Lucha Libre Taco Shop, Mission Hills, San Diego, CA

It was a beautiful day in Mission Hills, the sun was bright, there was a slight breeze coming from the ocean, and I felt the need for some tasty Mexican food. My first thought was to stop by Mama Testa, really good but a bit pricey for me at the moment , and who can forget El Indio where everything is dripping with grease but after the first bite you don’t care. No what I wanted was somewhere between those two. I wanted tasty and just a little bit bad for me. I wanted something different a little out of the norm. So there I was coming back from the grocery store off Washington when what should I see on my right but the words, “Lucha Libre” and “Taco”.

My eyes lit up, they had had me at Lucha.

Now I’ve walked into my share of trendy/gimmicky eateries in my time. Ninjas, pirates, medieval wenches (by the way they hate being called that, they prefer pre-enlightened serving maids), but I had never been to a place that so thoroughly screamed luchadore in my entire life, outside of the wrestling rings of Mexico. Upon entering I saw a TV, no plasma for this place but an old fashioned square box, playing classic Lucha films, starring my favorite Lucha actor, El Santo. I glanced at the nearest seat only to find myself staring at a luchadore mask sown into the cushion. To my right I saw a large painting of a luchadore posing triumphantly, looking down at me as if to question if I was man enough to enter this establishment. Putting on my best swagger I approached the counter and looked at the menu.

I was happy to see some of the old favorites on the board, including all manner of taco and burrito with chicken, steak, or shrimp. I’ll admit the surf and turf appealed to me, and it was nice to see a vegetarian option on the board as well, a rarity in a taco shop outside of a bean and cheese burrito. I finally settled on the California burrito with marinated steak, while my guinea pi… I mean good friend who I had brought along to offer a contrasting opinion got a Carne Asada burrito. I usually go for more exotic fare like adobo, but I’ve found many of the smaller Mexican eateries tend to overcook the steak until it is like chewy rubber, and I really wanted to test this place out. I also ordered a TJ dog, wondering if it would be as good as the ones I’d bought in, well, TJ.

While I waited for the food to finish cooking my friend and I wandered around the restaurant taking in the atmosphere. The atmosphere consisted of many pictures of famous and some not so famous masked wrestlers that adorned the walls, a collection of lucha libre masks hanging along the far wall over the window, and a disco ball. I could understand the rest but not the disco ball, unless the place doubled as some kind of 70’s night club after it closed down for the night. Most impressive of all the luchedore swag was the seat in the corner reserved for “The Champion.” As you can see in the pictures it is roped off from the public, and, like a little kid, as soon as I saw it I wondered how I could get my butt into that little polished seat and eat off the gaudy gold utensils there-in. I guess that was for another day though because just after I had taken a picture of it the food was ready.

I collected my order from the counter, this is not the type of place where they deliver the food to you, and brought it back to my friend, but not before stopping at the salsa bar, with a fair selection from red hot to verde mild, where I selected some that were sure to leave me sweating for the rest of the day. First we tried the TJ dogs, which were not bad but would take a little bit of work to be classified as great. The overall taste was good, a combination of onions, peppers, and every condiment in the book except relish. There was also bacon wrapped around it, but it was difficult to see, which my friend pointed out to me, as it was wrapped so tightly and was so thin that it could easily be mistaken for the charred outer layer of the hot dog itself. Other than that it was small, about the size of a 99 cent dog from Weinerschnichel. Despite these minor drawbacks I would define it as a good appetizer to the main course.

My California Burrito was filled with French fries, pico de gallo, cheese, sour cream, and steak. I haven’t had French fries stuffed into my food since I was a kid, but they added just the right consistency and heft to my burrito. The ingredients tasted fresh, and the steak was marinated perfectly. As with all food I enjoy I found myself having to slow down so I wouldn’t wolf it down in six or seven bits. I say six or seven but this burrito was pretty hefty and it actually took me more around 20 bites to get through it, more than worth the price I had paid for it. My friend liked his burrito, which had the same ingredients as mine minus the sour cream and fries but with guacamole.

After dumping our trash I took one last look at the place and smiled. It was gimmicky and very tacky, but there was an undercurrent of respect and tradition, much like lucha libre. The food was tasty, the day bright, and I had found a new shade of Mexican food in which to indulge. Once again, life was good, until later that night when my stomach started bouncing around like a cruiserweight jockeying for the belt.

Lucha Libre Taco Shop

1810 West Washington Street
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 296-8226

www.tacosmackdown.com