The $1.39 Fish Taco That Feeds North County

In a world where breathing costs $25.99 a month on an auto-pay plan, El Pueblo is still selling a fish taco for $1.39. Not a sad, shrunken, “what did you expect for a buck” taco, either. A real one: fresh tortillas, hand-chopped cabbage, crema, a lime on every single one. It all started when owner Jack Ballo bought a gas station in Cardiff, looked at the repair shop, and decided the world needed fewer oil changes and more tacos. His family told him he was crazy. Sixteen years and five locations later, North County would like to thank him for ignoring them.

This week on Happy Half Hour, host Troy Johnson and Bebemos co-founder Preston Caffrey pull up to El Pueblo. Preston has eaten here more than a thousand times, usually in the form of a late-night carne asada burrito shared with his son between rounds of Call of Duty. Jack famously doesn’t do interviews, so GM Nony Funes does the talking. She confesses to the great COVID price hike of 2020, when she bumped the taco to $1.99 and got hate mail, threats, and a summons to the boss’s office. The taco now goes up a dime every other year, by treaty. She also tells the story of a woman who walked in with a gallon Ziploc bag and filled it at the free pickled-carrot bar. Jack let her. She’s a regular now. 

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Of course, Troy can’t sit in front of a fish taco without giving a history lecture. This one covers black-market seafood stands in Ensenada, Japanese fishermen who may have brought tempura batter to Baja, and Ralph Rubio carrying a handwritten recipe in his wallet for eight years before finally opening his first shop in 1983. You’ll also learn why cabbage beats lettuce and how lime chemically neutralizes fishy smells.

Then, in honor of the $1.39 taco, the crew drafts San Diego’s best deals. You’ll have to listen for the full list, but it includes picks like a burger-fries-and-bubbly combo for $20 at Herb & Sea. Financially responsible decision-making has never tasted so good.

This summary was provided to you by AI. To hear from the humans, listen to Happy Half Hour wherever you get your podcasts.