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Price Guide: $ = less than $15, $$ = $15 - $35, $$$ = $36-$50, $$$$ = over $50
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The crowd never seems to let up at this popular Piedmont Avenue spot, where waves of the hungry flood in before and after showings at the nearby cinemas. Don't let the line dissuade you from this worthwhile stop, though. And don't miss the lively fish tacos or lobster burritos, although Baja also offers the traditional range of chicken, beef, and pork fillings.--Diablo
An old house on Pleasanton's restaurant-packed Main Street, this high-aiming Mexican restaurant prides itself on regional dishes and elaborate sauces. Seafood is spotlighted, with a whole list of shrimp dishes. The small bar is devoted to tequila and related spirits, and margaritas are de rigeur. An expansive patio makes this a big restaurant in fair weather, much smaller when it's cold or raining.--Diablo
The Mexican folk art on the walls of this Marina District hot spot is as authentic as the tamale with Oaxacan mole rojo, the garlicky Zhatanejo-style rock shrimp, and the guacamole spiked with roasted tomatoes.
Casa Orozco aims high, and with the exception of some timid salsas usually hits the mark. Choose from the all the standard Mexican favorites on the extensive menu, or opt for one of the more complex dishes like the barbacoa (long-simmered beef in a spicy tomato sauce) or the shrimp sautéed with tequila. Both the Dublin and Livermore restaurants are sparkling clean and always crowded, though riotously noisy when filled with big groups celebrating with pitchers of Cuervo 1800 margaritas. The staff--savvy and accessible--could not be better in these family-owned and -operated restaurants.--Diablo
CC Ole's brags about serving "over a million" margaritas since the restaurant opened in 1985, and at the rate the glasses and pitchers move from bar to tables, it won't be long before that number doubles. The extensive menu includes traditional favorites, combination plates, and--for dessert--a banana wrapped in a tortilla, deep fried, and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.--Diablo
Don Jose's has carved out a pleasant patio in the Stone Valley Shopping Center, with a vista of trees along the creek behind it. Menu selections are mostly traditional--enchiladas, flautas, fajitas, tamales, by themselves or in endless combinations. One interesting crossover is what the staff calls a "Mexican pizza," on the menu as "malinchi." It's a hybrid tostada-pizza, with a choice of meats plus tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, and cheese on a crisp flour tortilla.--Diablo
Although the original El Balazo taqueria is in San Francisco, the San Ramon outpost loses nothing in translation, retaining all the aromas and noise and spirit of the best Mission District spots. Everything is good here--really good--but a few items are perpetually popular: the fish tacos, the tamales, the seafood cocktail with prawns and octopus. After you've picked up your food, stop at the salsa cart and load up on pico de gallo, salsa roja, or the fiery jalapeño purée with lime. ¡Muy sabroso!--Diablo
El Charro--at the same location in Lafayette for more than 50 years--has the rustic adobe look and feel of an old rancho, the kind you'd pull up to for lunch on a dusty drive through the desert in the Southwest. Sit on the patio when the weather's right. Regulars swear by the chiles rellenos and the fajitas--chicken, shrimp, beef, or vegetable.--Diablo
El Nido, a Mexican restaurant perched on the second floor of the Town and Country shopping center, makes you feel like you're on vacation somewhere in the Southwest. The room is relaxed and comfortable, the scent of chiles and spice hangs in the air, and the staff makes you feel like you've been coming there for years. El Nido does the traditional well, especially fajitas, and adds modern niceties such as a Mexican pizza and lowfat dishes. The beans from the pot are whole and fat free.--Diablo
Any high-tech factor here is in the crisp, sparkling decor, not in the hefty burritos that you design yourself with tortillas and fillings. There are lots of choices for those looking to stay lean, too, and a choice of salsas so you can set your chile quotient at either the low or the high end of the thermometer.--Diablo
Any high-tech factor here is in the crisp, sparkling decor, not in the hefty burritos that you design yourself with tortillas and fillings. There are lots of choices for those looking to stay lean, too, and a choice of salsas so you can set your chile quotient at either the low or the high end of the thermometer.--Diablo
Any high-tech factor here is in the crisp, sparkling decor, not in the hefty burritos that you design yourself with tortillas and fillings. There are lots of choices for those looking to stay lean, too, and a choice of salsas so you can set your chile quotient at either the low or the high end of the thermometer.--Diablo
Any high-tech factor here is in the crisp, sparkling decor, not in the hefty burritos that you design yourself with tortillas and fillings. There are lots of choices for those looking to stay lean, too, and a choice of salsas so you can set your chile quotient at either the low or the high end of the thermometer.--Diablo
Any high-tech factor here is in the crisp, sparkling decor, not in the hefty burritos that you design yourself with tortillas and fillings. There are lots of choices for those looking to stay lean, too, and a choice of salsas so you can set your chile quotient at either the low or the high end of the thermometer.--Diablo
Any high-tech factor here is in the crisp, sparkling decor, not in the hefty burritos that you design yourself with tortillas and fillings. There are lots of choices for those looking to stay lean, too, and a choice of salsas so you can set your chile quotient at either the low or the high end of the thermometer.--Diablo
Any high-tech factor here is in the crisp, sparkling decor, not in the hefty burritos that you design yourself with tortillas and fillings. There are lots of choices for those looking to stay lean, too, and a choice of salsas so you can set your chile quotient at either the low or the high end of the thermometer.--Diablo
Any high-tech factor here is in the crisp, sparkling decor, not in the hefty burritos that you design yourself with tortillas and fillings. There are lots of choices for those looking to stay lean, too, and a choice of salsas so you can set your chile quotient at either the low or the high end of the thermometer.--Diablo
Any high-tech factor here is in the crisp, sparkling decor, not in the hefty burritos that you design yourself with tortillas and fillings. There are lots of choices for those looking to stay lean, too, and a choice of salsas so you can set your chile quotient at either the low or the high end of the thermometer.--Diablo
Any high-tech factor here is in the crisp, sparkling decor, not in the hefty burritos that you design yourself with tortillas and fillings. There are lots of choices for those looking to stay lean, too, and a choice of salsas so you can set your chile quotient at either the low or the high end of the thermometer.--Diablo
Any high-tech factor here is in the crisp, sparkling decor, not in the hefty burritos that you design yourself with tortillas and fillings. There are lots of choices for those looking to stay lean, too, and a choice of salsas so you can set your chile quotient at either the low or the high end of the thermometer.--Diablo
Any high-tech factor here is in the crisp, sparkling decor, not in the hefty burritos that you design yourself with tortillas and fillings. There are lots of choices for those looking to stay lean, too, and a choice of salsas so you can set your chile quotient at either the low or the high end of the thermometer.--Diablo
Any high-tech factor here is in the crisp, sparkling decor, not in the hefty burritos that you design yourself with tortillas and fillings. There are lots of choices for those looking to stay lean, too, and a choice of salsas so you can set your chile quotient at either the low or the high end of the thermometer.--Diablo
From its charming, peachy-pastel facade, complete with exterior murals that make it look like a hacienda, you'd never know that La Fogata--it means campfire--inhabits Walnut Creek's oldest commercial building. The menu doesn't leave out any Mexican specialties, but does offer hearty traditional soups, menudo and pozole, on Saturday and Sunday.--Diablo
The streetside patio at La Ultima is perpetually at capacity, with diners seated under umbrellas sampling New Mexican classics. Specialties include layered flat enchiladas topped with fried eggs and red chile, as well as sopapillas, the New Mexican fried bread stuffed with chile verde or chile Colorado.--Diablo
"Luna Loca" is Spanish for crazy moon, and on full-moon nights the restaurant brings in entertainment to celebrate the bright disk in the evening sky, said to render humans just a little bit cuckoo. There's nothing crazy about the food or the setting, though. Traditional specialties shape the menu, with a prominent place held by the chicken, beef, shrimp, and vegetarian fajitas. Grab a table on the porch if you can.--Diablo
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