Rubalcava's

Rubalcava's 506 W. Chapman Ave. Placentia, CA 92870 (714) 524-0117 Listing at Zomato Listing at Great Taste Facebook Page

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(This is an "only-photos-first" post, done quickly to get photos up and a new entry on the blog, with the expectation that text may be added later. Guest reviews can also be added to this entry and each published one will be paid $10.)

Click here for the full flickr photo album (27 photos so far).

Esther's Taco House - Review #1

Esther's Taco House 2001 E Orangethorpe Ave Placentia, CA 92870 (714) 996-2397 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch Official Site

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Is anyone interested in a restaurant review at this restaurant review blog? My records show me that it's been over two months since I've posted my own review of a restaurant I haven't been to before. I actually do get out and try new places still but I've also had a lot of other things to post in the last couple months. This review is actually dedicated to the the professional blog commenter known as "Diamond Dog" who demands a lot from the blogs he reads and keeps all us bloggers on our toes, never allowing us to rest on our laurels and sink into apathy.

One of the things Diamond Dog likes to know about is where to find fresh-fried hard-shelled crispy tacos. It just so happens that faithful blog reader Eric H. invited me to meet his family at the Esther's Taco House in Yorba Linda specifically to try their hard-shelled tacos. My friends who live nearby and who have been mentioned here before, James & Lori & Thomas, also came along for the meal. It turns out I was the only one there who hadn't eaten at Esther's before.

Before we get to the tacos I'll point out that the albondigas soup was very flavorful, rich, sinus-clearing, and corn-y . . . in a good way.

The chips were a bit on the greasy side but as not much so as the really greasy chips they have at the Jalapeño's in Irvine with the salsa definitely on the chunky side.

That's my carnitas enchilada with rice and beans above. The food here is very standard, neighborhood-joint-type Mexican food, but, hey, they snazzed things up a little with a pepper on the rice and a tortilla chip in the beans.

That must be Lori's machaca. She always orders machaca. I learned recently that "machaca" originally meant "air-dried beef" but it has come to be known as "shredded beef with scrambled eggs."

And seen above is the taco I ordered a la carte, with its shell freshly fried, stuffed with oddly non-crumbly ground beef (how do they make it like that?), a truckload of fresh lettuce, a couple tomato slices, and mounds of grated cheese.

Nothing is too surprising at Esther's. Most of what they have on their menu is like what can be found elsewhere. If you are in the area it makes a good place to stop by for a bite. It does have Mexican family roots going back to at least 1957 so that's a good thing.

Eric's family gave Esther's a three and a half Speedy Gonzales rating out of five which is also the rating I had in mind:



Click here to see the complete album (13 photos) at .

Tlaquepaque, RIP

When running this blog I try to keep on top of things and be the master of the subject I've chosen to blog about but I find it's hard to even keep up with all the Mexican restaurant openings and closures. A few months ago I was in the old Placentia barrio off of Bradford and among many Mexican restaurants there I saw Tlaquepaque, which my friend James kept bugging me to go to, and made a mental note to try it sometime. Well, when I was back in Placentia earlier this month for their Tamale Fest I saw that Tlaquepaque had closed down. Now I'll never be able to try it. If anyone knows why they closed down, or, perhaps, if they might re-open, please leave a comment. Or leave a comment if you have any memories of this restaurant.

UPDATE (January 29, 2009):

This post at Nancy Luna's Fast Food Maven blog says that Tlaquepaque is going to reopen. So, that's a bit of good news. Will update more as more info comes in.

El Pollo Fino - Review #1

El Pollo Fino #2 714 W Chapman Ave Placentia, CA 92870 (714) 524-7300 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch Official Site

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I stopped in for lunch at El Pollo Fino in Placentia. This is their second location, the first being in Anaheim. They are located in the Bargain Basket Market shopping center just east of the 57 fwy. El Pollo Fino is the kind of place El Pollo Loco started as, years before it became the big chain it is today.

They split grill whole chickens in a similar manner until they have glistening crispy skins that crackle when you bite into them.

The resulting chicken has crispier skin than El Pollo Loco and it is also a little saltier. I ordered the 3 piece combo which runs $5.73. It comes with rice and your choice of refried or whole pinto beans on the side. As you can see, I opted for the whole beans. They were good if a bit bland. So I spiced them up with the house salsa. The salsa is a thin red fiery concoction that is closer to pepper sauce than salsa. It has a good kick to it. The rice was very good and tasted as if it was cooked in the broth from the chickens. You also get a grilled fresh chile and hot tortillas. I went with corn tortillas and used them to make tacos with the chicken. They were great dipped into the salsa but you don't need it. The chicken is plenty flavorful by itself.

The 3-piece combo is a good amount of food and left me full all afternoon.

Besides the chicken, they also serve a number of shrimp dishes, fajitas of shrimp, chicken or beef, birria, taco, burritos and menudo on the weekends. But most of the business in done in those chickens. They serve beer, soda and agua frescas for beverages.

One wall is decorated with a big mural of a fantasy Placentia of the past; a nice touch to make the room homey. They also have a jukebox filled with Mexican songs that one of the patrons seems to have going all the time. If you want to try the grass roots version of grilled Mexican chicken this is a good place to try. I give it 3 and ¾ Speedys:

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La Fondita - Review #1

Date of Visit: September 29, 2007

La Fondita 111 E Chapman Ave Placentia, CA 92870 (714) 528-3627 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch No known official website.

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La Fondita is a place I saw last year when covering another Mexican restaurant in Placentia. I made a mental note to myself to go and eat there sometime and a year and a half later I finally made it back. Of course, one of the things that caught my attention back when I first saw them is their very colorful storefront.

This visit was with my friend James and his son Thomas, who has a real love for corn chips. You may remember them from other reviews. Lori was out of state on a family emergency.

One thing I liked about their salsa bar is that they have watermelon slices in it, a fact I took advantage of several times. Why can't more salsa bars be like this one?

James ordered the Chicken "Guaca-Taco" Platter, which is probably what I'm going to get the next time I go. These are made with hand-made, somewhat thick corn tortillas, roasted chicken breast, fresh onions, cilantro, and guacamole.

I had ordered one chicken taco a la carte to go with my Caldo de Res (Beef soup), but my taco was lacking the guacamole, but it was still one of the best chicken tacos I've ever had.

My soup was in a hearty broth, with lots of cabbage, potatoes, onions, zucchini, and beef. Something to warm you up inside when the weather's cool outside.

Thomas Shrek

The papaya shake I ordered was easily the biggest milkshake I've ever had. Probably a half-gallon of frothy, "papayan" goodness.

The service was slow but the food was worth it when it finally came. I suspect they are not always this slow. For now La Fondita gets a tentative 3¾ Speedy Gonzales rating:

El Farolito - Review #1

Date of Visit: January 31, 2006

201 S Bradford Ave
Placentia, CA 92870

Listing on Yahoo! Local

Official Site

Appetizer: Free chips and salsa (rather spicy hot salsa)
Beverage: Lemonade
Entree: Chile relleno burrito

El Farolito opened in 1974 and is in sleepy downtown Placentia. So sleepy you can walk around right in the middle of the main streets and have no fears for your safety. A customer's comments on their Yahoo! Local listing says that the building El Farolito is in used to be a house.
When I saw that they had a chile relleno burrito on their menu I had to try it. Then when it arrived I wondered if the stem would be removed from it so that nobody would accidentally eat it when it's even more hidden than normal because of being inside the tortilla wrapping. Well, and I don't know how this happened, but the stem hadn't been removed and there were two additional loose chili stems inside. I figured it must be a sign of good luck so I made a secret wish. The chile relleno burrito turned out to pretty much be a chile relleno inside a flour tortilla with some refried beans thrown in for good measure and ranchero sauce all over it so I had to eat it with a fork and knife.

The Chile relleno burrito is camera shy

My brother ordered a two enchilada plate but had them substitute a chile relleno for one of the enchiladas. My friend's mother ordered a chile relleno a la carte and said it was the best chile relleno she's ever had. None of the three people (my friend James, his wife and his kid) on the other side of the table ordered anything that had to do with chile rellenos.
Their menu didn't mention postres so we just went to Foster's Freeze afterwards.

Overall, El Farolito earns a three Speedy Gonzales rating:

UPDATE (February 13, 2009):

Here are some pictures taken three years after the initial review:

Menudo

Taco Platter

Big Burrito

Camarones Empanisado