Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Fred's Mexican Cafe - Risky

To call a Mexican restaurant Fred's Mexican Cafe in San Diego is a gutsy move, simply because locals have no shortage of authentic Mexican cuisine options to choose from. That's not to say only Mexicans can make great Mexican food, which would be like saying only Italians can make Pizza - that's ridiculous! What I am saying is that Fred better back up the gimmicky name, otherwise it's just kind of tasteless (pun intended).

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/10/22543/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/10/22544/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/10/22545/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/10/22546/

I carefully cut this thing open to reveal the black bean soup within. Generally, I try to be optimistic when I go about my daily life on this planet, and the people who work there were nice, but this was possibly the worst tasting burrito I've ever had in my life: messy as all hell, completely flavorless, and the bits of fish did not mesh well with the other ingredients, at all. This is beyond the repair of mere rice with chicken broth - this is an international disaster.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/10/22549/

I was later told by the manager that the owner is not actually named Fred, but that he is indeed Caucasian - he just doesn't have a Caucasian enough name I guess. Apparently the company started in Hawaii, and some of the Hawaiian decor remains. There is another Fred's Mexican Cafe in Old Town and yet another in the Gas Lamp - the one I visited is located in Pacific Beach and is connected to the night club known as Typhoon Saloon.

So, I suppose if you are really drunk and parting in Peebs, or if you are a tourist who doesn't know any better, you might end up with some Fred's in ya'. But based on my fish burrito experience, I find it hard to believe that any given San Diegian has eaten at Fred's more than once - that is, any San Diegian who was sober enough to remember there are plenty of taquerías within walking distance that are half the price with food that's twice as tasty.

On a related note - if you eat at Taco Bell in San Diego, you should really be asking yourself some serious questions about your priorities, motives, and susceptibility to propaganda.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/10/22547/

Fred's Mexican Cafe

1165 Garnet Ave.

Pacific Beach

(858) 483-8226

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Raging Cider & Mead celebrates nine years

Company wants to bring America back to its apple-tree roots
Next Article

Now what can they do with Encinitas unstable cliffs?

Make the cliffs fall, put up more warnings, fine beachgoers?

To call a Mexican restaurant Fred's Mexican Cafe in San Diego is a gutsy move, simply because locals have no shortage of authentic Mexican cuisine options to choose from. That's not to say only Mexicans can make great Mexican food, which would be like saying only Italians can make Pizza - that's ridiculous! What I am saying is that Fred better back up the gimmicky name, otherwise it's just kind of tasteless (pun intended).

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/10/22543/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/10/22544/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/10/22545/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/10/22546/

I carefully cut this thing open to reveal the black bean soup within. Generally, I try to be optimistic when I go about my daily life on this planet, and the people who work there were nice, but this was possibly the worst tasting burrito I've ever had in my life: messy as all hell, completely flavorless, and the bits of fish did not mesh well with the other ingredients, at all. This is beyond the repair of mere rice with chicken broth - this is an international disaster.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/10/22549/

I was later told by the manager that the owner is not actually named Fred, but that he is indeed Caucasian - he just doesn't have a Caucasian enough name I guess. Apparently the company started in Hawaii, and some of the Hawaiian decor remains. There is another Fred's Mexican Cafe in Old Town and yet another in the Gas Lamp - the one I visited is located in Pacific Beach and is connected to the night club known as Typhoon Saloon.

So, I suppose if you are really drunk and parting in Peebs, or if you are a tourist who doesn't know any better, you might end up with some Fred's in ya'. But based on my fish burrito experience, I find it hard to believe that any given San Diegian has eaten at Fred's more than once - that is, any San Diegian who was sober enough to remember there are plenty of taquerías within walking distance that are half the price with food that's twice as tasty.

On a related note - if you eat at Taco Bell in San Diego, you should really be asking yourself some serious questions about your priorities, motives, and susceptibility to propaganda.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/10/22547/

Fred's Mexican Cafe

1165 Garnet Ave.

Pacific Beach

(858) 483-8226

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Sweet-Filled Asian Confections Beckon You at Pangea Bakery Cafe

Next Article

Perry's Cafe

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader