Camacho's Place - El Centro

To get to Camacho 's Place, you need to travel through abandoned riches and lands without songs. While your GPS takes you across El Centros scattered roads through dusty desert fields that depend on irrigated cattle farms, you will repeatedly check it to see if it leads you to the right address. Calm down that this place should be good if it has remained open for almost 75 years while it is so far away from civilization. I was told that there was a man from Orange County flying over helicopters here. Probably the wise thing if you take care of your tires. Camacho 's Place, opened in 1946 by Richard Camacho and his wife, Juanita, is in fact best known as a place rather than a restaurant. It is a dining room surrounded by a museum that preserves the memories of a family that had it for three generations, while photographs on its walls pay homage to the people they feed and entertain, from friendly neighbors to Hollywood movie stars to literary licenses such as Prince Harry, who with a deoration of 40 years ago. The Mexican cuisine is served here and even if it is not particularly authentic, the people they serve you are as real as you will find. And with this, I mainly refer to Richard and Juanita's granddaughter, the 68-year-old Rosamonde Rosie Cuellar, a sharp woman with a dust-dry joke that leads the kitchen. Tommy, your Greek husband, helps as a waiter. On Tuesday afternoon I was in, the restaurant was empty, so I sat opposite, those two strangers who served me their food, and we ate, talked and laughed. Good people. The food is excellent for what it is: cooking at home, more soul than precise. I ordered the Special Quesadilla, Camacho 's Place 's Signature Court, copied and imitated by other restaurants in the Imperial Valley. It consists of gooey melted cheese in a deep roasted pastry dish that visually resembles a very large empanada, but is chewier than you expect. The taste and texture reminded me of the Portuguese cheese rolls I grew up for breakfast. Rosie shared samples of her rice and beans, the latter literally shattered on my tongue, like an experiment by Ferran Adrià culinary science. You're really smiling! But it was Rosie's Special Carne Asada Taco, that was the best I ate here. Leave the idea that this taco will use the de rigueur thin sliced citrus marinated flank steak that you are in most Carne Asada Tacos in the USA Here at Camacho 's Place, they use a thick coarse fiber chip of flap steak that has been cut against the grain, and profits from a marinade before they are sprinkled with blisting heat, the main The other reason is the buttery, rich guacamole of hate avocados. Everything is packed in a flour tortilla, mexicali style. It tastes all a little salty, but it works the aromas are explosive, and the textures are magnificent.

Okay, you have to work hard to find this institution. It's in the middle of the fields. It is worth it because the food is very good. The decor is a basic café, the servers are the owners and are happy to share the history of this 72-year-old restaurant and perhaps bend your ear over other things. It has a special ambience, so go, eat well and smile.

Since 1978 in the Imperial Valley. I bring family and friends here every chance. Homemade Mexican food as it should be. My visit is the Special Quesadilla. As big as a football, it's a meal for itself. If the business is slow, you'll talk to Rosie! Out of the way, but it's worth it!

I love this place! My family has been here for 4 generations. They cannot beat the quality of food and prices are appropriate. The owners and the staff are amazing. If you're in Imperial Valley, this restaurant is a stop you won't regret.

Ok I have to admit my review is a bit dated. We used to go to Camacho's back in the early 70's when I was a kid and loved it. To this day my family will have Special Quesadillas and remember Camacho's It's great to still see it around!