 El Indio
There's a reason Mike Love wishes they could all be California Girls, but strangely it's not mentioned in that song: it's because California Girls are more likely to take you to El Indio!!! Just in terms of sheer proximity, I mean.
I hadn't been to this longtime gem of the San Diego burrito scene until the California Girl I'm seeing (Dianne Feinstein) insisted on it while we were driving back from Tijuana (for some reason, she absolutely loves the TJ Maxx there). The way she talked about it, if you're anywhere within striking distance of El Indio, you must go there, the same way you don't go to Liverpool without getting a selfie in front of Cynthia Lennon's high-school tampon machine.
Of course, with such a big buildup, I was naturally skeptical. How good could it possibly be? I mean, a burrito's a burrito, at least until it's a suffocating supercloud of farts, amIright? 😎 Well, do yourself a favor: stop reading this, grab a first-class ticket to San Diego, and go straight to El Indio! Already bad advice, I know, since you stopped reading even before I advised going to San Diego … and first-class on such short notice is both unnecessary and expensive … but come on, man, time is of the essence!
Having eaten here a few times now, I'm hooked for life, as probably anyone is who lives anywhere remotely nearby. They do all the typical Mexicano grub here quite well, but it's the tortillas, made in house, that instantly set El Indio apart from the Mexicano joints you frequent. What makes them the king, though, is their absolute fearlessness with cheese.
Our go-to order is two bean-and-cheese burritos, and two "burrito-style" quesadillas–just under $20 total. Now, these are HUGE burritos, so we'll each eat half of each one and save the other two for later. Like, minutes later, sometimes! The quesadilla is the real star—basically, just a big-ass tortilla filled with like six pounds of cheese. And the bean-and-cheese? A big-ass tortilla filled with beans and like two pounds of cheese. So good … so bad for you … so good! Fully freakin' addictive, as the long line of addicts here every time I visit will attest. I always try to make a point to order something different, but never do. Well actually, I think I did order some tacos here once, but it was in addition to the usual. Say, chum … know any place around here where I can get some quick lipo, by any chance?
Review by Ray-Ray Sugarleonard, July 2009
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