Sunday, June 05, 2005

Huevos Con Chorizo, Por Favor



In the middle of doing our usual Costco thang Sunday morning, that is, stopping to get gas at the Costco gas station then going into the warehouse afterwards, hunger pangs hit us. We had just finished pumped gas and decided to screw the bulk shopping (for now) and go get some breakfast.

We were craving Mexican breakfast, since we had just seen our neighbors come back with their usual breakfast takeout from their Sunday morning walk to the scary Mexican place on the corner. That, and I'm always on the hunt for good Mexican breakfast, especially huevos con chorizo. But we were in Burbank, off our turf, and we didn't know where to go. I started a mental scan of the area around Ikea-ville and couldn't come up with anything. But I had to think fast--we were hungry.

Suddenly, I remembered that there were a couple of Mexican places on a corner that I'd seen awhile ago on the way to the Burbank Trader Joes. So out of the Costco parking lot we went and back onto the 5 freeway we headed. And I was right...there are two restaurants right next to one another on the northeast corner of Alameda and San Fernando. One of them, I think called Tapatio, looked more like a taco stand, and while I have absolutely no problems with those (some of those have the best food!), we were in the mood to sit down indoors, so we opted for the other one, Don Diego's, the casual, tiny but cozy space next door.

Our server brought us menus but we hardly looked; we knew what we wanted, which was, of course, huevos con chorizo. Now I'm picky about my huevos con chorizo. They have to be more on the dry side, not too much oil or "sauciness." I also like them plain--just the huevos and chorizo--no diced onions or peppers or tomatoes or any other crap thrown in. The accompanying rice and beans have to be done right as well. Geez, I expect alot for under 5 bucks, huh?


I didn't have much time to worry over whether or not Don Diego's would live up to my huevos con chorizo standards, nor did I have much time to graze on the chips and (great, but hot!) salsas they gave us, because our piping hot plates came out within a few short minutes. First thing I noticed, no visible signs of distracting crap in my huevos con chorizo--cool. I ripped a piece of my tortilla off and tucked a chunk of huevos con chorizo with a bit of refried beans and rice into it. And it was good. My Mexican sausage and egg scramble was on the dry side as I like it, but still moist, and flavored with subtle saltiness and spiciness from the chorizo itself and chorizo oil. The salted-just-right rice and beans were also made very well, the rice also being on the drier side but still fluffy (I can't stand overly saucy Mexican rice) and the beans being velvety smooth but with substance. Maybe not the BEST huevos con chorizo I've had (the best have always been from my friends' mothers) but still pretty good. And a steal at four-and-a-quarter. Yeah, I'll be back to this place again, maybe to try their chilaquiles or some other goodies on the menu.

Our tummies were more than satisfied as we headed back on the 5 towards Costco. As you would probably have guessed, we had no room in our full stomachs for samples.

Don Diego's
207 E. Alameda St.
Burbank, CA 91502
(818) 841-0848

3 comments:

Peeved Michelle said...

I am so glad you go out and try all these restaurants. I am definitely going to swing by this one. I LOVE eggs and chorizo, having grown up with it. I, too, hate all the extra crap they put in, so I almost never order it in restaurants. Thanks!

sylvie1950 said...

Found your site today. Love your blogs. I am finding more and more food bloggers out there.

Anonymous said...

I used to live right behind there, with my scummy ex-roommate. You're not missing much by skipping Tapatio. The service was always slow and the food subpar. The only good thing about Tapatio was the enclosed patio, which was very nice on summer mornings.

The gem in that neighborhood though is the Gefer Farms grocery store, couple blocks north of tapatio. Everything is cheap, and in the deli you can have shish kabobs made to order. They make some amazing burnt meat on stick concoctions. Also, the lule ground chicken and beef can be bastardized in glorious american style to make hamburgers. These were amazing. I still make the trip from Sherman Oaks to burbank to pick up some of that Lule meat. Recommended preparation is on toasted sesame bun with mayo, relish, and habanero sauce.