Taco Mesa Going to a New Level

COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA - May 23, 2011

TACO MESA Healthy and Authentic debuts 20th Anniversary Menu and gears up for a year of celebration!

The new 20th Anniversary Menu features changes and updates that enhance their original intention and highlight their consistent commitment to outstanding quality coupled with an unbeatable value to their consumer. Founder Ivan Calderon is proud to announce a year of celebration at Taco Mesa.

"Staying true to our philosophy of Healthy & Authentic we've developed a new menu with the help of our executive chef, Javier Zambrano which truly reflects our original intention. Ingredients that are organic, wild caught fish, and natural chicken and beef (free of steroids, hormones and antibiotics) as well as identifying gluten free options within our menu. We use recipes that have been passed down from our ancestors, the Mayan, Aztec and Spanish ~ fused with contemporary technique and innovation. We prepare food in small batches daily to assure quality and freshness."

Taco Mesa has an ongoing committed to a 'green' environmental approach and is excited to embrace the new areas of opportunity to create an ecologically mindful dining experience which carries through to the back of the house. Changes and updates are in process and will be part of the year of celebration at all Taco Mesa locations. "It's a time of positive energy and appreciation for the past 20 years of growing our family business in Orange County. Our true partnership has been with the community and we feel deep gratitude for the steadfast support we have received throughout the last 20 years. We remain faithful to our original vision, commitment and to our community."

Ivan Calderon has continued to step beyond his role as restaurateur throughout the last 20 years, maintaining a standard of excellence in business as well as a gracious and generous spirit of giving and community involvement.

Est 1991

Taco Mesa originally opened on 19th Street in Costa Mesa, CA and still remains a local favorite at this original location. Since opening in 1991, Taco Mesa has grown to have 4 locations throughout Orange County: Costa Mesa, Mission Viejo, Ladera Ranch and Orange. Taco Rosa Mexico City Cuisine was founded by Ivan Calderon as the 'full-service' concept with 2 locations, Newport Beach and Irvine - www.tacorosa.com.

Taco Mesa New Dessert

Went to Taco Mesa in Ladera Ranch last Saturday for lunch . . . just to eat, not to do a review . . . but discovered the fact they now have a new dessert that not even their official site mentions. The official description is: "Caramelized fresh fruit chimis topped with cajeta and served with vanilla ice cream," but it also has coconut inside and out. The fruit in mine was mango and strawberry.

Taco Mesa - Review #3

Date of Visits: March 1 and 13, 2007

Taco Mesa 647 W 19th St Costa Mesa, CA 92627 (949) 642-0629 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch Official Site

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Until I can write about Taco Mesa I have a few pictures from my last two trips there:

Durango Mexican Grill - Review #1

Date of Visit: September 8, 2006

Durango Mexican Grill 730 E Imperial Hwy Brea, CA 92821 (714) 255-5660 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch Official Site

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Entree: Chicken and Lobster Tacos
Drink: Watermelon aguas fresca
Dessert: Flan de Queso

Attack of the Taco Mesa Clone

After having a number of recent entries that covered places I've already covered before and hovering around the Irvine/Santa Ana/Newport Beach/Orange area a little too much I was really getting the itch to go to a Mexican restaurant I'd never been to before, preferably one in an Orange County city I haven't yet covered in this blog. I'd heard about Durango Mexican Grill in Brea from SqueezeOC (the print edition originally, if you can believe it) and it sounded like a good bet so I decided to give it a try.

When I got there I was surprised to find out how much like Taco Mesa it was. It is so similar to Taco Mesa that I wasn't surprised to then find out that it had actually been a Taco Mesa before. I tried to find out how long it's been Durango Mexican Grill but nobody knew English there well enough to answer my question (a sign of authenticity perhaps?); they kept thinking I was asking what time they opened for business that day. It appears that these new owners just bought the old Brea Taco Mesa, kept the menu the same, and only made slight changes since then.

One of the things I like about Durango Mexican Grill is that they have self-serve aguas frescas, so I helped myself to plenty of watermelon. They also had horchata and cantaloupe when I was there. One thing different about them and Taco Mesa is that Durango has lobster tacos all the time and features them heavily. I ordered a two taco plate with one blackened chicken taco and one lobster taco. It came with Spanish rice and white beans. My friend James ordered a machaca breakfast burrito (not pictured) full of beef, scrambled eggs, onions, and peppers.

They even prepare their baked cream cheese flan in the same manner as Taco Mesa, with sliced strawberries and caramel sauce:

I hope it doesn't sound like I'm complaining that Durango is such a Taco Mesa clone. That's actually a good thing. Durango Mexican Grill earns a four Speedy Gonzales rating:

Taco Mesa - Review #2

Date of Visit: August 26, 2006

Taco Mesa 3533 E Chapman Ave Orange, CA 92869 (714) 633-3922 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch Official Site

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Entree: Pescado Acapulco
Drink: Horchata
Dessert: Flan de Queso

In my quest to try out every Taco Mesa location I recently made it to their spot in the city of Orange for the first time. If you didn't know that Taco Mesa has been voted as the #1 Mexican restaurant in Orange County you might overlook them in this unassuming locale. One of the people I went with on this visit said she used to work right by it and never realized it was there and now she's kicking herself for having not availed herself of the opportunity to take frequent lunch breaks there when she had the chance. So now I'm calling it to your attention. Begun by the brothers Calderon (Ivan and Marco) in the early Nineties the Taco Mesa chain focused on healthy, authentic, traditionally based Mexican food that would fill you up without weighing you down. Fifteen years later they are still going strong with four locations, a spinoff (Taco Rosa - similar to Taco Mesa but with more elegance), and plans for expansion.

Pay attention to the specials board when you enter. You might be able to catch a rare dish.

I don't know if it's true at other Taco Mesa locations but this one in Orange serves breakfast all day. If you go for breakfast in the morning and are still groggy when you arrive just looking at this wall will wake you up.

I also stumbled upon the site recently for Taco Mesa Ministry, a Christian group that meets at the Orange location on Tuesdays and Fridays (although I don't know if they are still active).

I ordered their special of the day, the Pescado Acapulco, a yellowtail tuna fillet resting on a bed of acorn squash with spokes of carrot and asparagus. My friends, Chris and Kristanna, took advantage of Taco Mesa's new lunch combos using one of the coupons from my mailer to get the second combo for only a dollar:

Below, a worker is serving up some aguas frescas, fresh fruit juices made each day. They make two or three different flavors each day. I had the horchata on this visit and if I remember correctly the other choices that day were watermelon and jamaica, but they have many different flavors to choose from.

The walls have eyes:

Meow!

The only dessert they offer is baked cream cheese flan with caramel and strawberries, but it is worth it. I used the other coupon from the mailer I brought with me to get the flan for only a dollar. Pay attention to your "junk mail" as these coupons might circulate again.

Still looking forward to reviewing their Costa Mesa and Mission Viejo locations. Taco Mesa in Orange earns a four and a half Speedy Gonzales rating:



Other Taco Mesa entries:

• Taco Mesa - Review #1 (Ladera Ranch)
• Taco Mesa/Taco Rosa News

Taco Mesa-Taco Rosa News

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE!!!
Click HERE to read ALL our extensive coverage of Taco Rosa. Includes extensive photography. This is the link to follow if you want to see tons of pictures of Taco Rosa's food. Also includes links to their official site, addresses for both their locations and more. If you are just looking at "Taco Mesa/Taco Rosa News" then you are not getting the big picture on Taco Rosa.

Originally posted July 18, 2006

The Orange County Register has an article today in their Marketplace section about a second Taco Rosa opening soon (it'll be easier for me to get to at lunch) and some additions to the Taco Mesa menu. I'm not going to tell you all the details so go and read it. The print edition mentions that there will be more on this story in Friday's paper.

For the first time ever I saw a Taco Mesa coupon in the mail yesterday. Looks like there's some good deals on it so if you missed it yesterday there is a good chance it'll be in next month's coupon mailer.

UPDATE (July 21, 2006):

Today's new Orange County Register article on the Taco Mesa/Taco Rosa chain, which explains their expansion plans and why chicharrones are not on the menu, can be read here.

We have a ton of coverage of each Taco Mesa and Taco Rosa (including almost a hundred photos) which can be seen by clicking on either of their labels below:

Taco Mesa - Review #1

27702 Crown Valley Pkwy
Ladera Ranch, CA 92691

Listing on Yahoo! Local

Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch

Official Site

After my previous failed attempt to find the Ladera Ranch location of Taco Mesa I tried again and found it this time. If you go looking for it don't pay too much attention to the numbers on the street because they could be misleading. Just get off the 5 freeway at Crown Valley Parkway and drive about three miles east to Bridgepark Plaza and it'll be on your right hand side. It is said to be in Ladera Ranch but as Ladera Ranch is an unincorporated segment of Orange County it also sort of counts as being in Mission Viejo. Taco Mesa is a four store chain that is the slightly more blue collar version of the somewhat more white collar Taco Rosa, all of which are run by Ivan and Marco Calderon.

My brother and I arrived at Taco Mesa just in time to still get breakfast and found that a lot of early risers were there finishing up their breakfast, some inside and some taking advantage of the outside seating and the expansive view of the arroyo it offers.

I ordered a quesadilla mañanera, described on their official site as a, "Whole wheat quesadilla filled with cheese and eggs scrambled with tomato, onion and cilantro. Served with sour cream and fresh fruit." The quesadilla was perfect in every way except that I couldn't pick it up and eat it. It was just greasy on the outside and floppy so that if I picked it up all the filling would fall out so that I had to eat it with a fork. I mentioned this same minor complaint with Taco Rosa; just make the outside a little crispier and keep the filling together better. This could be accomplished by cutting down on the amount of grease it fries in and maybe using a layer of cheese covering most of the inner side of the tortilla before adding the other fillings. Then maybe some more cheese. Then all the filling ingredients are sticking to at least a little bit of cheese and not just loose and rolling around and falling out. Still, it was a feast for the eyes and the taste buds, and when my brother saw it he remarked that he should've ordered it himself. He had already forgotten that I had tried to tell him to order it but he had ignored me and ordered one of the non-breakfast quesadillas. Better luck next time.

Just like Taco Rosa, Taco Mesa makes up two types of aguas frescas fresh each day. Today they had mixed fruit and horchata, and I went for the horchata and found it to be very full-flavored without going overboard, perhaps the best horchata I have had.

When I first encountered Taco Mesa almost fifteen years ago it was my first realization that Mexican food could rise above the standard, run-of-the-mill presentation and approach artfulness (is that a word?). In 2006 they are still on top of the game, thereby meriting a high four and a half Speedy Gonzales rating:



Other Taco Mesa entries:

• Taco Mesa - Review #2 (Orange)
• Taco Mesa/Taco Rosa News