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

All Comals are not the same

Each restaurant has its own kitchen, its own staff, its own soul

Pozole translates to hominy, derived from Aztec words describing it for what it is: a bunch of fluffy corn kernels
Pozole translates to hominy, derived from Aztec words describing it for what it is: a bunch of fluffy corn kernels
Place

Comal

262 Third Avenue, Chula Vista

I haven’t eaten often in Chula Vista, so when I found myself with 40 minutes left on a Third Avenue parking meter, I looked around to see what looked good. And El Comal looked good.

The family restaurant’s North Park location (3946 Illinois Street) has been a favorite for years for its homey antojitos, soups, and sauces. I drag out-of-town guests there to experience the virtues of San Diego Mexican food, directing them to the thick handmade corn tortillas enveloping a savory assortment of tacos or playing the bread in the grilled sandwich-like mulitas. Though I know the menu well, it usually takes me a while to choose between these and one of the soups, a decision further complicated when green mole enchiladas are on special.

Sponsored
Sponsored
El Comal is not a restaurant franchise with homogenized ingredients and uniform procedures.

This El Comal’s menu reads similar to its sister restaurant but with a few extra dishes such as fajitas and enfrijoladas (enchiladas covered with bean sauce rather than a mole or tomatillo based salsa). But I was in the mood for soup, and my favorite of theirs is pozole.

Pozole translates to hominy, derived from Aztec words describing it for what it is: a bunch of fluffy corn kernels. Pozole the soup meant a lot to Aztec culture but not for great reasons. When Aztec priests killed people for ritual sacrifice, the hearts were given to the gods and the rest of the body got chopped into the soup. It wasn’t only prepared as a cannibalistic dish, but the alleged alternative protein doesn’t sound any better — a 20-pound rodent called a tepezcuintle, or paca.

I’m happy to report that El Comal’s embrace of authentic ingredients and preparation only goes so far. Here you may choose between pork and chicken with either green or red spiced broth. I opted for chicken to match the soup’s stock and braced myself for the rich, smoky chili pepper infused broth I’ve grown to crave in North Park.

This pozole looked the same, served alongside shredded cabbage, diced onions and jalapeños, cilantro, avocado, and crispy corn tortillas. But as I dug in, it dawned on me: all Comals are not the same. This isn’t a restaurant franchise with homogenized ingredients and uniform procedures. It’s a similar restaurant but has its own kitchen, its own staff, its own soul.

Interpret it as you will, but I found this broth thinner and saltier than what I’d grown accustomed to in North Park. It also seemed heavier on the guajillo chili pepper, which left it a more orange hue and a bit of fruity tang relative to the earthy, red, savory broth I preferred.

At $10.50, Chula Vista’s El Comal charges a buck less for pozole than its San Diego counterpart, and parking’s often easier to come by. But that North Park pozole is better.

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

Hip-hop artist Don Elway makes movies for his music

Not Ordinary EP tells a story of life on the streets
Next Article

Will L.A. Times crowd out San Diego U-T at Riverside printing plant?

Will Toni Atkins stand back from anti-SDG&E initiative?
Pozole translates to hominy, derived from Aztec words describing it for what it is: a bunch of fluffy corn kernels
Pozole translates to hominy, derived from Aztec words describing it for what it is: a bunch of fluffy corn kernels
Place

Comal

262 Third Avenue, Chula Vista

I haven’t eaten often in Chula Vista, so when I found myself with 40 minutes left on a Third Avenue parking meter, I looked around to see what looked good. And El Comal looked good.

The family restaurant’s North Park location (3946 Illinois Street) has been a favorite for years for its homey antojitos, soups, and sauces. I drag out-of-town guests there to experience the virtues of San Diego Mexican food, directing them to the thick handmade corn tortillas enveloping a savory assortment of tacos or playing the bread in the grilled sandwich-like mulitas. Though I know the menu well, it usually takes me a while to choose between these and one of the soups, a decision further complicated when green mole enchiladas are on special.

Sponsored
Sponsored
El Comal is not a restaurant franchise with homogenized ingredients and uniform procedures.

This El Comal’s menu reads similar to its sister restaurant but with a few extra dishes such as fajitas and enfrijoladas (enchiladas covered with bean sauce rather than a mole or tomatillo based salsa). But I was in the mood for soup, and my favorite of theirs is pozole.

Pozole translates to hominy, derived from Aztec words describing it for what it is: a bunch of fluffy corn kernels. Pozole the soup meant a lot to Aztec culture but not for great reasons. When Aztec priests killed people for ritual sacrifice, the hearts were given to the gods and the rest of the body got chopped into the soup. It wasn’t only prepared as a cannibalistic dish, but the alleged alternative protein doesn’t sound any better — a 20-pound rodent called a tepezcuintle, or paca.

I’m happy to report that El Comal’s embrace of authentic ingredients and preparation only goes so far. Here you may choose between pork and chicken with either green or red spiced broth. I opted for chicken to match the soup’s stock and braced myself for the rich, smoky chili pepper infused broth I’ve grown to crave in North Park.

This pozole looked the same, served alongside shredded cabbage, diced onions and jalapeños, cilantro, avocado, and crispy corn tortillas. But as I dug in, it dawned on me: all Comals are not the same. This isn’t a restaurant franchise with homogenized ingredients and uniform procedures. It’s a similar restaurant but has its own kitchen, its own staff, its own soul.

Interpret it as you will, but I found this broth thinner and saltier than what I’d grown accustomed to in North Park. It also seemed heavier on the guajillo chili pepper, which left it a more orange hue and a bit of fruity tang relative to the earthy, red, savory broth I preferred.

At $10.50, Chula Vista’s El Comal charges a buck less for pozole than its San Diego counterpart, and parking’s often easier to come by. But that North Park pozole is better.

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

Coyote tracks in frail San Diego avocado grove

Second place winner in Reader neighborhood writing contest
Next Article

Why Unified® Review: What To Expect Dropshipping (Positive & Negative)

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.