Let me tell you about a little place called El Gordo. The name means “The Fat One” in Spanish. We regularly drive over 40 minutes just for their tacos. It’s practically in Tijuana and my husband makes me order for him in Spanish because that’s the easiest way to communicate with the cooks. Each precious little taco is about $1.50, so about 4-6 will fill you up with hardly any damage to your wallet. We used to be in the only gringos in the joint, but I think our little Chula Vista jewel has been discovered in recent years by smart and hungry eaters in San Diego county. This hunch also seems to be verified by the fact that the prices have been creeping up as of late.

When you first walk in, you notice El Gordo’s simple menu that includes carne asada and spicy pork (our favorites) and more exotic cuts such as cabeza, tripe, suadero, and lengua.

Then, depending on what you want to order, you approach one of the three counters and place your order. Unless you’re a toddler, there’s no way you’d be satisfied with just one item so stock up and get ready to expand your belly and probably unbutton your pants!

It takes a few minutes for the El Gordo chefs to prepare your food to order right before your eyes. As you watch the food being grilled and prepped, you begin to stare at the chefs longingly with hints of love and definitely affection. These are the magical wizards who are whipping up pure taco-shaped pleasure just for you. They are special people, let me tell you.

Oh! And they make the tortillas and sopes fresh for each order!

Since I don’t tend to like ordering meat in restaurants, I’ve always gotten the quesadillas or sopes sin carne (without meat) on all of my trips to El Gordo. Without fail, this choice meets with much derision and mocking from my meat-obsessed partners in crime, which are usually my husband Daniel and my sister Amy. They don’t understand the point of going to El Gordo and not ordering meat. I’ve been evolving my tastes more towards the meat end of the spectrum in the past couple years, so I can see what they mean.

Last time, I branched out and ordered one of my sopes with carne asada. I found it to be rather fatty. Daniel and Amy agreed and told me that it was really all about the spicy pork. The two of them practically worship at the altar of El Gordo’s spicy pork. So if you go, I’d recommend that you don’t miss out on it. It’s called adobada on the menu and you order it from the chef to the far left.

In case you’re unfamiliar with sopes, they are thicker, moister more substantial versions of tortillas and they pack more tasty corn flavor. On top of the sopes you’ll find fried cheese, fresh guacamole and salsa, onion, and cilantro all topped by a crispy tortilla. You’ll need plenty of napkins as you dig into your seemingly heaven-sent bounty. El Gordo’s flimsy napkins are hardly up for the job and now that I think about it, they could greatly improve the dining experience by upgrading to more sturdy napkins.

Daniel and Amy demand silence as they delve into their El Gordo feast. They basically just stare at each other, rolling their eyes, licking their fingers, eating as quickly as possible, and praising the chefs for bringing such good food into our lives. It’s kind of a dramatic experience, but I think that El Gordo merits the hyperbole.

Then we moan our way out to the car, lamenting our newly fattened stomachs during the lengthy ride north. El Gordo Days only come a couple of times a year for us. But each visit nourishes us in body and soul. Knowing that such heavenly goodness exists less than an hour’s drive from our house keeps us going until the next El Gordo meal.

El Gordo’s also a great place to take out-of-town guests who want more authentic Mexican food. It’s a truly San Diego experience.

Now can you see why it’s called El Gordo?