Welcome to SDM’s Guide to Food + Drink, a series created to help you decide on where to eat in San Diego—curated by the team at San Diego Magazine.
Damn, this barbacoa.
People drove from L.A. and San Diego, crossed the border at 7 a.m., formed a line at his family’s restaurant in Tijuana. They’d order the barbacoa by the pound, drive back with the prize. Pilots landing at Tijuana airport would radio air traffic control, convince someone to go pick them up a few pounds to bring back to Mexico City. That’s when youngish Francisco “Paco” Perez—who’d worked weekends in the kitchen alongside his uncle, father, and mom while studying engineering—decided he should probably bring Aqui Es Texcoco across the border.
This is SDM Guide to San Diego Food + Drink. Favorite dishes, drinks, places, things found across the city by food editor and longtime Food Network judge, Troy Johnson. From moms and pops to Michelin stars—the stories of the people who make the food and drink culture hum.
So Paco went to Texcoco. A town about 50 miles northeast-ish of Mexico City, it’s famous for their barbecue holes. Lamb smoke steams up from the earth like an unbeatable incense. He studied the science of the pits—which essentially keep the smoke and juices trapped inside, steaming and basting the meat for hours. The result is incredibly tender, juicy meat that makes a damn good taco or a damn fine alternative to religion.
“The health department wouldn’t let me dig holes in the ground and cook food in the US,” Paco laughs. “So I designed these ovens.”
Put his engineering brain to work for the greater barbacoa good.
Order the barbacoa platter. Load it on a corn tortilla with their trio of salsas and condiments (a guajillo hot salsa, a radioactive-green tomatillo-jalapeno salsa, and the star—vinegar onions with oregano and habanero). Try the chicharron de queso—a mix of cheese (Oaxacan, mozzarella, and Jack), griddled and browned until it’s a giant cheese chip. Crack pieces off and scoop the daily guacamole. All meat here is Halal.
The original Tijuana location is going on 35 years, run by Paco’s brother. San Diego is 19 years. Last year, he opened his first spot in L.A.
“In engineering, they don’t hire you after age 50,” says Paco. “I needed to put my kids through school. So with this restaurant, I was able to own my own life.”
