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

Cuatro Milpas: Love the smell of lard-fried tacos in the morning

Had to check the Most Beloved Taco Shop in the Galaxy.

That it had re-opened, that is.

Las Cuatro Milpas ("The Four Cornfields," 1875 Logan Avenue, between Crosby and Beardsley, 619-234-4460) had closed on September 17th, but promised to re-open on Monday 24th.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/26/32312/

But restaurants often do that, and I was suddenly worrying if the three sisters, Margarita, Sofia and Doria, might get to enjoy putting their feet up. After all, hey, they were practically raised in here, around the feet of their grandparents Natividad (“Nati”) and Petra Estudillo.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/26/32316/

Same stove-tops as ever

And those two had been making the unbelievably delicious and wicked (wicked because the tortillas are deep-fried in manteca, lard) since at least 1935.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/26/32317/

Dipping the tortilla in the hot lard

But – whew – they re-opened on schedule on Monday.

I meet Ron, chomping into a pork taco…

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/26/32313/

Ron’s living proof of the lifetime customers they boast. He’s an architect and journeyman carpenter. He's hongry. Had to wait in the line...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/26/32315/

...that always stretches outside, every lunchtime. “Plus I rode up from Chula Vista on my bike for this. Took an hour,” he says.

Worth it?

“Always. I’ve been eating here for 42 years. I’m 59 now. It hasn’t changed. The place, the food. Prices, a little, but even today, you only pay $1.50 for, like, this pork taco."

I see it has pulled pork, cheese, onions and cilantro inside.

"And 'Mexican butter,'" says Ron. He's looking at the bowl of home-made chili hot sauce he's pouring into it...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/26/32314/

..."That was Petra's name for it. And believe me, this is hot, but it's watered down, compared to what she made. Hers was high octane."

So Nati and Petra were still here, when he first came?

"Yes. Always. They were hard workers, just like their grandkids. I was a teenager then.”

Actually, Ron looks far too young to be 59.

“What’s the secret?” I ask him.

“Well, this in moderation,” he says. “And today, for the first time, I asked for the tortilla not to be fried in that lard. It took a while to persuade them.”

Plus, you have to figure: riding a bike an hour up from Chula Vista and an hour back for a single taco, that exercise has to, uh, exorcise any sins committed here.

They're open. That's the main thing. I head back to the line to order my own pork taco.

Deep fried.

In lard.

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

Previous article

Making Love to Goats, Rachmaninoff, and Elgar

Had to check the Most Beloved Taco Shop in the Galaxy.

That it had re-opened, that is.

Las Cuatro Milpas ("The Four Cornfields," 1875 Logan Avenue, between Crosby and Beardsley, 619-234-4460) had closed on September 17th, but promised to re-open on Monday 24th.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/26/32312/

But restaurants often do that, and I was suddenly worrying if the three sisters, Margarita, Sofia and Doria, might get to enjoy putting their feet up. After all, hey, they were practically raised in here, around the feet of their grandparents Natividad (“Nati”) and Petra Estudillo.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/26/32316/

Same stove-tops as ever

And those two had been making the unbelievably delicious and wicked (wicked because the tortillas are deep-fried in manteca, lard) since at least 1935.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/26/32317/

Dipping the tortilla in the hot lard

But – whew – they re-opened on schedule on Monday.

I meet Ron, chomping into a pork taco…

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/26/32313/

Ron’s living proof of the lifetime customers they boast. He’s an architect and journeyman carpenter. He's hongry. Had to wait in the line...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/26/32315/

...that always stretches outside, every lunchtime. “Plus I rode up from Chula Vista on my bike for this. Took an hour,” he says.

Worth it?

“Always. I’ve been eating here for 42 years. I’m 59 now. It hasn’t changed. The place, the food. Prices, a little, but even today, you only pay $1.50 for, like, this pork taco."

I see it has pulled pork, cheese, onions and cilantro inside.

"And 'Mexican butter,'" says Ron. He's looking at the bowl of home-made chili hot sauce he's pouring into it...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/26/32314/

..."That was Petra's name for it. And believe me, this is hot, but it's watered down, compared to what she made. Hers was high octane."

So Nati and Petra were still here, when he first came?

"Yes. Always. They were hard workers, just like their grandkids. I was a teenager then.”

Actually, Ron looks far too young to be 59.

“What’s the secret?” I ask him.

“Well, this in moderation,” he says. “And today, for the first time, I asked for the tortilla not to be fried in that lard. It took a while to persuade them.”

Plus, you have to figure: riding a bike an hour up from Chula Vista and an hour back for a single taco, that exercise has to, uh, exorcise any sins committed here.

They're open. That's the main thing. I head back to the line to order my own pork taco.

Deep fried.

In lard.

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