Cotijas Mexican Grill

After enjoying a late night birthday tribute to the legendary Bruce Lee, my friend and I found ourselves starving for some sustenance. Since it's San Diego, the only thing open at this hour was Mexican food and Cotijas was the closest thing near us. This place is actually surprisingly difficult to locate because its front entrance is hidden from view, and worse yet they've got some sneaky deal bait posted at the checkout window that is nowhere to be found on the regular menu.

My friend and I decided to split the carne asada fries and some carnitas tacos. Truth be told, we could have probably done with only the tacos but our eyes betrayed our stomachs and we over-ordered. The tacos were pretty damn big and were WAY better than those at Mama Testa's from a few days earlier. The [not so] healthy portion of carne asada fries were really good as well, and definitely better than most of its competitors in the area. I especially liked that the fries weren't double-fried/burnt like Cotixan's tend to be.

While their dining room isn't open late, their location kinda sucks, and they don't inform you of the bargains until after you order, Cotijas isn't so bad. There is a single outside table where your pooch can hang (if you can find it) and it's a decent late night alternative to the Jack in the Box in the same plaza. Overall, it wasn't superb, but not too shabby either.

Food: 7/10

Service: 6/10

Price: $

Atmosphere: 4/10