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

Michoacán carnitas in La Mesa

Carnitas Uruapan specializes in carnitas and Uruapan

One pound of carnitas goodness
One pound of carnitas goodness
Place

Carnitas Uruapan

4233 Spring Street, La Mesa

On a corner lot in La Mesa, a block from busy I-94 and sharing a tight parking lot with a dry cleaner, stands a brightly colored brick house called Carnitas Uruapan Mexican food. Emphasis on “carnitas.” My dad started coming here in the late 1980s, but I had never tried it.

When I arrived, it was after dark and the place was jumping. A woman was cooking beef on a barbeque in front of the entrance and speaking Spanish into a cell phone. While she flipped the meat, patrons patiently stood in line for street tacos. There is also a drive-through, but it’s at a weird angle. Besides, going inside can be a treat for people watchers.

Carnitas Uruapan

There’s plenty to choose from on the menu, such as rolled tacos and burritos. I ordered the carnitas dinner for two, which is one pound of lean pork marinated with fresh oranges, garlic, and spices, cooked in its own juices for eight hours or more, plus refried beans, tortillas, rice, cilantro, onions, and tomatoes. The cost is $11.

Sponsored
Sponsored

While I waited for the order to go, a steady stream of customers came in and out, picking up pre-ordered food or waiting patiently at wooden tables, watching a TV on a Spanish station hanging on the colorful wall over the salsa bar.

Waiting for your food is part of the fun.

The young woman at the counter helped me decipher a few items that I hadn’t heard of, such as carne divorciada. That’s fried pork belly with verde salsa separated by rice and beans. I should have known.

The state of Michoacán is known for its carnitas. The owners, Margaret and Rogelio Rodriguez, are from that region and established this restaurant in 1986.

When my food arrived I rushed home to try it, spreading out a handmade flour tortilla and filling it with the meat, toppings, and their housemade chipotle salsa.

The carnitas were tender and moist, encased by a crunchy, bacon-like exterior. I realized that I hadn’t had pork this good since Old Town Mexican Café (before the tourists discovered it).

The beans and rice were also good, with just enough chili and garlic powder, the flavor I’m used to from authentic Mexican restaurants. The tomatoes were fresh, and the onion was not overpowering. I had seconds on the pork and then, I’m embarrassed to say, thirds.

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?
One pound of carnitas goodness
One pound of carnitas goodness
Place

Carnitas Uruapan

4233 Spring Street, La Mesa

On a corner lot in La Mesa, a block from busy I-94 and sharing a tight parking lot with a dry cleaner, stands a brightly colored brick house called Carnitas Uruapan Mexican food. Emphasis on “carnitas.” My dad started coming here in the late 1980s, but I had never tried it.

When I arrived, it was after dark and the place was jumping. A woman was cooking beef on a barbeque in front of the entrance and speaking Spanish into a cell phone. While she flipped the meat, patrons patiently stood in line for street tacos. There is also a drive-through, but it’s at a weird angle. Besides, going inside can be a treat for people watchers.

Carnitas Uruapan

There’s plenty to choose from on the menu, such as rolled tacos and burritos. I ordered the carnitas dinner for two, which is one pound of lean pork marinated with fresh oranges, garlic, and spices, cooked in its own juices for eight hours or more, plus refried beans, tortillas, rice, cilantro, onions, and tomatoes. The cost is $11.

Sponsored
Sponsored

While I waited for the order to go, a steady stream of customers came in and out, picking up pre-ordered food or waiting patiently at wooden tables, watching a TV on a Spanish station hanging on the colorful wall over the salsa bar.

Waiting for your food is part of the fun.

The young woman at the counter helped me decipher a few items that I hadn’t heard of, such as carne divorciada. That’s fried pork belly with verde salsa separated by rice and beans. I should have known.

The state of Michoacán is known for its carnitas. The owners, Margaret and Rogelio Rodriguez, are from that region and established this restaurant in 1986.

When my food arrived I rushed home to try it, spreading out a handmade flour tortilla and filling it with the meat, toppings, and their housemade chipotle salsa.

The carnitas were tender and moist, encased by a crunchy, bacon-like exterior. I realized that I hadn’t had pork this good since Old Town Mexican Café (before the tourists discovered it).

The beans and rice were also good, with just enough chili and garlic powder, the flavor I’m used to from authentic Mexican restaurants. The tomatoes were fresh, and the onion was not overpowering. I had seconds on the pork and then, I’m embarrassed to say, thirds.

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

Navy solves San Diego homeless crisis by retiring four locally moored ships

Decommision Accomplished
Next Article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema
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.