Loncheria La Mixteca serves delicious tacos de asada

The sign on the false front of the restaurant reads "La Mixteca," yet the printed menu posted inside advertises the restaurant as Loncheria La "Mixteca." Whatever the true name of the restaurant is,its a delightful little place that's located near the Pemex station, on the east side of Highway 1, which just happens to be the main street, and the only paved street, in the small town of San Vicente.

Photo: La Mixteca is just another small restaurant located on the east side of Highway 1. Note the 20 gallon propane tanks that provide gas for the griddle.

For being such a small restaurant, the loncheria posts an impressive menu, as the menu offers such items as burritos, tortas, tacos, dorados, quesadillas bistec ranchero and menu. The breakfast, or "Desayunos" menu offers Huevos con Chorizo, Huevos Estrellados, Huevos Rancheros, and more. Unlike the menus of many small restaurants and diners in Baja California, the menu is professionally painted and quite attractive. Like most small, family-owened and operated restaurants in Mexico, the menu is subject to change, and subject to whatever they have on hand, during my visit, you could have anything you wanted, as long as it was Tacos de Asada.

Photo: I manage to snap this photo of the entire crew working La Mixteca at the time of my visit. The three daughters, and mom, second from the right of the photo.

La Mixteca has a white plastic table and four chairs on the small porch in front of the restaurant, protected from the elements by the roof of the building. There is no dining inside the small building, as the inside is composed of the, shall we say, compact kitchen. Diners sit at the plastic table, and enjoy their meal, staring at a couple of 20-gallon propane tanks which provide heat for the stove, cope with the sometimes swirling dust, and enjoy the sounds of the busy highway. In keeping with the Baja California style of many small loncherias, the door is always open to the elements, and the dining is outside. It's not the "Ritz," but it's my kind of place.

Like almost all small loncherias in Mexico, La Mixteca is family owned and operated, and its very common to see many family members working together. At the time of my visit, in the late afternoon of Saturday, September 29, 2007, mom was operating the restaurant, along with three of her daughters. Mom appears to oversee the operation and takes orders, and the oldest daughter, who is a beautiful girl that appears to be about 18 years old, actually cooked my order of tacos de asada. I watched the two younger daughters chop vegetables, prepare salsa, and bus the solitary table. The kitchen is small, but is clean and very well-equipped, as it has a refrigerator, as opposed to an ice chest, in the fashion of many similar loncherias, a stove, a griddle and lots of pots and pans neatly hung on the wall. The kitchen includes something that I've NEVER seen before, during all of my culinary expeditions to Mexico: An oak hutch cupboard with brass knobs and glass doors! The hutch cupboard looks almost like the one that we have in our living room. There's a family photo mounted on the fridge, which adds a nice, "homey," touch.

Photo: The beautiful oldest daughter smiles as I take her photo, as she prepares my delicious tacos. This photo gives you a good look into the kitchen of La Mixteca.

I ordered two tacos de asada, and I received a couple of delicious carne asada tacos, garnished with diced tomatoes and chopped cilantro, on a lightly-toasted flour tortilla, for the price of MEX $20.00. The meat was marinated and very juicy, and the vegetables were crisp and fresh. The four tortillas, which is unusual for Baja California, were lightly toasted on the griddle before the contents were loaded on to them.

Photo: Two delicious carne asada tacos, one open for the photo, and the other one closed. Note the key limes for garnish, and to squeeze onto the tacos just before eating.

You know, it's a lot of fun to sit at a plastic table, in front of a small loncheria, beside the busy transpenninsular highway, watching the traffic rumble by, and munching on a couple of delicious carne asada tacos. La Mixteca serves delicious tacos, and they're owned and staffed by local people, which adds to a winning combination.

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