Carne asada fries are a local dish speciality found on the menus of restaurants primarily in the American Southwest,[2] including San Diego,[3][4] where it originated.[5]
History
Carne asada fries are a Mexican-American dish originating in the Chicano community in San Diego.[6] This item is not normally featured on the menu at more traditional Mexican restaurants.[5] Lolita's Mexican Food in San Diego claims to have originated the dish in the late 1990s, inspired by a suggestion from their tortilla distributor.[7]
The dish typically consists of french fries, carne asada, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, and sometimes salsa.[11] Typically, the fries are of the shoestring variety, but other cuts may be used as well. The carne asada is usually finely chopped to avoid the need for a knife or additional cutting on the part of the consumer. The cheese is commonly cotija, although many establishments use a less-costly shredded cheese mix which melts with the other ingredients and keeps longer.[12][13]
^Gold, Jonathan (November 22, 2007). "My Taco: Frying High". LA Weekly. Village Voice Media. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
^ abSteve Rodriguez (30 June 2009). "Carne Asada Fries: The new American comfort food". San Diego News Network. Archived from the original on 3 July 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2011. Carne Asada Fries are obviously a local favorite — a San Diego area original that is apparently starting to catch on in other parts of the Southwest. This dish is a staple of Mexican fast food joints in the area, but not something you see on the menu of a full-fledged Mexican restaurant.
^Melinda Bardon (25 February 2009). "Tacos and grit". The Vanguard. mtvu.com. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2009.
^Christine Pasalo (January 2013). "Meet Rene Gube". San Diego Magazine. Retrieved 22 December 2012. One thing I miss about San Diego is… carne asada fries. They do it wrong in LA. Either the guacamole is weird or they put a lot of beans in it. They just don't do it San Diego-style.
