Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Korean taco + Russian ale = heaven

Tacos La Mezcla and Mission Brewery: first flush of tastebud love?

Diana and the truck
Diana and the truck
Place

Mission Brewery

1441 L Street, San Diego

Sometimes two good things create a third thing that's bigger than the two of them.

Francisco, Diana

Case in point: Outside Mission Brewery's big ol' brick place at 14th and L. Used to be the Wonder Bread bakery. It's Friday, and this food truck has parked right outside. Tacos La Mezcla.

"Can I eat these in the brewery?" I ask, because the long bar inside is where I'm headed. Don't have a lot of time, but a snack with a brewski would go down a treat.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"Of course," says Diana, the gal in the orange top.

"That's why we're here," says the guy, Francisco.

Luis the cook

It's a pretty smart truck. "La Mezcla" means "The Mix," maybe like "Fusion Tacos." And they have some original takes. Like, Purple Potato Taco ($4) and Seared Scallop Taco ($4). And then I'm seeing a Korean Asada Taco ($3.50).

"Korean barbecue," says Francisco. "Galbi, made from marinated beef short ribs. It has brown sugar in it too, so it's slightly sweet. Plus soy, ginger and sesame and garlic and rice wine vinegar. It's delicious."

Does sound pretty tempting. And of course I'm into those purple potatoes. I know the purple skin is supposed to be really good for you, anti-oxidants and its own flavor. Different from the same-old Idahos we always get up here in El Norte.

My Korean BBQ taco and scallops taco, opened up

Francisco says that's half his idea, to bring us gringos new flavors from the South. Though he is really from the North. "I come from an apple farm in Auburn, up near San Francisco. My mom has had a restaurant up there for 14 years. She taught me a lot, like everything. But I was in home sales, till I really wanted to do my own thing in the restaurant business. I figured I'd create a following with this truck. It's so much cheaper than starting a full-on restaurant. Most of the time, Wednesdays through Saturdays, we're up in South Park on Fern, across from The Station, but we're here for Taco Tuesdays and some Fridays when the baseball's happening."

I end up asking for the seared scallops and and the Korean BBQ.

"You just head on in. We'll find you," says Diana.

She does. And here's where the magic happens. I order a glass of my totally favorite brewski here, Dark Seas ($5.50), Mission Brewery's Russian Imperial Stout that's rich, dark, kinda fruity and chocolatey. While it's pouring I chomp into the scallops. Ooh. Nice and crispy grilled.

But it's when I start on the Korean BBQ taco and take a slurp from the Dark Seas that — oh man! The perfect marriage. The soy, the brown sugar, the ginger in the taco, and the fruity, coffee thing going on with the Dark Seas. Dee-lish.

Just wish I didn't have to rush this. Got to remember to come back on a Taco Tuesday. Because tastebud romances like this, you can't let them slip away.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

SDSU pres gets highest pay raise in state over last 15 years

Union-Tribune still stiffing downtown San Diego landlord?
Diana and the truck
Diana and the truck
Place

Mission Brewery

1441 L Street, San Diego

Sometimes two good things create a third thing that's bigger than the two of them.

Francisco, Diana

Case in point: Outside Mission Brewery's big ol' brick place at 14th and L. Used to be the Wonder Bread bakery. It's Friday, and this food truck has parked right outside. Tacos La Mezcla.

"Can I eat these in the brewery?" I ask, because the long bar inside is where I'm headed. Don't have a lot of time, but a snack with a brewski would go down a treat.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"Of course," says Diana, the gal in the orange top.

"That's why we're here," says the guy, Francisco.

Luis the cook

It's a pretty smart truck. "La Mezcla" means "The Mix," maybe like "Fusion Tacos." And they have some original takes. Like, Purple Potato Taco ($4) and Seared Scallop Taco ($4). And then I'm seeing a Korean Asada Taco ($3.50).

"Korean barbecue," says Francisco. "Galbi, made from marinated beef short ribs. It has brown sugar in it too, so it's slightly sweet. Plus soy, ginger and sesame and garlic and rice wine vinegar. It's delicious."

Does sound pretty tempting. And of course I'm into those purple potatoes. I know the purple skin is supposed to be really good for you, anti-oxidants and its own flavor. Different from the same-old Idahos we always get up here in El Norte.

My Korean BBQ taco and scallops taco, opened up

Francisco says that's half his idea, to bring us gringos new flavors from the South. Though he is really from the North. "I come from an apple farm in Auburn, up near San Francisco. My mom has had a restaurant up there for 14 years. She taught me a lot, like everything. But I was in home sales, till I really wanted to do my own thing in the restaurant business. I figured I'd create a following with this truck. It's so much cheaper than starting a full-on restaurant. Most of the time, Wednesdays through Saturdays, we're up in South Park on Fern, across from The Station, but we're here for Taco Tuesdays and some Fridays when the baseball's happening."

I end up asking for the seared scallops and and the Korean BBQ.

"You just head on in. We'll find you," says Diana.

She does. And here's where the magic happens. I order a glass of my totally favorite brewski here, Dark Seas ($5.50), Mission Brewery's Russian Imperial Stout that's rich, dark, kinda fruity and chocolatey. While it's pouring I chomp into the scallops. Ooh. Nice and crispy grilled.

But it's when I start on the Korean BBQ taco and take a slurp from the Dark Seas that — oh man! The perfect marriage. The soy, the brown sugar, the ginger in the taco, and the fruity, coffee thing going on with the Dark Seas. Dee-lish.

Just wish I didn't have to rush this. Got to remember to come back on a Taco Tuesday. Because tastebud romances like this, you can't let them slip away.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Making Love to Goats, Rachmaninoff, and Elgar

Next Article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.