Ortiz’s Taco Shop
3704 Voltaire
San Diego, CA 92107
619-222-4476
By Judi Curry
Interim Mayor Todd Gloria has promised to send authentic Mexican food to Denver Mayor Michael Hancock in the event that the Chargers lose the game this Sunday. As an aficionado of such cuisine, I was amazed to see the three restaurants Gloria selected: Ortiz’s Taco Shop in Point Loma, Lolita’s Taco Shop in Kearny Mesa and Mama Testa Taqueria in Hillcrest.
So I called two of my friends – Ro and Irene – and asked them if they would like to join me in reviewing these three restaurants – one at a time, of course.
Gloria selected Ortiz’s Taco shop for California burritos so we decided that would be the first place we reviewed. I “shop” in the small strip mall where it is located on Voltaire Street on a weekly basis. There’s the Pt. Loma Bagel shop, the Doughnut Shop on the corner, Pure Thai — which I recently reviewed — a pet store, and a tattoo parlor right with a handicapped parking space right out front. That pretty much sums up this shopping area.
The U-T described the California burritos as “ … a uniquely San Diego food filled with carne asada, cheese, salsa, guacamole and the magic ingredient: French fries.”
Since there were three of us, we decided to order other items so we could make comparisons. We started out with an order of pico de gallo and chips, but when Ro asked if we could have them before our meal we were told that the chips were not made until the order went through and it would be served at the same time as the order. She also ordered the carne asada fries and a bottle of Arrowhead water. Her total came to $11.25.
Irene decided that she wanted to have fish tacos and asked what kind of fish was used. She was told that “ . . . it is whatever box is opened because we don’t make them here.” One might be Pollack and the other might be Cod. She elected not to have the fish tacos and instead ordered the California Burrito and a can of Sprite. Her total was $7.25.
I had already decided to try th
e California burrito and horchata to drink. My total was the same as Irene’s.
As I try to do with all of the reviews, I waited until both Ro and Irene told me what they thought of their meals. I can sum them up quickly because they both said the same thing – it might be good for gringos, but people that like Mexican food will be disappointed. From the pico de gallo, there was little, if any, Mexican flavor to both the California burrito and the carne asada fries. Even liberal usage of the salsa being sprinkled on the food did not do much for the flavor. It is interesting to note that the green salsa – the mild one – was served in a large yellow squirt bottle similar to a bottle of mustard, while the hotter salsa was served in a red container like ketchup.
When it was my turn to try my California burrito I had to agree with my two friends. If I had been blind-folded and asked to guess what ethnic group the food belonged to I would be hard pressed to state Mexican. There was nothing Mexican tasting about any of what we had ordered. The best part of our meal was the chips, and they were crispy and good.
With all of the excellent Mexican restaurants in town, I am amazed that Gloria picked this one to “show off” our cuisine. With restaurants like 
Las Cuatro Milpas, El Indio, Carnitas Snack Shack and the vegetarian Rancho’s, I wonder where he grew up eating Mexican food! The only explanation I can come up with is that this is the “booby prize” – after all, having to send it means we lost the game, and he may want to discourage others from coming here to eat Mexican food.
I have two-thirds of a California burrito in my refrigerator, Mr. Mayor. You’re welcome to send it to Colorado – it’ll save you some money.
Judi Curry
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I love, love, love Mama Testa’s Chorizo Tacos–not for the faint of heart!
Another instance where the “mayor”, Todd Gloria, has no clue as to what he is doing and why or how and does a lousy job as a poser. Maybe he could have asked an actual person of Mexican descent for a clue. There are plenty of real Mexican restaurants in San Diego and La Posta on Washington Street comes to mind. Fast food yes but always authentic and good. Too bad we still have to suffer Gloria as someone who is supposed to be representing all of us. District 3 will be way better off without this ego maniac trying to be more than he actually will ever be.
For clarification, my bill was actually $11.79. There was no price listed for the carne asada fries, so I can’t figure out why mine was so much more expensive than Judi and Irene’s meals were.
El Cuervo Taco Shop in Hillcrest. Everything cooked to order and prepared as if grandmother was in the kitchen.
Go. Now. Eat.
Going to try it this week, Michael! Thanks.
The Veggie Burrito ROCKS!!!
The Carnitas Burrito and the Pibil Burrito are both excellent too.
Have fun.
I once ordered the carne asada burrito at Ortiz’ Taco Shop based on the recommendation of a neighbor; I was disappointed. The carne asada was overcooked and dry.
Todd Gloria would have done much better to suggest Cotija’s, same block but facing the Stump’s Market parking lot. They make their own enchilada sauce which is reasonably picante and the chile relleno I’ve now ordered twice is the only chile relleno I’ve had in California that is quite spicy as well as not overwhelmed with a primarily whipped egg white batter; instead, it’s fairly firm though not as firm as my favorite rellenos that I used to eat in Albuquerque. I’ve also enjoyed the rolled chicken tacos many times – there’s actually perceptible chicken in them and served with very generous quantities of cheese & guacamole.
I also like Don Tommy’s, in the middle of the 4100 block of Voltaire across from Cabrillo Vet Hospital and Nati’s at 1852 Bacon Street, just a couple of blocks south of Newport Ave.