Having grown up in Santa Ana, California, my cravings for authentic Mexican food come as often as some people's cravings for Mom's meatloaf or Mac & Cheese. For me, it's comfort food. My Grandmother used to make enchiladas alongside fried chicken. She would make as many tacos as we could eat. For my sister, Laurie, who I think holds the family record, that would be 14 in one sitting.
El Nopalita, off of the I-5 and Santa Fe Drive in Encinitas, reminds me of the markets from my home town. Today almost the entire strip mall has taken over that has been taken over by a family of Mexican restaurateurs who run El Nopalita and make some of the best tamales, carnitas, and salsa in North County. A few years ago the market, which housed a meat counter and tortillaria, burned down. It took what seemed like an eternity for them to rebuild. The take- out carnitas by the pound, and brisk holiday tamale sales were moved over to the restaurant temporarily. But now, the market is back in business with a new brighter facade, a bigger meat counter, and they are finally making fresh tortillas again.
We recently had El Nopalita cater a party for us. Lucy took our order over the phone, making suggestions on what to order from chicken fajitas to carne asada and carnitas. We wanted something vegetarian, so in addition to the items above, we ordered the cheese & rajas tamales. Those were the only disappointment being a bit dry because they didn't come with the sauce they serve in the restaurant. Everything else was hot and fresh. Our order came with chips, corn and flour tortillas, 2 kinds of salsa, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole. The price? For 40 people, including chaffing dishes (with sterno) our order came to about $300.00. That works out to about $ 7.50 per person! We had plenty of food with lots of leftovers.
In the same strip mall as El Nopalita, there is a little produce market back in the corner where you can by fresh or dried chilis, limes, cilantro, onions, and tomatoes and other ingredients to make your own Mexican food at home. Then you can stop by the main market for special cuts of meat such as carne asada. If you're not feeling that adventurous, the main market has pre- packaged fresh salsas, guacamole, and tamales ready to go. You can also get rice and beans by the pint or quart.
What I like to do on Friday nights is buy a pound of pre-cooked carnitas from the meat counter, a package of warm fresh corn tortillas (which I eat a few of on the way home), some pre-cooked rice and beans, a pint of salsa, and a six pack of Dos XX, along with some cilantro, onions, and limes from the produce market. Once home, I pop open a beer, put on some Latin Jazz while I get the tacos ready for dinner, and pretend I'm back in Santa Ana.
El Nopalita Tortilla Factory, Market & Restaurant. 560 & 582 Santa Fe Drive Encinitas, Ca 760-426-9206.
