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OB liquor store satisfies Baja gringo

Fish tacos for 99 cents at Quik Stop

 Two Baja-style tacos will fill you up. So it kinda stinks that you have to order a minimum of four to get the deal.
Two Baja-style tacos will fill you up. So it kinda stinks that you have to order a minimum of four to get the deal.

Living south of the border, I’ve become spoiled by the low cost of quality meals, so when I have to come stateside, I usually pack a lunch. That is, except Tuesdays. Taco Tuesday is a staple of San Diego, and there is no shortage of deals and gimmicks to draw in customers. I forego them all to cruise down to the sunniest neighborhood for the shadiest people, known by most of us as OB.

Place

Newport Quik Stop Liquor

4291 Newport Avenue, San Diego

The Quik Stop reminds me of a refined bodega. It’s not the place to stop for a coke, a tire iron, and a VCR, but a wide selection among the products they carry is important. Bottles of wine cover two walls, glass doors of beverage coolers stretch to the back of the joint, and one could easily burn twenty minutes perusing the five panels of menus suspended above the kitchen—and that’s not even considering the smoothies or fruit bowls. I go on Tuesday. For tacos.

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OB's bodega-style Quik Stop

Admittedly, a liquor store doesn't ring as the most appealing place to go for a bite to eat. But it's a little tough to turn down Baja-style fish tacos for 99¢ each (usually $2.49). And Quik Stop does the tacos right—corn​ ​tortilla, fat piece of battered fish, cabbage, pico, white sauce, and cheese. We’re not talking skimpy, snack tacos — two will fill you up. So it kinda stinks that you have to order a minimum of four to get the deal. But I use it as an excuse to grab a bite with a friend, considering fish tacos don’t keep well.

Limited outdoor seating fills quickly

I try to show up between 1:00 – 4:00 p.m., so I've got a better shot at getting a seat. It’s a grab-and-go type place, so there’s not much in the way of seating, just a few stools on the patio and a couple tables on the sidewalk. My last visit I didn’t get by until 5:30, so the place was jammed up. But Pacific Shores —OB’s oldest bar—is right next door, and what better to complement tacos than a $3 Pacifico or tequila?

Most bars in the neighborhood don’t mind outside food, but it’s hard to justify being indoors when you’re two blocks from the beach. Had it been less cloudy, my buddy and I might have cruised down to the pier or the cliffs or the grassy park beside the lifeguard tower. With no shortage of tourists and transients, hippies and hipsters, bikers and beatniks, the eclectic carnival of OB is in full swing. It’s not hard to turn Taco Tuesday into dinner and a show.

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 Two Baja-style tacos will fill you up. So it kinda stinks that you have to order a minimum of four to get the deal.
Two Baja-style tacos will fill you up. So it kinda stinks that you have to order a minimum of four to get the deal.

Living south of the border, I’ve become spoiled by the low cost of quality meals, so when I have to come stateside, I usually pack a lunch. That is, except Tuesdays. Taco Tuesday is a staple of San Diego, and there is no shortage of deals and gimmicks to draw in customers. I forego them all to cruise down to the sunniest neighborhood for the shadiest people, known by most of us as OB.

Place

Newport Quik Stop Liquor

4291 Newport Avenue, San Diego

The Quik Stop reminds me of a refined bodega. It’s not the place to stop for a coke, a tire iron, and a VCR, but a wide selection among the products they carry is important. Bottles of wine cover two walls, glass doors of beverage coolers stretch to the back of the joint, and one could easily burn twenty minutes perusing the five panels of menus suspended above the kitchen—and that’s not even considering the smoothies or fruit bowls. I go on Tuesday. For tacos.

Sponsored
Sponsored
OB's bodega-style Quik Stop

Admittedly, a liquor store doesn't ring as the most appealing place to go for a bite to eat. But it's a little tough to turn down Baja-style fish tacos for 99¢ each (usually $2.49). And Quik Stop does the tacos right—corn​ ​tortilla, fat piece of battered fish, cabbage, pico, white sauce, and cheese. We’re not talking skimpy, snack tacos — two will fill you up. So it kinda stinks that you have to order a minimum of four to get the deal. But I use it as an excuse to grab a bite with a friend, considering fish tacos don’t keep well.

Limited outdoor seating fills quickly

I try to show up between 1:00 – 4:00 p.m., so I've got a better shot at getting a seat. It’s a grab-and-go type place, so there’s not much in the way of seating, just a few stools on the patio and a couple tables on the sidewalk. My last visit I didn’t get by until 5:30, so the place was jammed up. But Pacific Shores —OB’s oldest bar—is right next door, and what better to complement tacos than a $3 Pacifico or tequila?

Most bars in the neighborhood don’t mind outside food, but it’s hard to justify being indoors when you’re two blocks from the beach. Had it been less cloudy, my buddy and I might have cruised down to the pier or the cliffs or the grassy park beside the lifeguard tower. With no shortage of tourists and transients, hippies and hipsters, bikers and beatniks, the eclectic carnival of OB is in full swing. It’s not hard to turn Taco Tuesday into dinner and a show.

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The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

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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
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