La Barbacoa Autentica De Borrego

Been here a few times and as a vegetarian I get the quesadillas and tlacoyos. Also consome (soup) without the meat. The quesadillas are choice of squash blossom or huitlacoche (corn mushroom). Both are very good and highly recommended. As for the tlacoyos, I’ve only had the bean ones and not the potato (they’re always out of that one). Either way, it’s delicious. The soup has lamb, rice and garbanzo (chick peas), but I only ask for the garbanzos in it. It’s good too. On the table they have chopped cilantro and white onions as well as a very spicy molcajete salsa and they bring you corn chips to enjoy while you wait for food.
Service is nice. Jacky is always smiling and the staff is very friendly too.
It’s also a candy store with Mexican candy and drinks.
You have to go there on weekends as they’re closed weekdays and oneast thing. Go inside the candy store to dine in. Food is not served outside like the old pictures here say.

Here’s something unusual: on weekends, the City Heights bodega called Candyland Mini-​Market becomes a cenaduria, providing a few small plastic tables between its register and back wall. This is La Barbacoa Autentica De Borrego.
Cooking in the building’s miniscule kitchen, owner Alberto Teón and his family prepare lamb barbacoa and other Hidalgo-​style plates that are, as the venture’s name suggests, very authentic. By my lights, they’re also very tasty. An old chowhound post suggests that there’s a family connection to the ladies who own El Borrego, a more conventional restaurant serving the same menu, a few blocks away.
The Teóns are at a disadvantage with respect to Hidalgo’s traditional cooks: the Teóns aren’t permitted to make their food in a hole in the ground, so they use pots, which prevent some useful evaporation and a touch of smoke on the meat. No matter; though the food isn’t entirely old-​school, it doesn’t suffer by comparison.
In fact, Alfredo’s barbacoa is the best I’ve tried in the County. It’s fattier than El Borrego’s, and so more flavorful; it’s less washed out and mushy than meats served at Aqui es Texcoco; and it’s a masterful improvement over that offered by La Jolla’s faux-​Mex Puesto.
A quarter-​kilo of Alfredo’s barbacoa — the recommended serving for two — is accompanied by a mountain of extras: two handfuls of lime wedges, a half-​cup each of diced onion and chopped cilantro; a dozen fresh corn tortillas; and homemade salsas, including a roughly-​chopped, wonderfully spicy and fragrant fire-​roasted molcajete salsa. The serving for two has provided me three meals, so far.
The Teón’s lamb consommé, which the uninitiated might dismiss as «just broth,» benefits from a long, slow roasting process that draws gelatin from the bones. Every slightly viscous sip lingers on the tongue, preoccupying the appreciative guest, who, greedily rolling the deep, rich flavor around his mouth, slowly, reluctantly swallows, then quickly sips again. Eventually, he finds luscious shreds of barbacoa and tender garbanzos, a sort of bonus that’s typical of the dish, but one that’s hardly needed.
La Autentica Barbacoa de Borrego offers several delicacies, including: birria de res; mixiote; pancita (AKA «menudo»); tacos dorados (fried tacos); quesadillas with squash blossoms, rajas, or huitlacoche; and bean-​stuffed tlacoyas, which are roughly similar to pupusas.
I haven’t sampled the entire menu, but owner Alfredo says that it’s important to arrive early, ahead of fans of his most popular menu items, because, by mid-​morning, those foods are all sold out. He also suggests visiting on Saturdays, as Sundays are busy… people-​lined-​up-​out-​the-​front-​door busy. I recommend beating the crowd in order to find parking in that mostly red-​curbed block.
Those things being said, if you arrive late, you can always order «to go», or put your name on the list and hang out until it’s your turn to sit down and chow down. If you like nice people, home cooking and lamb, La Barbacoa Autentica De Borrego is definitely worth the wait.
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Cenaduria de Candyland:
El Borrego:
Aqui es Texcoco:
Puesto:

Ok so this place is literally a hole in the wall food stop, but hands down the BEST Barbacoa in SD! The «mixiotes» are AMAZING!!! The meat falls right of the bone and is cooked to perfection! They are really big so it feed up to 3 – 4 depending on appetite!

I love this place! The tacos have the right amount of meat & it’s super tasty! Love getting the consome. The salsa they have for the chips is spicy and delicious! Good place to go eat on a Saturday.

I have since then been back several times and am never disappointed (except when they are closed)
PLEASE extend your hours!

I’ve passed by this place many times on my way home, finally we Unilocaled it and it had some pretty good reviews so we decided we have to try it out. It’s family owned and operated and they were very friendly and inviting. I ordered the ¼ kilo of Barbacoa which came with tortillas, onions, cilantro, lime and 2 types of chile (which i must say was off the hook love the chile rojo). And the consommé was great my 8 year step son who likes nothing ate pretty much the whole thing. We took it to go as a quick fix for lunch and I must say it was a smart move. I would definitely recommend this, place the staff is great the food is good, my only qualm about it is that the meat is cooked in a pot and not in a fire pit under ground which is the really traditional way to make Barbacoa. But other than that it was a good experience, hence the 4 star review. Do yourself the favor and stop by for some really good Barbacoa.

I had just moved to City Heights and was excited to see this little place down the street. This place is about as real as it gets. If you like lamb then you must try their food. Everything is fresh and homemade and you can eat like el Rey for just a few bucks. Only open on the weekends.

******UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT JAN 2OO9, IM NOT SURE IF THE ARE SERVING THE SAME MENU AS I OUTLINED ON MY INTIAL REVIEW******
I love Masa-​based antojitos (appetizers)…
Tacos
Sopes
Huraches
Gorditas
Mulitas
San Diego has its share of delicious and diverse masa-​based antojitos from Mexico, however Tlacoyos are definitely a rare find. Tlacoyas are basically masa-​based turnovers. Thick corn dough deep-​fried, drizzled with crema, sprinkled cotija cheese, and stuffed with you’re your choice of beans, rajas (strips of chilies), or chicharron (pork rind). They can top it with lettuce if you wish, I take mine without. Simple yet divine

La Barbacoa turns out a great Tlacoya but they specialize in lamb. The menu here is very similar to El Borrego both specializing in Hildagan regional specialties barbacoa (braised lamb) and Mixiote (lamb shank steamed in the maguey leaves). Tiny corm smut and squash blossom quesadillas are also available. I will be checking out their pozole on my next trip.
The ambiance here may not suit everyone; basically the restaurant is an open air garage on the back side of Mexican Candy store with a few benches and tables set up.
The lamb here is on spot, but just their consommé and tlacoyoas alone are worth the trip here for me. If you want to try something beyond hybrid border-​mex food come try some of what Central Mexico has to offer.
Just off University and Fairmount in City Heights
Credit Cards Accepted
Open Saturday and Sunday Only
Good for lunch

When is the last time that you had lunch is someone’s driveway? Well, I did a couple of days ago. Reliable sources had sung the praises of this place so I knew not to fear. The mother and daughter owners greeted us and were happy to clue in some gringos on some of the unusual Mexican offerings. Fortunately, I had done my homework before so I already knew what I wanted to get, even if I didn’t know the proper pronunciation. We tried the Consommé (lamb soup which had garbanzo beans and pieces of lamb). It is served with onions and cilantro but watch out for the homemade hot sauce. I put a little in my boil and it packed a punch.
We tried a number of things off the (small) menu, including the lamb, the Huitlachoche quesadillas (which was one of our favorites) and some of the tlacoyas, which is made with masa so even the gluten free people can eat it. We tried the bean, poblano pepper and pork varieties. My favorite was the pepper. I thought the lamb would have been served with some tortillas as well but maybe something got lost in translation. They are only open on the weekends but planning to expand their menu offerings next month.

Pretty outright wonderful. I almost hesitate to review it, since I’m afraid they’re not licensed and don’t want to get them in trouble.
Jogging one day, I saw a curious sign above the driveway on what appeared to be an ordinary house. It appeared to be a sign for a restaurant of some sort, advertising authentic barbacoa de borrego (authentic Mexican-​style, slow roasted lamb). But the setting was a driveway (!), closed off by a gate and not a sign of life in the house.
And then I noticed the small print: «Sabado y Domingo». This place was only open on weekends. Given that it was a Tuesday, I took this as my invitation to return. And boy, am I glad I did.
Barbacoa is Mexican barbecue. The tortillas, lime wedges, onion and cilantro served with it leave no doubt as to its origins. But the offerings — usually just a plate of tender, delicious, slow-​roasted lamb or goat with a healthy offering of fixin’s — make it considerably more than just another ‘burrito shack’.
Delicious, inexpensive, quirky and friendly, this place leaves little to be desired. Check it out, enjoy the atmosphere and enjoy the food. But don’t make it a victim of its own success.
Also, make sure you try the Quesadilla de Huitlacoche. Huitlachoche (pronounced «KWEET-​la-​coach-​ay» and sometimes called «corn poop») is a fungus that grows on corn. Microscopic and dark brown, it grows in colonies on the corn itself, slowly dripping from the ear as poop drips from a diuretic anus. But boy, is it yummy! Trust me.