Fresca's Mexican Grill - Review #1

Fresca's Mexican Grill
22681 Lake Forest Dr
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 837-8397

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Entree: Ranchero Burrito
Drink: Watermelon Aguas Fresca
Dessert: Flan

UPDATE: This location has closed down.

Fresca's is another place I used to make fairly regular jaunts to from one of my old places of employment. As far as unique identity goes they don't have much. They even have possibly the most generic name of all the fresh Mex grills since when you translate their name all the way into English it is simply, "Fresh Mexican Grill." The food is at least serviceable and they have a big salsa bar (one salsa is called "Japonesa") and your food is made quickly and you can see it being made. And this visit is the first time I was aware of them having aguas frescas. I don't know if the flavors change but today they had cantalope, horchata, and watermelon. I ordered the watermelon and it tasted a little mass-produced but not bad and I'm trying to cut down on soda consumption so it did the trick.

Mile-long Salsa Bar

Special of the day, the Ranchero Burrito

Not too inspiring but not as mundane as you think they might be, Fresca's Mexican Grill earns a three and a half Speedy Gonzales rating:

El Torito Monthly Specials

Figured that every time I get a mailer for El Torito's monthly specials I would point out here what those specials are whether or not I make it there myself. The mailer I got today mentions a Sonora-style Quesadilla Platter and an Enchilada Azteca. Both look good and if I can make it there while these specials run I'll post some pictures.

Rubio's

Just a quick mention that Rubio's new featured item is their blackened Mahi Mahi tacos. Had one as part of a fish taco combo the other day for lunch:

Agave, RIP?

Just started getting wind that Agave Mexican Grill and Cantina in Rancho Santa Margarita has closed. If anyone has more information on this please leave a comment. UPDATE: It has been confirmed that Agave Mexican Grill has closed down and is now an El Torito Grill.

UPDATE (March 12, 2008): Click HERE to read our new entry on the El Torito Grill in RSM.

Taleo Alternate Take

In Wednesday's online version and Thursday's print version of the OC Register, Elizabeth Evans reviews Taleo Mexican Grill. The photo section shows a picture of the Hawaiian Ono dish that appears as a daily special from time to time and that I've ordered twice before just to get pictures of it but those pictures never turned out. Elizabeth recommends the carnitas as an entree selection, not surprisingly as they do have the best carnitas around. Steering away from Gustavo Arellano's recommendation of Taleo's flan Elizabeth recommends the Pastel de Tres Leches dessert. Having tried all four of their desserts I would say, "Pick any one and you will like it."

Our own review of Taleo is the longest review ever posted here at this blog. It took three visits to cover it and there are still items on the menu I want to try.

• Taleo Mexican Grill Deluxe Review
• Taleo Double Take
• Taleo Alternate Take
• Taleo Coupon

Souplantation

Went to Souplantation last night and they had a really good Mexican soup there called Albondigas Locas; lots of meatballs, corn, celery, rice, etc., in a full-flavored broth. I don't think they have it all the time but you can always check ahead by looking at their website which gives complete menu information for every location every day (and has a very similar color scheme to this blog). That's an incredibly useful feature. I wish all restaurants' websites were this handy.

Churro Cart at the Irvine Spectrum

When I first started this blog I was aware of the churro cart that parks frequently in front of the steps that lead to the Edwards Theater at the Irvine Spectrum and thought, "Wouldn't it be funny if I even reviewed churro carts?" Then I brushed the idea off as being way too silly . . . until I recently found out that they don't just have churros there, they also have different flavored churros. Finally tried one today, the raspberry variety and it almost made me miss the shuttle back to my work but it was worth it. They heated it up right there, then rolled it in a cinnamon/sugar mixture and even cut it in half so I could share it with co-workers, a perfect, compact, portable dessert item. They have another cart run by the same people over near the Ferris wheel at the Spectrum. The girl running the cart today said they are mostly just there on the weekends and I guess randomly throughout the week.

Flavors:

• Original
• Raspberry
• Apple
• Bavarian Custard
• Caramel

I don't know how to evaluate a churro cart, but it's the best one I know of. Only strike against them is that when they leave their cart they should post a note informing customers when they expect to return. That docks them half of a Speedy Gonzales, but they still earn a very respectable four and a half Speedy Gonzales rating:

Mexican Desserts

OC Weekly's Gustavo Arellano has enlightened Orange County once again, this time with a list of his 34 favorite dessert spots around town. The desserts featured are all of different ethnicities, several of which are Mexican. Look for Taleo, Taco Rosa, and Anita's on the list, and more. Just reading about those popsicles at La Nueva Reyna de Michoacán gets my mouth watering.

Los Sanchez Re-opens

Have just been informed that long time Garden Grove Mexican restaurant Los Sanchez has re-opened today. Its new location is on Garden Grove Blvd. (south side of the street) just west of Harbor Blvd. between the little streets of West and Rockinghorse. Expect a formal review of their new location soon.

UPDATE (August 21, 2006): It looks like they have also just opened a new official website for the first time . . . or maybe it's been there for a while and I just wasn't aware of it but I think it's new.

El Pollo Loco Quick Stop

Made a quick stop by El Pollo Loco tonight, mainly to cash in my coupon for a free piece of their limited time-only Tequila Lime Chicken. This is a new flavor only available until September 3rd, at which time it will likely be replaced with another new flavor. Experienced a letdown when I found out I could no longer order a black bean burrito so I reluctantly ordered a BRC Burrito instead. At least I was still able to get their excellent Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Tacos Acapulco - Review #1 (Photo Super Post)

Date of Visit: August 5, 2006

Tacos Acapulco
1535 S Standard Ave
Santa Ana, CA 92707
(714) 836-0106

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No known official website, although tacosacapulco.com may be it, but it doesn't mention this location.

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Tacos Acapulco is one of the places I had in mind when I started this blog. Just seeing it made me want to keep, and also share, a photo record of all the exotic-looking Mexican restaurants I had been frequenting. As you can see, at Tacos Acapulco they even paint the wall surrounding their parking lot. Maybe this is how Wyland got his inspiration.

They even have food there:

Asada, pollo, and al pastor tacos

Tacos Acapulco earns a four Speedy Gonzales rating:

Quick Update

It may look like I have neglected this site but I've actually been doing plenty behind-the-scenes work on new restaurants, places I've already reviewed, and more. There's lots of good stuff on the way. For those interested in Los Sanchez in Garden Grove you would do well to check out my update on them at the bottom of my original review. Also, if you have ever made a recommendation to me at any time and I still haven't gone to that restaurant yet I just want to mention that I have saved all of those recommendations and will eventually get to them, even if it's from six months ago. And, yes, I am always open to guest reviews.

Baja Fish Tacos - Review #1

Date of Visit: August 3, 2006

Baja Fish Tacos
23020 Lake Forest Dr Ste 130
Laguna Hills, CA 92653
(949) 587-0920

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Appetizer: Chips and Salsa
Entree: Sampler Plate w/ Two Taquitos and a Taco
Drink: Guava Jarritos

Here's a place that was recommended to me quite a while back. I told the person who made the recommendation (Steve Johnson, who runs the Orange County Memories blog and the Junk Food Blog) that I liked Baja Fish Tacos and I was aiming to get back to it soon. I used to go to the one in Laguna Hills all the time when I worked at an office building right across the street and I've been to the one in Santa Ana once or twice and finally made it back (to the Laguna Hills location) in the seven months or so since starting this site.

Ed's Enchiladas

Due to their location they are hopping busy during weekday lunches but slow on the weeknights and weekends. Since my last visit they have expanded into an adjacent shop space and their lunchtime business is so heavy I could see them expanding again.

Just about the only downside I can think of to Baja Fish Tacos is that you have to pay for a side order of chips and salsa, $1.95, although I can't blame them too much with the amount of wasted salsa I see at some of these places.

My co-worker Ed loaded up on the enchilada platter while I tried their sampler platter (#4 on the menu). This is not an appetizer sampler platter, but two of your choice of beef or chicken taquitos (no mixing and matching) and one of your choice of taco. I opted for the shrimp taco as they make quite simply the best shrimp tacos I have ever tasted. Served on a warmed up flour tortilla with sauteed shrimp, cabbage, a special sauce, and cotija cheese these tacos are a bona fide guilty pleasure . . . or maybe not so guilty. It costs a little extra to upgrade your beef, chicken or fish taco to a shrimp one but it is well worth it. The shrimp taco can be a little drippy, and drippiness usually irks me, but in this case when the sauce drips out of the taco onto the rice on your plate it makes a perfect post-meal topping for all the chips you still have left over. I tried emulating these shrimp tacos at home one time and did a decent job of it.

Day of the Dead is Coming

From looking at the top of their beverage refrigerator it appears they are getting ready for El Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, the holiday in which Mexicans honor their loved ones who have passed on. Either that or the people at Baja Fish Tacos are just Oingo Boingo fans . . . or both.

Baja Fish Tacos earns a four Speedy Gonzales rating:

Kantina Official Site

See our previous report on Kantina for loads of photos and a link to their official site:

Kantina Photos and Menus

Carnitas La Villa - Review #1

Carnitas La Villa
3417 Newport Blvd
Newport Beach, CA 92663
(949) 723-4432

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Following up on a recommendation made to me by John S. I recently visited Carnitas La Villa on the Balboa Peninsula. Carnitas La Villa is across from the Pavilions shopping center just as you get to the bottom of the bridge that brings you on to the peninsula. Park in back or use on of the metered spots (free after 6pm). I also followed John's recommendation of what to eat there by ordering their carne asada platter (#14 on the menu).

Chips here are real chips. You make them yourself by chipping them off of a whole fried corn tortilla. They even have real bottles of Jarritos soda that you need a can opener for. No cheap twist-off caps here.

The carne asada really hit the spot; cooked just right with a thin crisp outer layer and tender on the inside, served with scoops of salsa and guacamole, fluffy Spanish rice, and refried beans that had just the right amount of cheese and weren't too pasty. The addition of some steamy hot handmade tortillas helped with the creation of some on the spot tacos with a little of everything. I noticed on their window outside they call themselves, "Mexican Fast Food." I wonder if that's a little demeaning because they are certainly better than that. They were fairly busy and I got the impression that many of the other customers were regulars who knew they could always stop by for some food. Thanks again to John for the recommendation.

Carnitas La Villa earns a four Speedy Gonzales rating:

Naugles, RIP

Our other Naugles entries:

Naugles, RIP
Petition to Del Taco: Bring Back Naugles!
Naugles Bun Taco at Del Taco
Del Taco Orange Shake Reboot
Buns & Torts: Naugles Lives On

Or CLICK HERE to read it all at once. UPDATE: Naugles Has Returned.

Here we get to pay tribute to another well-loved Orange County Mexican fast food phenomenon from yesteryear: Naugles. I first remember hearing about Naugles when I was 17 (at the location in Joshua Tree), although, looking back, I'm pretty sure I went at least a few times prior to that (including one in the south Orange County area for a steak & egg burrito). I went a bunch to the Fountain Valley spot during my senior year in high school. It was shortly afterwards that they were merged with Del Taco. After the merger all (or most of) the Naugles restaurants were co-branded as Del Taco/Naugles restaurants for about a year before eventually becoming only Del Tacos. (This explains why there are now two Del Tacos less than a mile apart from each other in Fountain Valley and two kitty-corner from each other in Lake Forest and two about a mile and a half apart in Huntington Beach.) I went to the Del Taco/Naugles on Gothard & Center a lot during a year at Goldenwest College. I don't remember a lot of details about the food except that I liked it and I liked the fact they had grape soda in addition to all the usual soda offerings. I haven't even been able to find associated imagery on the Internet but I remember their logo being their company name inside the outline of a sun icon. Please leave comments with your memories of Naugles.

Our other Naugles entries:

Petition to Del Taco: Bring Back Naugles!
Naugles Bun Taco at Del Taco
Del Taco Orange Shake Reboot
Buns & Torts: Naugles Lives On
Del Taco's Secret Naugles Menu

Or CLICK HERE to read it all at once. UPDATE: Naugles Has Returned.

While they are certainly not in Orange County anymore, the original Naugles remains open in Riverside County (listing at Yahoo! Local) and if the opportunity arises I'll make a trip out there and report on it here.

UPDATE (Oct. 10, 2007):

It appears that even the original Naugles may have closed down. If anybody has any information on this please leave a comment. (Further update [notated October 13, 2014]: the aforementioned listing may have been erroneous, possibly reporting the spot of a Naugles location from the 1980's.)

UPDATE (January 10, 2008):

CLICK HERE to read and sign our petition for Del Taco to bring Naugles food back.

UPDATE (August 27, 2008):

CLICK HERE to read about a Naugles item you can still get at Del Taco.

OR click on the 'naugles' label below to read all our Naugles coverage at once:

UPDATE (January 21, 2009):

Just found an image of an old Naugles sign on the Del Taco website and put it at the top of this entry. You can find a bigger version of this picture by going to the History section of the Del Taco site then clicking on "1980." If they just added this to their site I wonder if Del Taco is thinking of bringing back some Naugles products. The mere fact that they would mention Naugles on their site at all is a pretty big deal. The fact that they would say they "merged" with Naugles rather than saying they "bought out" Naugles is an even bigger deal.

UPDATE (September 29, 2009):

If you want to order yourself a Naugles-syle meal here's a few suggestions: order a bun taco (it's not on their menu but you can still ask for it), any "Macho" item such as a Macho Taco or Macho Nachos, and ask for a bean and cheese burrito with no beans plus sour cream to get something equivalent to Naugle's much-loved cheese burrito. Here's a pic of my own recent Naugles-style lunch from Del Taco:

Our other Naugles entries:

Petition to Del Taco: Bring Back Naugles!
Naugles Bun Taco at Del Taco
Del Taco Orange Shake Reboot
Buns & Torts: Naugles Lives On
Del Taco's Secret Naugles Menu

Or CLICK HERE to read it all at once. UPDATE: Naugles Has Returned.