Tag Archives: salsa

Taqueria La Hermita

by Mikey

So I’ve been asking around to find really big burritos in order to warm up for my quest to take on the B3 at the Sahara in Las Vegas.  My neighbor told me that TLH (I’m just going to use the initials because I’m way to lazy to keep typing the name) had a fairly good sized burrito called the super burrito.  Time for a little warm up…

Taqueria La Hermita – Ventura – Johnson Blvd

TLH is really only big enough to be run by two people at a time: a cashier and a cook.  The cook is right next to the cashier so he was cooking my food as I was ordering it.  I ordered their carne asada super burrito with everything.  They told me that it was a bit over 2lbs, so it’s a good warm up.  I didn’t want to order more than one because I was a bit worried I wouldn’t like it.

They handed me the goods and it felt pretty heavy.  It was a pretty large burrito, and definitely not one you’re going to pick up and eat. The tortillas they use are pretty good and very fresh.  The sauce has a great kick and it’s kinda nice to have a burrito with a little bite.  They have a pretty good salsa and it has great jalapeno action happening.

It was pretty much down hill from there, which really sucks, because they have some great prices on their combo meals.  The carne is so diced up I could almost eat it through a straw, not to mention that it was closer to grey than brown.  I’ve never had meat so cut up.  What adds to the whole dicing thing is that the cheese is all crumbly, not shredded or even cubed, but crumbly.  The guacamole seemed a bit off too.

The beans and rice were fairly bland and the sour cream was tasteless too.  Their salsa saves the burrito as far as flavor, but it’s not enough to bail out a burrito of this size.  I ate the whole thing because I needed the practice, but my search is definitely going to have to continue for an even larger, and hopefully better tasting, burrito.

If you recommend places for me to try, don’t just give me some place that puts together a really large burrito. Let’s try and make sure it tastes good to so that I’ll actually want to finish it.  This burrito was more like the last few Nicolas Cage movies. You wanna like it, and really hope it gets better by the end, but alas……….

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Filed under Ventura, Ventura County

Evita’s Mexican Café

by Mikey

I was told to hit Evita’s for the salsa and the enchiladas.  Since I dig both, I headed on over.  Evita’s has won a few local awards for salsa at the Oxnard salsa festivals and you can view their various awards right over the salsa bar.  I was hoping I was in for, at the least, some really good salsas.

Evita’s Mexican Café – Ventura off of Main St

Evita’s is a little pink restaurant on the side of Main St, at the East end, before you hit the Pacific View Mall.  Even though I rarely enter a pink building, because it is a man card violation, I figured it was for a good cause and I had already gotten another violation that day for watching Footloose.

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Filed under Ventura, Ventura County

Breakfast at Jim and Rob’s Fresh Grill

by Mikey

We need more places around the area that give us a decent breakfast for a good price, that isn’t fast food and isn’t the highly marketed 10 minute “eat it and then get out ’cause we need the table for the next group” kinda place. I think I found a good option in Ventura that has a simple menu, good prices and fresh ingredients.  Plus, it’s next to a cool little coffee joint called Caffrodite’s.

Jim & Rob’s Fresh Grill – Main St not to far from Ventura High school

You’re gonna have to keep a sharp eye out for them, but they are right on a corner. They look more like a taco stand than a place to get breakfast, but they have great outside seating.  Ventura is a place that’s perfect for outside seating.  The weather changes are, for the most part, very small.  So most of the time you actually want to be outside enjoying a great meal.

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There are no servers here.  It’s an order it and then pick it up kind of place, which means you only have to tip the cooks if you want to.  The food is pretty good though, so you’ll probably want to give them a tip.  I enjoyed my breakfast so much that I gave them a great tip. “Never play leap frog with a unicorn!” Now if that’s not a good tip then I don’t know what is. Continue reading

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Filed under Ventura, Ventura County

Mama Rita’s Revenge

by Brian

So tonight, I was totally planning on doing a review on this Mexican restaurant that I went to last week.  But to be honest, it wasn’t that great and I was lacking the inspiration necessary to feign interest in the place.  Therefore, on a whim, I chose to make my triumphant return to Mama Rita’s in Newbury Park.

For those of you who haven’t read the Kitchen Nightmares debacle, check it out now before you jump into my post tonight.

mamas sign

So I wanted to originally go back to Mama Rita’s with the crew that we took to the Kitchen Nightmares shoot.  But conflicting schedules, plus the fact that Michelle had a baby in the interim (congrats, btw!), made it a luxury that I just couldn’t afford.  I walked into the place at around 7:45pm and was greeted warmly by the owner’s mother.  She offered me a table, but since I was all alone, I opted to saddle up to the bar. Continue reading

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Filed under Newbury Park, Ventura County

El Taco De Mexico

by Mikey

I took a little journey south of the border, well, south of Main St anyways.  I had heard many good things about El Taco de Mexico.  However, what they did not tell me was that there were like 5 of these places, all over Ventura County. Without knowing which one was the good one, I was hopeful that I might get lucky.

El Taco de Mexico – Ventura, Main St by the Pacific View Mall

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The first thing I noticed about this joint was that it was like a sauna inside. The heat was horrible. I was only inside for 10 minutes so far and was sweating like I stole something. If they are not going to kick up the AC then they need to invest in some el fanos.

Wiping the sweat from my eyes I noticed that the menu was 20% Spanish and 80% pictures. Lucky for me I took 3 years of Spanish in high school, finally I’d get to use it for something. Continue reading

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Filed under Ventura, Ventura County

Wasting Away at Margarita Villa

by Mikey

Any trip to Ventura should always include a trip to the Harbor.  There are a lot of restaurants to choose from, so over the next few months EatMeCalifornia will try to get you a good idea of where to go for the best views and the best food.  We’ve already given you the Seafood Broiler.  Now it’s time to spend some time at Margarita Villa.

Margarita Villa – Ventura Harbor

Margarita Villa is on the top deck, right above the carousel.  They have one of the best views of the Harbor and a great deck to eat and enjoy the view. Like most of the restaurants in the harbor, it has the hand painted walls, lots of windows and a full bar.  There are a few TVs to catch a game and they have a live band a few nights a week.  On this particular night there was a band and for the most part they played cover songs.  All I remember of the talent is a horrible rendition of Johnny Be Good.  I hoped the food would be better then the music, because I think I saw Chuck Berry crouched in a corner, ready to hit the lead singer with his guitar. Continue reading

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Filed under Ventura, Ventura County

Tia Babe’s and the Return of Me!

by Mikey

First off, many thanks to B-hizzle for filling in for me while Time Warner did some work on the lines.  If you all have an opportunity to get internet from somebody else, go ahead and do that.  At least you all got to enjoy all Brian all the time.    On to Tia Babe’s! Continue reading

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Filed under Santa Paula, Ventura County