Pipirins Guadalajaran Restaurant

San Diego is famous for the delicious Mexican food served every day in our various taco shops and cantinas. It's for good reason; after all, we have seriously good tacos and burritos! That being said, many of the taco shops in San Diego are a mixture of American flavors and Mexican tastes, sometimes with some flavors of Asian (ban mi tacos, anyone?) and even a small nod to the Great White North (carne asada fries totally remind me of poutine). 

Pipirins is a truly authentic Guadalajaran asado restaurant, with freshly made tortillas (to order), and fresh meats, grilled to a savory perfection. The menu is quite simple, with nearly every item being made to order with great care. 

The restaurant began, as many things do in San Diego, with a vacation to San Diego. Jerry, the owner, was visiting from Guadalajara, and missed the foods of his home. Inspiration and ingenuity followed, and a few years later, Pipirins was born. Pipirins is based on a classic Guadalajaran asado restaurant, complete with the decor and feel of Southern Mexico.

We started our meal with the traditional chips with various salsas: red chile, salsa fresca, guacamole, hot carrots, and spicy onions. The chips and salsas are all homemade daily, and the freshness is apparent in taste. The delicious tortilla chips are baked on the grill until crispy, giving them a light texture and flavor.  

A traditional-recipe horchata washed everything down. The horchata is made fresh every morning; I highly recommend you go for a cup when you visit!

There are a few appetizers to try, but the most unique is the Taco DelGado. What is it? A fresh tortilla cooked with beans and thinly sliced steak to allow the flavor of the beans to permeate the entire dish. It's a messy, yummy essential to the meal. Served with a very spicy salsa to give it some kick, it's a great beginning.

Creating the DelGado!

The main attraction at this restaurant, is of course, the grilled asado dishes. Choose from chicken, steak, chorizo, or vegetarian, it's really tough to go wrong.

We tried a bit of everything, and it was all delicious. The meat is seasoned only with salt -- the rest of the flavor comes from the grill! Cooking everything to order is certainly a contributor to the fresh and vibrant flavor of the food.

The beef is thinly sliced, then grilled to temperature. Served with freshly made tortillas and beans made with no lard, it is truly an authentic Guadalajaran dish.

 The chorizo is a bit spicy, be warned, but is quite tasty! The smoky flavor really shines with the spicy sausage,

 If you do not enjoy beans, you can instead opt for a small green salad with your meal. the salad is dressed with a vinaigrette dressing, and would be suitable as a side dish or rolled up into the tortilla!

The chicken skewer is shown to the right, and was my personal favorite of the lot. I just loved how flavorful the grill made the chicken, and the flavor of the peppers on the skewer. These were not green bell peppers, but a pepper grown in Mexico that is very flavorful.






The vegetable skewer was a nice, light way to enjoy the flavor of the grill without all of the meat. The grill seasoning flavored the mushrooms, Mexican squash, tomatoes, and peppers quite well.














Combining the ingredients worked out for some delicous tacos!


Another great item to order is the queso fundido, which is basically grilled cheese! It's kind of like a Mexican fondue, and a great topping for the tacos, or to just eat with the tortillas!


With very full bellies, we still somehow had room for dessert!

The specialty is the homemade flan, a caramel custard dessert that is incredibly popular in Latin America. And I will just say, this was a good one. A really good one. I had a roommate from Puerto Rico that homemade incredible flan a few times a year (because, well, it's not health food), and this one was comparable.

The other option is the chocolate cake with a vanilla frosting. The cake is a light chocolate, despite the dense appearance.

Pipirins is open every day but Sunday for lunch and dinner, with late nights (2 am) on Friday and Saturday night. I strongly advise you to check out this unique experience in the Gaslamp!