San Diego Cali-Mex Food and Craft Beer: California Burritos, Fish Tacos and West Coast IPAs

Sitting twenty minutes north of the Tijuana border and blessed with year-round Pacific seafood and agricultural valleys, San Diego has developed a borderland food and drink culture unlike anywhere else in the United States. Here, late-night neighborhood taco shops ("berto's" counters), wood-fired birria stands, and harbor fish markets share the spotlight with more than a hundred and fifty independent breweries that defined the modern American craft beer movement. We broke down the essential dishes to order and the best neighborhoods to taste them.

The Four Pillars of San Diego Cali-Mex Food

Unlike Tex-Mex (which relies heavily on yellow cheddar, cumin, and ground beef) or Mission-style burritos in San Francisco (which pack rice and whole beans inside steamed foil), San Diego's signature border cuisine, universally called Cali-Mex, is built around flame-grilled meats, crispy ocean fish, fresh pico de gallo, and golden French fries:

• The Original California Burrito: Invented right here in San Diego taco shops, a true California burrito wraps char-grilled carne asada (marinated steak), hot crispy French fries, shredded cheese, sour cream (crema), and fresh guacamole or pico de gallo inside a huge, chewy flour tortilla toasted on the flat-top grill. Notice that rice and beans never belong inside a traditional San Diego California burrito. Always grab red and green salsa cups from the counter salsa bar to pour over each bite.
• Baja-Style Fish Tacos: Brought north from the surf camps of Ensenada and San Felipe in Baja California, the classic San Diego fish taco starts with a strip of mild white fish dipped in crisp beer batter and fried golden, laid over warm corn tortillas, and topped with crunchy shredded green cabbage, white crema sauce, pico de gallo, and a squeeze of fresh lime. For a healthier variation popular in La Jolla and Pacific Beach, order char-grilled mahi-mahi or wahoo tacos.
• Carne Asada Fries: The ultimate shareable post-beach platter: a mountain of crisp shoestring or crinkle-cut fries piled high with chopped carne asada, melted cheddar and jack cheese, guacamole, and sour cream.
• Tijuana-Style Tacos and Birria: In neighborhoods like Chula Vista, Barrio Logan, and Downtown, taquerias serve street-style adobada (spit-roasted marinated pork sliced straight onto handmade corn tortillas with a dollop of guacamole) alongside crispy cheese-crusted quesabirria tacos dipped into hot beef consommé.

Why San Diego Is the Capital of the West Coast IPA

Since pioneer brewers opened here in the late 1980s and mid-1990s, San Diego County has been the global birthplace of the West Coast IPA, a crisp, clear, dry, piney, and citrus-forward style of India Pale Ale that showcases Pacific Northwest hops. In recent years, local brewers have expanded equally into crisp Mexican-style lagers brewed with corn and lime, hazy IPAs, and barrel-aged sours.

Where to Go: Best Food and Brewery Corridors

For the highest walkable concentration of craft beer taprooms, head straight to 30th Street and University Avenue in North Park, the industrial brewery alleys of Miramar ("Beeramar"), or the waterfront gardens of Liberty Station and Little Italy. For historic dockside seafood, including San Diego's famous uni (fresh local sea urchin), visit the Saturday morning Tuna Harbor Dockside Market on the Embarcadero or the fish markets along Point Loma's Scott Street.