Best of 2003: Best Café Run By Homeless Kids

Cabo Café & Grill
808 West Cedar Street, Downtown
619-595-1618

Ralph Rubio of fish taco fame helped raise a million dollars to get this restaurant up and running, for good reason: Homeless kids from the Monarch School Project next door run the operation (one manager is on loan from Rubio's). They painted the seal and porpoise murals inside, and worked on the palm tree-bougainvillea-fountain-gurgling patio outside. Portions are good. The Cabo Café Grilled Burrito has grilled chicken or steak with guacamole, roasted salsa, sour cream, black beans, Mexican rice, and melted jack cheese. Or maybe the best filler, the Cabo Maestro Bowl, comes with marinated grilled chicken or steak in a bowl with black beans, Mexican rice, cheeses, guacamole, and shredded cabbage. And yes, they do make the Rubio's fish taco.