In San Diego, tacquerias are everywhere. If you’re going to open a taco shop here, you have to stand out amongst the crowd. Puesto Mexican Street Food does just that by offering upscale casual-fare in a delightful space in downtown La Jolla.
Brothers and native La Jollans, Eric and Alan Adler, opened
Puesto in early February 2012, and judging from the crowd, they’re fitting
right in at their quaint spot on Wall Street.
The boys are usually running the show, but if not, many servers are
eager to greet and guide customers.
The eatery is chicly designed, both indoor and out. Upon entry, check out the brick façade, the
vaulted ceilings, and the garage door windows.
Inside, there is more exposed brick, hanging yellow light fixtures, and
several eclectic seating options, including a very cool circular booth. All the ingredients are on full display at
the counter, and the fresh produce sits as a colorful exhibit behind glass
refrigerator doors. When choosing,
you’ll be able to customize your order as it is quickly constructed before your
eyes.
Puesto’s menu is relatively unassuming until you realize all
of the ingredient options - then ordering gets complicated. Essentially, there are 3 main choices on the
menu – tacos (two for $6.45 or three for $8.95), guisado bowls (think rice
bowls) ($8.95), and salad bowls ($6.95 + $2.95 for meat and veggies). While they do offer some preset combinations,
I’d prefer a larger set of suggestions, as decisiveness is not my strong suit.
 |
| Guisados go on top of the cheese as it grills |
I went with three tacos and followed the recommended combinations with a few alterations. I chose the pollo al pastor with pineapple, fresh garlic, cheese and tinga (a mixture of hibiscus, chipotle and onion). For numero dos, I picked the carne with cactus, jalapenos and garlic, topped with guac and pistache salsa (pistachio and jalapeno). Lastly, I went veggie with huitlacoche (corn truffle) and zucchini flower. I got them all with cheese, which is shredded cheese, pan fried and topped with your guisados, then rolled up and placed on your fresh made corn tortilla. Each taco looked gourmet and was delicious and full of flavor, but with their small size, I could rack up quite the bill with my appetite. As a gringo, I wish there was a flour tortilla option (go ahead and scoff). Definitely try out the pistachio salsa, as it was one of a kind and brought some good heat.
In addition to more combinations of ingredients than you could
imagine, Puesto offers a boatload of choices to wash down your meal. The fountain soda bar has many interesting
options including cactus and prickly pear soda.
Puesto also offers house made hibiscus tea, and choices of wine and beer
(including drafts that travel through frozen pipes), as well as a flavorful frozen Lime-a-Rita Margarita made from agave wine. For an icy treat, try the horchata, which was
a first for me, and therefore, the best I’ve ever had. No, it really was.
Stop by Puesto and let them guide you through their menu of
fresh and tasty ingredients. They’re
open everyday from 11am to 9pm.
PUESTO MEXICAN STREET FOOD
1026 Wall St., La Jolla
(858) 454-1260
Hours:
Everyday 11am to 9pm
