All right, all right… I realize I have been on a bit of a Southern food kick these last couple weeks. So let’s change it up this week. Let’s talk about San Diego staples. When I think of quintessential SD eats I picture fish tacos, carne fries, California burritos, etc. This week’s spot has all of the aforementioned goodies… and then some! It’s a tiny little taco shop in La Mesa called Tako Factory. Now this is going to spark some controversies amongst our SD readers, but they have THE BEST tacos and burritos I’ve had in SD so far. Sorry I’m not sorry. Because it’s true (or at least it’s my opinion and I consider it true). It’s also the one spot Ian and I take all of our out of town guests. That includes little old me before I translocated here!

Ian and I first stumbled upon Tako Factory two years ago. It is actually the first restaurant Ian took me to in San Diego on my first trip out to visit him! It was recommended to us by his twin brother Sean (hi Sean!) who heard about it through their friend Beau (hi Beau!). I was so moved by our meal, that the very next day I agreed to be Ian’s girlfriend! So, besides all the wonderful memories that have been made at this beautiful little taco shop over the last two years, what makes it so great? Well, I’m not 100% sure where to start. Let’s begin with Ian’s favorite part… the Adovada meat! The Adovada meat at Tako Factory is spit roasted, heavily seasoned and spiced, and served up any way you could ever want it. In a taco, burrito, or even on fries! Ian likes to get the cali burrito and sub out the carne for Adovada meat. Speaking of burritos, they also have one called the SD Popper that has jalapeño poppers in it. Per Ian, it is totally rad (his terminology, not mine). Ian is also obsessed with their peanut sauce. Very spicy and packed full of flavor. All that is a bit too spicy for me (I know, I’m sorry, I’m new here). Instead, there are two things on the menu that I get every single time we go (and we go pretty often). First of all, we always split the rolled tacos. They are stellar (my word this time). They are topped with an absurd amount of guac, cheese, cabbage slaw, and pico. Last time we went, I ate 3 on my own. Whoops. IMHO, the most life changing thing at Tako Factory is the chicken chipotle taco. Sounds boring, right? There is a twist. They take the chicken and a whopping amount of cheese and grill it right on the flat top before putting it in the taco. I have never had a taco like this. It has completely changed my view of tacos. It’s the measuring block for all other tacos for me. Ian’s mom introduced me to this one, and it’s the best gift she has ever given me! Well, besides her son I guess…

As I alluded earlier, Tako Factory is the one place we take all of our guests to show them real SD food. So far, we have 100% satisfaction with our friends and family. Hopefully it will even convince some of them to join us out here full time! We recommend all you SD folks go out and try it too! If you have a spot you still think is better, please let us know! This whole recommendation thing goes both ways, ya know  😉