Onward and away, the 3rd review in hopefully many to come is on a restaurant that serves Mexican food and is located on that great HWY 101. It's called La Especial Norte http://www.laespecial101.com/
This restaurant is definitely a great place to enjoy some great Mexican food. I drive down the coast a lot to and from work, and I have always seen this building that looked very interesting with Spanish roof tiles and a kind of home like look to it, I thought I have to try this place. Well, I did and have to say it was definitely worth the visit. They have an extensive menu with lots of appetizers, soups, salads and great entrees and beverages.
We went on a Sunday at around 4:45pm and it was definitely busy. They have a small parking lot, but it has always been full when I have driven by, on the day we went we did find a parking space. When you walk in you pretty much seat yourself and the waitstaff is definitely friendly and fast.
Chips and salsa are brought to your table immediately, which are delicious and the salsa is not real hot and not very mild, it's that kind of perfect in between heat. We ordered a side of guacamole which was delicious as well. The waiter was super friendly and took our order quick. We ordered the Carne Asada Burrito and taco combination special and we also ordered what they call Parrillada plates, on the menu these are meant for 2 or 4 people, well thinking they would not be that big, I mean how big could they be? So, we ordered the Mexicana Parrillada which comes with carnitas (braised, roasted pork with a crispiness) rice, beans, chile's and small slices of a cheese quesadilla and we also ordered the El Comal Parrillada, which came with carne asada, chorizo (a spicy pork sausage). chicken, potatoes and onions. The waiter did warn us that the plates were really large, but for $26.00 we figured let's try it. So, we were brought our food and wow! the Parrillada plates were huge, I think they were enough to feed 4, so I can only image how big the plate for 4 is. The food was delicious, the carnitas were nice and juicy and had great seasoning, the rice was seasoned good as well and on the other parrillada the carne asada was grilled nice and tasted great, it was also very juicy and so was the chicken. The chorizo wasn't that spicy, so for me it was spiced just right, the potatoes were boiled to perfection and seasoned with just salt and pepper, but still had a great taste. These plates were definitely big and we had plenty to take home, in fact we had 2 plates of food to take home. The carne asada burrito was very big and delicious as well, but we knew it would be since the plates we also ordered were great in taste, the taco was crispy and was packed with plenty of meat and fresh lettuce and cheese.
I would definitely recommend this place to everyone and their friends. If you like authentic Mexican food and want to enjoy a ride down the coast, then this place is the perfect place for you. The decor is nice, don't expect a fine dining decor, this is a down home type of decor that definitely tells you that you are in a Mexican restaurant. They have booths and tables. The prices I would say are a $ out of $$$$, they might be a $ 1/4.
Stop by and try the food, I think you'll definitely like it and make it one of your new places to go, I know I did and it is!
La Especial Norte
664 N Coast Hwy. 101
Leucadia, CA 92024
T: (760) 942-1040
if you have stopped by this place or been here, let me know your thoughts!
