La Victoria Taqueria San Carlos ★ 4.4
La Victoria on E. San Carlos is San Jose's ultimate late-night institution, serving overstuffed burritos with legendary house-made orange sauce until 03:00.
Try: Breakfast burrito drenched in house orange sauce
History
La Victoria Taqueria opened on San Carlos Street in Downtown San Jose and became famous for a proprietary orange-coloured tomatillo and chile sauce that customers now drench over everything on the menu. The sauce, sometimes called salsa naranja, is bottled and sold at the counter and shipped to former San Jose residents across the country. It became the defining condiment of San Jose's Mexican food scene, referenced by locals as a marker of genuine SJ identity. The taqueria's late hours, serving until 03:00, made it the default post-bar stop for Downtown nightlife.
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 300 g fresh tomatillos, husked and halved
- 3 dried ancho chillies, seeds removed
- 2 dried guajillo chillies, seeds removed
- 3 garlic cloves
- Half white onion, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp cumin
- Half tsp smoked paprika (for the characteristic orange hue)
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp sugar (to balance acidity)
- 150 ml water
Method
- Toast dried chillies in a dry pan over medium heat, 20 to 30 seconds per side. Soak in 200 ml boiling water 15 minutes until soft.
- Char tomatillos cut-side down in a dry pan over high heat 5 minutes until blackened in spots.
- Blend charred tomatillos, drained chillies, garlic, onion, cumin and paprika with 150 ml water until very smooth.
- Pour into a pan and simmer 8 minutes, stirring, until sauce thickens and darkens slightly.
- Season with salt and sugar. Blend again briefly for a completely smooth texture.
- Serve warm over tacos, burritos or eggs. Store refrigerated up to one week.
Tip from the editors. The smoked paprika is the domestic approximation of the proprietary colour: the real La Victoria recipe is a trade secret, but this version captures the orange hue and medium-heat balance.
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