Don't you just love it when a restaurant gets things right?…read more
Owners Roberto and Rina ("Reina") Perez have figured out how to prepare and present home cooking in a commercial setting, and, in doing so, have shown that they understand the importance of "home" in that construct.
Some of this is no surprise to me. Reina is cousin to Rodnia Attiq (nee Navarro), who, with her mother Rosario Sotelo owned San Diego's El Borrego for almost 25 years, until they closed their business at the end of 2025.
Having been welcomed and fed many times with homely care at El Borrego, I'm not surprised that the family connection - and the warmth and hospitality included in it - extends to Cousin Reina. If you're having a bad day, it's worth dropping in for a bite to eat just so you can say "hi" to her. Between the food and the greeting you'll receive, you'll leave feeling better about things.
So what to eat? Depending on the time of day and how hungry you are, you'll be pleased with Cazuelitas; Pozole Rojo or the herby Guerrero-style Pozole Verde; hearty Tlacoyos; large Enchilada plates; or probably my favorite Mexican dish, Mixiote de Borrego, which is lamb that's spiced, marinated and slow-steamed until it falls off the bone.
I've eated most of those things and seen the rest on my fellow diners' tables. Especially now that El Borrego is gone, if El Centro wasn't a two-hour drive from my house, I'd be a regular, so that I could continue sampling the superb and wide-ranging menu at Antojito Como En Casa.