Finally. I saw in the U-T N&D insert this morning that Red O is actually opening this weekend.
We’re going to try to get there this month sometime.
My wife isn’t a huge fan of Mexican, especially upscale (she’d not think it was worth it), so I thought I’d check it out for a lunch run in a few weeks.
Oh my word - the prices!!! And for things that really don’t sound all that exotic, even if well executed. Seriously - isn’t the sizzling taco platter just a slightly upscale version of the sizzling fajita platter at the erstwhile Chi-Chis?
http://www.redorestaurant.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/LUNCH-MENU-5.1.2017-LA-JOLLA.pdf
Yeah, no shish kabob, the prices are pretty exciting all right! Well, if you really want a heart attack, take a look at the dinner menu prices.
Still, I want to try it out.
For me, personally, there’s also the nostalgia thing about that exact location on the planet (vis-à-vis the Rusty Pelican, as I mentioned earlier – I think).
Two tacos with rice and beans for $19 - I hope these are really, really good tacos
For comparison, here’s the LUNCH MENU for Frontera Grill in Chicago.
Here’s the lunch menu for TOPOLOBAMBO which was just name best restaurant in the U.S. last week at the James Beard awards.
So we’re getting Chicago pricing (and then some) at Red O.
And if you think the prices at RedO are high, check out the menu for Javier’s, the competitor. They’re just as high.
BUT…I will also say this (and you all know I have an opinion on almost everything )…given the state of the restaurant business these days, the lunch prices in the menu BS posted above may not be all that outrageous. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons 
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Food & Bar Cost…RedO is an upscale place, this isn’t a 'Bertos and they’re buying up the food chain, not down it. The unit cost for their food and beverage is probably going to trend towards the upper end.
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Labor cost…with minimum wage at $11.50, the cost in the kitchen isn’t going to be insignificant. Mexican food is laborious to prepare. The work requires a lot of hands, so RedO most likely has a very, very large opening staff. And that doesn’t count their admin staff, people like a buyer if the Exec is not doing the purchasing, general manager, bookeeper, etc
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Rent/Property expense…Let’s face it, rents in UTC are not exactly bargain basement, so whether they own the building or have some sort of lease arrangement, the physical plant costs are probably pretty steep…especially if they’re trying to recoup the investment cost in rehabbing Donavan’s
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Other…you can lump a whole raft of other “cost of doing business” expenses in this category including things like insurance, utilities, linens, maintenance/repair costs, bank fees related to credit card purchases, custodial service, and so forth
The only way a food business has to cover their costs is via their menu pricing. Non-taco shop Mexican is not really a cheap ticket but the dynamic here is…San Diego = Taco/Burrito shops = CHEAP MEXICAN FOOD
Will San Diego embrace the upscale Mexican concept? It’s in La Jolla and if well executed, most likely it will. Will San Diego embrace 2 upscale Mexican places? RedO and Javier’s? I doubt it. My money is on Red O to be the one to succeed. 1) because it’s opening first and 2) it’s got the Rick Bayless factor and he’s made no bones about the fact he likes spending time here.
Let me go a different direction with this.
I have no problem with the prices themselves. I have a problem that the prices are tied to menu items we’ve seen over and over again. Now if they do something different with those to make them really stand out, that’s fair, but on first glance I look at the menu and I think “what’s the big deal?”
We shall see. I think DD made some good points. The photos that I’ve seen make the restaurant appear to be very “upscale” inside, fitting for the area. If a single taco costs $20 that’s made in the best humanly possible way using the finest and freshest local and imported ingredients, and I get to enjoy it in this environment for an hour or two, then fine, so be it. In the end, I really don’t pay (so to speak) that much attention to prices in a nice restaurant.
Don’t get me wrong - I don’t do price comparison at upscale restaurants either. My issue is that the menu itself does not say “upscale” to me, save for the prices. It almost as if they dumbed down the descriptions for a “play it safe” clientele. I hope that is the case, and their food itself is exciting.
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DC, I don’t think a single taco is $20. I’m guessing there are 2 and maybe 3 tacos per order
BS, good point. Is the menu really the same old/same old, or are there inventive new twists on the standards. From what I’ve read about Red O in OC and LA, opinions are mixed.
Red O in LA sucks.
And saying that is really a disservice to all things that “suck”.
Leave it to Tixidespi to leave me optimistic. LOL
I don’t mind paying more for tacos with quality ingredients, but Galaxy Taco/Taco Stand/Tacos Perla (all places that employ someone to make their tortillas fresh and use quality meats) run me $5/taco at most. $20 taco plates reek of Expense Account target crowds.
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I don’t understand the resistance to $20 tacos (or taco plates).
A $5 (or more) cup of coffee has become de rigeuer, even though a person can get a cup of joe for less than $1.50 at many places (like McDonald’s, 7-Eleven, etc).
If the quality of ingredients and the quality of taste justify the price, can it still be fairly described as overpriced?
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The good thing is that you can go for happy hour to check it out.
Tacos are a whopping 3 bucks.
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If the quality and ingredients are outstanding the $20 taco plate is fine but everything I have heard about RedO (outside of SD) let me doubt that the quality will be there. (And most good coffee places don’t have $5 cups, more often the hip, but not so good places, have the high prices)
I guess I don’t want to pay $10 for rice and beans?
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Are you talking about a cup of coffee, or a fancy schmancy coffee drink? Even at the fanciest pour-over joints, $5 is rare unless you are getting into some high end beans. Not that I think you are doing this (because I suspect you do know of places that have 5 buck cups), but one of my pet peeves is people that compare the price of a large latte drink to a cup of the brewed stuff at a gas station.
Again, because I think I’m being mischaracterized, I have no problem with expensive tacos if they are well done with high end ingredients. My problem is that the menu that Red O’s has posted does not suggest high end tacos.
Most upper-end restaurants charge $9 to $12 for a plate of French fries or roast cauliflower or Brussels sprouts. Regular places, not necessarily white-tablecloth, fine-dining restaurants.
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Red O claims to use local and sustainable ingredients, which increases not just food costs but also labor costs. If they do, comparing their prices to places that don’t is bogus, unless they don’t manage to deliver the better flavors that allows.