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 Calexico Carne Asada

I should start this post out by admitting that this is a wildly biased review. The Vendly brothers asked me for some advice on setting up their operation over a year ago, and they're such awesome guys I've been totally rooting for these charming California boys ever since.

That said, their food is great, too. They keep their focus tight on the kind of California-Mexican food they grew up eating (Cal-exico, see?), and they really go above and beyond to make their offerings stand out from the crowd. Every dish has special touches, which means that even if you think you've seen it all in terms of Mexican-American cuisine, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Maybe you've had cabbage as a condiment in your tacos before (at least you have if you've been to Super Taco), but have you had red onions pickled with corriander seed?

The Carne Asada is the star of the show here, but all of the tacos are must-try. The stewed meats (chipotle pork and pollo verde) are particularly notable for the amount of care that goes into spicing them and braising them until they are perfectly tender. The Mexican corn, brushed with mayo, rolled in cheese, and dashed with cayenne, is good (and cheap at $2). The quesadillas and burritos are great, too, but personally, I rarely make it past the tacos. Everything comes with a generous amount of their excellent guacamole and none of the dishes are prepared spicy (but there is an excellent selection of salsas as spicy as anyone could want around the far side of the cart).

So, if you happen to be down in SOHO (say, at the Apple store, one block to the East), this is a no-brainer - you won't find anything half as good as Calexico, even if you spend twice as much. But I would say that it's worth making the trip down just to try the food. Then again, I'm biased.

Posted by Sam on December 18, 2006 03:23 AM

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