El Zarape.

Last week, after helping Caitlin move out of her apartment in Hillcrest into T's house in City Heights, she wanted to treat me to an early dinner (or late lunch, however you want to look at it)

We both were sweaty and tired so we decided against anything really special so I suggested In-N-Out Burger, Caitlin sneered at the idea.

After giving it some thought, I suggested El Zarape, a little Mexican place that we kept passing as we drove back and forth from Hillcrest to City Heights. She said, "...but you had Mexican food yesterday!" and I replied with "...Caitlin, I'm Mexican, for most of my life all I have ever had is Mexican food!" It was really cute.

The exterior was really cute and the interior was even cuter!

They did a really good job with the setup and decor. They even had a tequila bar in a different room where some kind of tequila sommelier/connoisseur teaches classes about tequila and you can sample different types.


I ordered one of my favorite things, a Carne Asada Torta. Yummy! Caitlin was like "...you ordered a sandwich? I told you it was my treat." I laughed and explained to her how much I loved tortas and that my mom and grandma made the best ones I have ever had. I really wanted a Margarita after trying Caitlin's but decided against it (I'm trying to cut as much alcohol out of my diet to avoid gaining any more unwanted weight)

I would definitely recommend El Zarape to anyone who asked, it was yummy and a true success story for a small business. They started out of a small hole in the wall place that only did to-go orders and had no seating. They now have two locations and are doing great!