Tuesday

DYLAN BROCKMEYER
ASST. ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR
@dbrock08

It is not Friday nights that are busiest in Old Town, San Diego; it is Tuesdays. Every Tuesday is “Taco Tuesday” at the mexican restaurants throughout Old Town. There are massive lines, DJs and discounted tacos for everyone between two and five dollars per taco.
One of the more popular restaurants along the block of San Diego Ave is Cafe Coyote. During taco Tuesday, Cafe Coyote drops prices of tacos down to two dollars per taco and gives specials for drinks at around five or six dollars.
Cafe Coyote has authentic, handmade corn and flour tortillas that have the taste of good, homemade mexican food. This kind of authenticity can only be matched by restaurants in Mexico. The tortillas are not crunchy or stale and they don’t break under the pressure of all the meat, lettuce, cheese and sauces they are stuffed with that makes their flavor so unique.
Of course, the table is outfitted with unlimited complimentary chips and salsa. The corn chips are crunchy and taste like real corn and Cafe Coyote doesn’t skimp on the authentic Mexican spices in the salsa. One table can easily go through two or three baskets.
Aside from having authentic tortillas and a variety of other authentic mexican recipes, Cafe Coyote also has specials of the month for each Tuesday.  Junior Jenna Boras is a big fan of the variety Cafe Coyote offers.
“The happening place on Tuesday is Cafe Coyote,” Boras said. “They have a DJ that is bumpin’ some awesome music. They also have a new taco of the week which makes it exciting because you never know what you’re going to get.”
For the month of March the special tacos are: pulled pork, lengua, Irish (corn beef and cabbage), pollo ala crema and lamb tacos.
If you decide to head down to Old Town to indulge in your taco cravings, it is nearly impossible to avoid seeing a friendly face from the University of San Diego (can we say USD here?) I feel like spelling it out is weird.  Junior Cay Tamayo loves being among friends and whom she considers family when getting her almost regular Tuesday fix.
“Shrimp tacos with my sisters are my favorite,” Tamayo says. “Especially on a Tuesday. You’re always bound to run into so many familiar faces!”
Everyone has a favorite, but the most popular might be the shrimp and carne asada tacos. The shrimp is not too fishy and has that fresh “caught that day” kind of taste. The beef in the carne asada tacos is not overdone or chewy and the marinated meat give them a little extra spicy kick.
The only improvement that could be made is in the white and dry cabbage that’s used as a topping. Most mexican restaurants don’t have the freshest cabbage as the real care and effort is put into marinated and cooking the meat and perfecting the spice in the sauces. But each topping is important in a taco and each individual has a very particular way they want their taco stuffed.
Despite this, the carne tacos are a huge favorite to students like sophomore Matt Kaumeyer.
“I’ve only ever been to Cafe Coyote in Old Town, and the carne asada tacos are unreal,” Kaumeyer said. “It was always super busy, but the atmosphere was really unique and felt very authentic.”
Students don’t only visit for the tacos, they visit for the fun atmosphere as well. Even though the food is cheaper and the service seems rushed, students like Sophomore Lexxi Sullivan know exactly what to expect and don’t mind.
“I used to do Taco Tuesdays a lot more as a freshman,” Sullivan said. “It’s a good atmosphere in Old Town and the wait is usually pretty short. The tacos and the prices are really good too. I would say that no matter where you go though, it’s never that great of service because their goal is to get you in and out as quickly as possible to turn tables faster.”
It is a challenge to catch the attention of a waiter at Cafe Coyote during one of Old Towns’ busiest times of the week. You have to continually remind the hostess that your party is waiting and unless you explicitly tell the waiter you’re ready for your check, you might be waiting a long time. However, Cafe Coyote can do a decent job with a huge rush of large parties. Junior Cay Tamayo believes that Cafe Coyote handles it well.
“I absolutely love the food,” Tamayo said. “Even for big parties, the service is always great! I always feel so welcome and like they’re doing a great job helping the customers.”
Junior Jenna Boras is satisfied with the special little considerations the staff makes for the chips and salsa for the table.
“I love that everyone gets their own little salsa at the table,” Boras said. “That means you don’t have to share!”
And who would want to? Not only is If you’re ordering tacos on Taco Tuesday, you’re going to want to eat the whole  yourself.