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Friday, June 08, 2007

Tortilla Flats - Review #1 (Photo Super Post)

Date of Visit: May 31, 2007
Tortilla Flats
27792 Vista Del Lago
Mission Viejo, CA 92692
(949) 830-9980

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Tortilla Flats - Exterior Shot #1


Tortilla Flats - Exterior Shot #2

(UPDATE: Tortilla Flats has closed. It apparently has been taken over by a restaurant called "Lagos.") On the shore of man-made Lake Mission Viejo sits an enormous Spanish hacienda known as the Mexican restaurant Tortilla Flats, the restaurant which claims to have invented Taco Tuesday (do we have any contenders?) in 1976. Their official site gives not only the history of Taco Tuesday but of tacos themselves. A lazy Thursday afternoon allowed me recently to head down south and finally give this place a try (they are frequently featured in OC Menus, a supplement to OC Metro). With such a picturesque setting you are going to want to sit outside to take it all in and watch the boats go by as you eat. I even saw somebody fishing while I was eating.

(For some reason there's been a rash of people searching for "tortilla flats laguna beach" recently. Tortilla Flats is in Mission Viejo, not Laguna Beach.)

Tortilla Flats -


Tortilla Flats - Chips and Salsa

From their extensive seafood selections I ordered the Camarones Azteca, "Sweet shrimp sauteed with yellow and red bell peppers, garlic, capers, parsley, butter, lemon and white wine. Garnished with quesadilla wedges and mole sauce. Served with sautéed vegetables and arroz." The plump, firm shrimp interacted well with the variety of vegetables and the mole-topped quesadillas really satisfied the taste buds. A minor complaint is that there was a too much drippage on the plate from some of the ingredients which made the quesadilla wedges a little soggy.

Tortilla Flats - Camarones Azteca
Camarones Azteca

I topped the lunch of with some of their flan, which was pretty light. Good for when you already nearing a full stomach:

Tortilla Flats - Flan

Tortilla Flats earns a four Speedy Gonzales rating:

Speedy Gonzales Speedy Gonzales Speedy Gonzales Speedy Gonzales

UPDATE:

One of the Tortilla Flats managers has written in with some clarifications for this piece (which is great because we always want accurate information here):

As far as facts go, we absolutely did invent Taco Tuesday, we have a trademark on it! As far as inventing the taco, the story merely states that tacos were "born" in the US at the Arizona Zerape Café (owned by our founders Aunt and Uncle). This refers to the first recognizable menu which served tacos in the early days of the Wild West. Although the Mexican-American community always ate tacos, this style of taco was introduced by the original family members of the founders of Tortilla Flats. The Delahantry's legacy in Arizona was famous in the Tucson community especially for providing the Mexican singers and dancers of the time with authentic Sonoran style cuisine (including our special deep-fried taco style) which was readily gobbled up by the locals at the time yearning for the "real stuff." Later they moved to California and their nephew (I believe) Eduardo Hernandez founded the Original Tortilla Flats in Laguna Beach in 1947 (our logo says "Established 1949" - because this is when Eduardo became an official American citizen).

Here's some extra photos of the premises:

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11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does Barris Jahn eat tacos here?

ChristianZ said...

Who's Barris Jahn? Is it you?

Anonymous said...

Dear Christian Z, Barris Jahn does not eat at your restaurant to my knowledge.

-R.F.

ChristianZ said...

I don't have a restaurant and who is Barris Jahn?

Anonymous said...

To: Christian Z, Barris Jahn is a professional guitarist who has played with many groups/bands. The IMDB said he worked on two films. He is mostly known by an inner circle in Hollywood and he has not been heard of for some time now.
-Nigel D.

ChristianZ said...

Thanks for the info.

Larry P. said...

The tacos are ok, but the view is priceless.

AlexMurashko said...

Taco Tuesday in Laguna Beach was legendary. The huge crowd at the establisment would then begin shifting to the Sandpiper (a block and a half away) for Reggae Night.

Anonymous said...

Alex, you are right. Taco Tuesday on the Catalina Bar, 2nd floor of Tortilla Flats, Laguna Beach, was the place to go. And then to the Sandpiper.
Those were the good times. I hope the Levinsons are doing fine.

Anna Moreno said...

Wow! This brought back some memories of working for the Levinsons in Mission Viejo as a Bookkeeper and famous Taco Tuesday Server and a couple times at Laguna Beach where Bette Midler would stop by and say hello, she was always so bright and cheerful with her little pooch by her side.
Working Taco Tuesdays was the BEST experience where you could make bank in a night. Great people, fun atmosphere and the staff was always so fun to work with. (1995-1997) great memories.

Anonymous said...

1996-1997 -BEST place to work, play, eat - - Book keeper & Taco Tuesday Server. Working with Steven & Ellen Levinson was always special.. she was a true boss lady! Hope they are doing well - thanks for the trip down memory lane!