Best in the west: Burritos, tacos and more!

By Chris Cauhapé |Staff Writer|

The original meaning of the Spanish word “burrito” is “small donkey.” The English word “burrito” is applied to what is essentially a “taco” made with a flour tortilla wrapping instead of the maize variety.

“Frijoles,” Spanish for beans, are a staple of the Mexican diet.

A Mexican restaurant may be judged solely by the quality of the frijoles it serves.

If the frijoles are not good, it follows that the other fare offered will also be of inferior quality.

Frijoles is the name of a restaurant located in Beaumont. Frijoles serves delicious beans. The Spanish rice is just as tasty.

Beans and rice are included in the eight different combinations of burritos ranging in price from $4.99 (beans, rice & cheese)  to $10.99 (steak & shrimp).

Hungry students commuting between the main CSUSB campus and the Palm Desert campus may make a pit stop at Frijoles and pick up one of their giant-sized burritos.

Freeway convenient, Frijoles is located at 652 East 6th street in Beaumont between the Pennsylvania Ave and Beaumont Ave off ramps on Interstate 10, where it has been since it first opened in 1985.

Tuesday is two-for-one taco day at Frijoles, which includes a full service cantina within the location.

Zacatecas is one of the 31 states that make up the United Mexican States.  The matriarch of the family, who founded and still operates Zacatecas Café, grew up in that north-central Mexican state.

Josephine Medina and her husband Oscar opened Zacatecas Café in 1963. It was primarily a lunch counter, at the corner of University and Park Avenues in Riverside in 1963.

The business tentatively moves into its third University Avenue location in March 2016.

Zacatecas Café offers 14 different versions of delectable burritos from $6.75 (veggie) to $9.95 (carnitas or carne asada).

Last year, the second generation of Medina restaurateurs ventured out of Riverside for the first time.

Offering the identical menu, the second in the chain of two Zacatecas Café restaurants is now open in Banning at 374 East Ramsey Street right across from the new Banning City Hall.

The beautiful furniture and decorations give this latest Zacatecas Café an art museum aura.

A sit-down meal at the Banning “Zac” gives the sensation of eating at the feet of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl (Mexico’s Romeo and Juliette volcanoes).

Looking out any window in the building, the snow clad Mount San Gorgonio and its neighbors resemble Mexico’s most popular calendar art subjects.

This fine eatery is found between the Hargrave Street and Eighth Street exits from Interstate 10.

With so many options of Mexican cuisine to choose from, there is surely something for everyone.