Frozen-style French fries piled with grilled steak, cheese, sour cream, guacamole and pico. A San Diego-LA Mexican-American invention from the 1990s.
Where to eat it: 7 restaurants across 2 cities.
Carne asada fries crossed up the California coast from San Diego, where Lolita's Mexican Food on Imperial Avenue is widely credited with the format around 1986: a paper plate of crisp fries piled with grilled steak, melted cheddar, sour cream, guacamole and pico de gallo. The dish reached Los Angeles in the early 1990s and became a staple of late-night Mexican counter spots, particularly across the Westside and the Eastside. It is messy, communal, eaten with two forks, and reads as the West Coast cousin of poutine and nachos. Most pure-blooded LA versions still use crinkle-cut fries.
Common allergens: Dairy
Tip from the editors. Fries must be loud-crisp before they go under the cheese, otherwise the whole plate goes mushy in two minutes. Spread on a single layer in the oven.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Tacos Tu Madre on Westwood Boulevard near UCLA, Los Angeles, is a small walk-up window for tacos, burritos and famous loaded carne asada fries.
Order: Carne asada fries piled with cheese, sour cream, guacamole and pico de gallo.
Tip: Order at the walk-up window; the line moves fast and the half-portion is a meal for one.
Eduardo's Border Grill on Westwood Boulevard, Los Angeles, has served carne asada fries, burritos and combo plates from a corner counter for decades.
Order: Carne asada fries and a steak burrito with house red salsa for the table.
Tip: This is a Westwood lunch counter; cash and card both fine, expect a queue around the UCLA lunch hour.
Lolita's Mexican Food on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in Kearny Mesa, San Diego, the California-burrito counter selling the canonical version for under twelve dollars.
Try: California burrito under $12, breakfast burrito $8-10
Lucha Libre Gourmet Taco Shop in Mission Hills, San Diego, the wrestling-themed counter on Washington Street where Surfin' California burritos last until 11pm on weekends.
Try: Surfin' California burrito, four-dollar tacos, late-night chips and guac
El Comal in San Diego is the North Park family-owned Mexican kitchen on Illinois Street, a longstanding interior-Mexican counter known for carnitas, chilaquiles and Sunday mole.
Signature: Carnitas plate, Chilaquiles, Mole Poblano
Order: The carnitas plate with handmade tortillas; weekend chilaquiles before noon.
Tip: Cash on hand speeds the counter; the courtyard patio runs warmer than the indoor room.
Tacos El Gordo in Chula Vista, San Diego, the open-until-4am Tijuana-style trompo carving adobada tacos for around three dollars and California burritos under twelve.
Try: Vertical-trompo adobada tacos under $4
La Puerta in San Diego is the Gaslamp Quarter Mexican kitchen on Fourth Avenue, the after-bar carne asada fries and Taco Tuesday institution that anchors downtown's late-night Mexican map.
Signature: Carne asada fries, Taco Tuesday, Margarita pitchers
Order: The carne asada fries to share; Taco Tuesday $3 tacos until close.
Tip: Open until 1am Fri-Sat, midnight other nights; the back patio runs heater-and-fan year-round.
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