One of my biggest regrets about moving to Long Beach from San Diego is that I left behind all of the delicious Mexican food that America’s Finest City has to offer. Like, did I think that Long Beach would have good Mexican food? Yeah, of course I did. How was I supposed to know that 100 miles North cities became a desolate wasteland in terms of their culinary flare?
It is not like I was asking for very much. Honestly, in comparison to many other types of restaurants, the type of Mexican place I was looking for is very low key and should be fairly easy to run. Apparently that is not the case because while BBQ restaurants with huge fancy smokers and Korean BBQ places with in table stoves are plentiful here, it took almost two years to find a good Mexican place. You know the type, well at least all my San Diegans do- unassuming front and logo, plastic chairs and tables, someone’s abuelita making tortillas in the back, seven different salsas in the salsa bar, and the local Salsa station playing in the background.
Finally after two years of searching, Baja Sonora satisfied the deep cravings.
Located next to the Long Beach Business Park, directly between CSULB and LBCC, Baja Sonora is a local restaurant that I must have driven by over 100 times since I moved here and never noticed before. The outside of it is larger than you would think, looks like maybe two side by side businesses were bought and consolidated, and covered in stickers , posters, and flags.
Inside the unassuming restaurant are yellow walls, arched cut outs, Corona wall decorations, plastic jalapenos, and a delicious aroma of rice, beans, cheese, and enchilada sauce. Definitely a no fuss but happy, clean, and comfortable environment.
I ordered the chicken flautas plate, and my boyfriend ordered the signature Baja burrito which comes “wet” or “enchilada style”. Our total for two massive plates, a drink, and unlimited chips and salsa was about $17.00 so $8.50 per person plus tax and while that was a little more expensive than the taco shops back home, the portions more than made up for that.
Waiting for our rood, the chip and salsa bar was a huge hit. The “chips” were actually fried corn tortillas still whole that you had to break off yourself. If I had a complaint about this was only that they were not salted, which in my opinion is the only reason to eat tortilla chips, but there was ample salt on the table to salt to our liking. Accompanying the chips was a homemade salsa bar ranging from mild to 911 (we found the medium to be perfect) as well as some jalapenos and spicy carrots.
After what felt like a really long time even though it was really only about four minutes, the waitress brought our food to the table. What can I say, I was hangry and those four minutes seemed to have taken forever but I digress because the moment the food was placed in front of me and I could smell the chicken and enchilada sauce and carnitas I was one happy person.
My flautas plate with rice and beans was absolutely delicious. The flautas (it came with two) were huge and amazingly crispy, flaky, and soft all at the same time. The beans and rice we average, but they were slathered in cheese and homemade guacamole which just put them over the top. The chicken inside of my flautas was a little bland and a little dry, but after combining it with the salsa I would not have changed a thing.
The Baja burrito that my boyfriend ordered was literally the size of my forearm and almost did not fit on the plate. I only got to try a bite of it but the carnitas were perfect and the flavors combined with the guacamole on top were heavenly. A couple minutes later and that burrito was no more because it was so good that he literally devoured it and conveniently forgot to save me a few more bites!
All in all I was very happy with Baja Sonora in taste, portions, price, cleanliness, and environment. No more will I have to push down my desire for Mexican food and then binge when in San Diego because this place was as good as any down there. Baja Sonora, this is the start to a beautiful friendship! Check out their YELP page here and then go for a visit!
