Ay ay ay ay. As any Southern Californian who moves away from home will tell you, the hardest thing about being abroad or even in another state, is not homesickness or missing family or friends…it’s the lack of decent Mexican food! I have resorted to making it myself at home here in Belgium, but my cooking repertoire is limited and even what I do know how to make (experimentally) isn’t the real thing and requires a lot of time and money, especially when you’re used to a burrito being served to you within minutes and to cost no more than a few dollars.
Mexican food in Southern California is kind of like Döner kebabs in Europe – omnipresent, greasy, ever-cherished, and perfect after a night out. So, of course, there are hundreds of fast food and sit-down restaurants serving all kinds of different Mexican food in San Diego. But one somewhat-hidden gem is called Las Cuatro Milpas and it’s just one block away from Chicano Park, the world’s largest gathering of outdoor murals, in Barrio Logan (or Logan Heights).
Chicano Park in Barrio Logan
Starting around 1910, Barrio Logan became a predominantly Mexican neighborhood after refugees of the Mexican Revolution fled here, only about 20 km/12 miles away from the Mexican border. And the name Las Cuatro Milpas literally means “the four cornfields,” so named after the title of a Mexican folk song dating back to those turbulent times.
Las Cuatro Milpas - The line pours into the street
The restaurant was opened in 1933 by Petra and Natividad (“Nati”) Estudillo and the place has been serving authentic, fresh, homemade Mexican food ever since. Indeed the place looks like it probably hasn’t changed much in the past 76 years – you can see old photos of Petra and Nati on the modest blue-washed cement walls, and the dining room is full of long picnic tables covered in red and white checkered vinyl tablecloths and with long benches as seats. It’s simple and homey and takes no attention away from the food – no frills are needed.
Las Cuatro Milpas - Petra & Nati
The truth is that the times I was there, I never even noticed the surroundings much – I was starving and the sights and smells of the food being cooked right in front of you as you wait in the long line is simply hypnotizing, so I kind of had tunnel vision directed mainly at the frying pans and then at my plate. Once you grab a seat in crowded dining area, you might end up like me, in a food trance and subsequent coma.
Las Cuatros Milpas - It's never actually this empty...really.
Petra and Nati’s place serves tacos made in deep fried corn tortillas, carnitas on fresh corn tortillas, rolled tacos first with the meat first rolled in the corn tortilla and then deep fried, and burritos in fresh flour tortillas. Each can be filled with deliciously tender pulled pork or chicken meat. They’re all topped with lettuce and cheese, and you can get as much of their home-made salsa, with rich, fiery flavors of roasted peppers and tomatoes, as you want to pour inside. They also have chorizo con huevos (spicy sausage with eggs), and of course, tamales – chicken or pork meat with salsa cooked in corn shucks.
As a side dish, you can order a bowl of rice and refried beans (pretty much all you can eat here if you’re a vegetarian, by the way), which are delicious and come with an amazing, hot flour tortilla to eat them with. My mouth is watering and my tummy is grumbling just thinking about this delicious food!
Two tacos, one tamale, rice and beans, and two tortillas
The portions are hearty but not grotesquely large…and you can order as much as you want a la carte, so you will definitely leave full and probably no more than $5-$10 poorer, depending on your personal eating abilities.
If you have trouble finding it, just look for the line of rabid food-lovers drooling down the sidewalk, as the line often extends far beyond the doors of Petra and Nati’s tiny old restaurant.
Open Monday-Saturday
8:30 AM – 3:00 PM
Las Cuatro Milpas
1857 Logan Ave
San Diego, CA 92113
+1 (619) 234-4460
More mouth-watering customer photos – Yelp.com
The History of Barrio Logan – University of San Diego
Photo credits: Photo of Chicano park courtesy of kellinahandbasket; photos of outside & interior of restaurant courtesy of pandapanus; photo of food courtesy of kslee.
That was just perfect! Great post. It makes me so happy to even see a photo of that perfection.
Thank ya. I need it in my life. Can someone fed-ex me some? For real.