura (Star Trek, yo) instead because I kept forgetting how to say “Uruapan.” It pretty much still happens to this day. Sometimes I’ll just look at Jake and say “Uhuraaaaaaa!” and he’ll know what it is that I want. Ain’t that awesome?
I last wrote about Carintas Uruapan back in 2013 (thought we’ve been back many times) and I’m happy to see that the menu prices haven’t changed! Amazeballs.
[milanesa torta / $4.50]
T decided he had to have a torta this time. We hadn’t tried the tortas and it was actually pretty amazing. The bread was nice and fresh, toasted on the inside AND the outside (extra brownie points for that one). The ingredients were incredibly flavorful – the milanesa was tender and juicy and paired well with everything on the sandwich. It also had a spread of refried beans, fresh guacamole, lettuce and cheese. Excellent torta!
[al pastor burrito / $4.99]
Jake got his standby al pastor/adobada/pork filling with guacamole on the side. He cut it open and spilled it’s belly guts delicious pork innards out. The al pastor is incredibly tender and slightly sweet here. It’s not spicy at all which is why I like it more than at other places (which tend to make spicier al pastor). I was so happy to see there were onions and cilantro inside the burrito, too. It seems like a lot of places don’t add it to the burrito (or you have to ask for it). It makes the burrito much more flavorful in my opinion.
[carnitas rolled tacos combo plate / $6.99]
We also got a carnitas rolled taco plate so the boys could have the rice and beans and I could have rolled tacos. This is about one of the only places I know of that does carnitas rolled tacos instead of only shredded beef (which is also an option here). I’m sad to say the rolled tacos were a total miss this time around. They were not freshly made and tasted like they had been made a few hours ago and were just reheated. They were a bit soft and not as crunchy or as flavorful as other visits. Sad cakes.
[potato tacos / $2.99]
Luckily my absolute favorite item, my reason for going here, was still completely and 100% delicious: POTATO TACOS! These are still just as good as I remember them. They were fresh, hot, and had an excellent crunch on the outer taco shell. The mashed potatoes inside are well seasoned, creamy, and delightful. They come with sour cream, lettuce, tomato and cotija cheese and usually I just brush off all that damn lettuce. Get outta my way, crunchy watery lettuce! You’re getting in the way of my potato love!
Anyway. I dearly implore you to come visit Carnitas Uhura Uruapan. It’s cheap. It’s good. It’s fast. It’s delicious. It’s everything you want in a meal.
Carnitas Uruapan
4233 Spring Street
La Mesa, CA 91941
619-337-2448
I must go here.
Also, I never watched Star Trek (I blame my Brazilian-ness) but I loved watching the new Star Trek movies even though I felt like I was way behind everyone/didn’t get any of the references. I still remember the second Benedict Cumberbatch was like “My name is Khan” and everyone in the theater gasped…And 30 minutes later I was like ohhhhh that’s a bad guy!!!! Haha. Still really fun to watch.
Yes. You must! I insist! 🙂 Hahah… funny about the Star Trek movie! I was actually much more into Next Generation than the original, but I do love the rebooted movies.
I love that, not only do you call this place Uhura, but you look at Jake and say it, too! LOL! Awesome couple. 😀
POTATO TACOS! Minus the lettuce, too! I hate lettuce with an irrational, fiery passion, but those tater tacos look damn fine. That guac looks sooooo delicious.
Heehee, thanks, Lauren! We’re nerdy like that 🙂 Though I am both into Star Wars and Star Trek, he’s much more into Star Wars. But he respects Star Trek. Hellz yeah!
Hahah… I don’t really enjoy lettuce on my Mexican food but I do enjoy it in salads! Sometimes I just feel it gets in the way. I don’t want it all over my tacos! Jake will eat all of the lettuce because he’s a crazy lettuce fiend. Go figure.
Oh that torta looks scrumptious right about now. I hate reading blogs in mornings when I’m starving b/c now I’ll be thinking about finding a torta to eat all day. Thanks dude. Do you think they make their own bread? I like how firm you are with your potato tacos. Like, it’s not 96.2% delicious or 97.4% delicious. It’s 100% Delicious. I’m going to have to use that one next time when I eat something amazing!
Hi Faye – Oh man, I always do the same thing. Read about food before lunch. It’s so killer! Hmm, I don’t know if they make their own bread. They seem to make a lot of other things on site so it wouldn’t surprise me, but I can’t say for sure. 100% delicious! Yesssss. Maybe that’ll be my new rating system. Hah.
ooh potato tacos sound interesting! i will have to check it out if we visit our friend in la mesa. relating to faye’s comment, i’m always talking to my coworker close to 5pm at work and it makes him so HUNGRY! haha so funny but i just like talking about food =P
Some places have crappy, unseasoned potato tacos so you have to watch out for those suckers. The ones here are my favorite ones so far! Haha, yeah, I talk about food with my co-workers, too. I like talking about food, too…. obviously 🙂
Bert is a Star Trek fan (both original and TNG); I would totally call this place Uhura as well! One of my college classmates was a beautiful African American girl named Nichelle, who was named after Nichelle Nichols, the actress who played Uhura.
I love al pastor and adobada so this is a place I definitely have to visit with Bert (sad face for TC since she went, mostly, vegetarian).
Hi CC! Uhura is a better name if you ask me, haha! Nichelle is a great name! Big trekkie fans, huh? TC could try those potato tacos! Man, they are so good. The al pastor is good here as well. On the weekends in the evening (after 5pm) they do 99 cents mini tacos with the pork which is a great way to try them without committing to a whole burrito.
CU is always a favorite, with the potato tacos being my most favorite Friday /Lent food. The 1/2 lb chicharrones are pretty much always ordered “to go” at every visit. It’s too small to also have ovens…they have the tortillas and torta bread delivered daily.
Hi Cathy – Good point about the size/ovens. I didn’t think about that! Makes a ton of sense. Wherever they get their bread from is good stuff. I should ask next time I’m in, maybe it’s from a local panaderia that we can visit.