San Diego, CA (The Joy of Food) — Yes folks, I like Puesto.
If you have followed the Puesto story over the years, you will probably know it to be a trendy Mexican-American front-runner in San Diego that excels at food, drinks, and ambiance. These are trophy tacos given an artisan ‘gourmet chef’ treatment.
The fact that food is a necessity makes it contrary to some people that it could also be a luxury, especially when it comes to foods historically known as ‘cheap eats.’ The founding executive chef of Puesto is Luisteen González, a native of Mexico City, and his abuela’s influence pervades Puesto’s menu. Sure, Puesto is owned by first-generation Mexican-Americans who have grown up in San Diego, but let’s not pretend they’re serving California burrito bombs here and charging up the wazoo for it.
The heart and soul of Puesto is the taco program, a menu that rotates with the seasons and even features a ‘taco of the month,’ stuff like ribeye asada and marinated jidori chicken of the sort that need to be topped and dressed and plated with tweezers. All tortillas are pressed from blue corn masa and cooked on heated rotating comals throughout the day. They are warm and malleable for only about ten minutes.
Regardless of what else is offered, the filet mignon taco ranks as one of my favorite in all of San Diego, tender meat that’s marinated in a jugo Maggi sauce, then cooked on the plancha. It’s crusted in melted cheese and topped with guacamole, salsa quemada, jalapeño pico, crema, crispy potatoes, and cilantro.
Most places would stop at filet mignon and call it a day, but the cheese wrapper that Puesto adds amps this up a few more notches. What you get is tender steak re-enforced by a browned, caramelized cheese casing that leads to more gooey cheese, a little bundle that gets swaddled in the warm, comforting, house-made blue corn tortilla. The integrity of the ingredients used in these creative and delicious ways is what separates Puesto from the pack.
You will always find seafood-oriented tacos on the menu that are top-notch. The shrimp adobada might materialize in the form of la plancha-style shrimp, guajillo chile peanut adobo sauce, fresh kumquat, charred habanero purée, crispy leeks, and avocado. The shrimp is charred, plump, and swimming in the killer sauce, a mixture that has nutty, smoky, and sweet attributes thanks to a myriad of ingredients.
The ceviche verde comes alive with barramundi tossed with stone fruit, cucumbers, red onion, citrus, nopal broth, and basil. The citric acid is not overwhelming, a common problem with Mexican ceviche. Collectively, everything in the dish is super light and fragrant thanks, in part, to the use of basil instead of cilantro. The serrano peppers also add a wealth of heat.
The free chips and salsa here are alright, although very salty and that means you’ll keep knocking back the drinks. The bar is a focal point for a reason. The Puesto Perfect Margarita should be on your list, especially for first-timers, and is more affordably priced during happy hour. For anyone who works a 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. job, it’s impossible to enjoy happy hour, offered only from 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. weekdays.
To see it now it might be hard to remember that Puesto got its start as a modest walk-up taco stand in La Jolla, eventually expanding that location and rolling out more shops city-wide and to the north. This Puesto is tucked away in the Headquarters complex not far from Seaport Village. Unlike other eateries in the courtyard that have come and gone, Puesto doesn’t seem to be hurting for business and despite the crowds, the service couldn’t be friendlier or more efficient.
And about that pricing premium, ask yourself: is it delicious? Because I’ll pay through the nose for delicious, regardless of where I have to go, what it is, what the place looks like, or how authentic or not it is. All of that stuff is interesting, but when it comes to the act of eating, those things become secondary. Considering the tasty food, Puesto is impossible for me to dislike.
Written by Joy
Thanks for reading. The Joy of Food blog celebrates eating well, traveling often, and living la dolce vita. San Diego, California is home base, but thoughts are from all over. Reviews and photos help to highlight wonderful (or not) food experiences from around the world.
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I love the flavor of the meats but the meat to tortilla ratio wasn’t that good when I visited.
That’s too bad — I’ve never had that issue myself here. The plated tacos normally come like an open canvas where you can see the amount, and I’ve usually found it to be decent. I have experienced this, though, sometimes at Baja fish taco places where you get two pounds of cabbage and barely any fish in the taco.