Restaurant Review:

It was hard to convince my friend that real, authentic Mexican food can be found on the Westside of Costa Mesa.

That area is a treasure chest full of sit-down and take-out places that cater to the predominantly Latino community that resides there.

For us gringos smart enough to venture over there, we are treated to the same fantastic Mexican food that the locals get.

La Cocina de Isabel is one of those places that I immediately think of when I want good, cheap Mexican food.

The menu is filled with dishes that I can’t seem to get outside of the area.

One of those dishes is the tacos. These are not like ones you get at other places that come with deep fried shells and cheese and diced tomatoes.

These are simple: two small corn tortillas with a choice of meat, such as chicken or pork, diced onions and chopped cilantro. Want it fancy? A lime comes with it.

The restaurant also offers asada and chorizo, as well as a beans and rice taco and a beans and cheese taco.

The chorizo taco was very good, though again the meat was a bit dry.

The quesadilla looks like a soft taco. I got the asada one and though it was a bit dry and chewy.

The verde sauce that comes with it covered up the lack of quality in the meat.

One of the reasons I come to these restaurants is the Mexican cheeses. I am in heavy lust with Oaxaca cheese. The mozzarella-type cheese seems to have more flavor than its Italian counterpart, and it is fantastic in a quesadilla.

The other cheese I like is the Cotija, which is often topped on everything from beans and rice to tostadas.

I also have admiration for the queso fresco and the queso blanco, both of which are served here on different entrees.

My tortas appeared to have the queso blanco, a jack-like cheese with a rich flavor and perfect for the sandwich-style dish. There are 10 different tortas, including ham, egg and beef.

Because about the only time I can get an authentic tamale is Christmas, I jumped at the chance to get one. They have two of them, a sweet one with strawberry masa and a verde.

The masa is brought in from a vendor and they didn’t have the sweet one, so we got the verde.

It was chicken that is tossed in a green sauce and placed inside the masa. I really liked the masa, it was fresh and had little pieces of green chiles mixed in it.

Another dish that I really liked was the gorditas. The maize cakes are filled with potatoes, beans, cheese and pork. They are similar to a torta, but the bread is a little thinner and crunchier.

The potato and cheese gordita was good with big chunks of boiled potato. The cheese gordita had both Cotija and queso blanco.

The last item I sampled was the shrimp cocktail.

The Americanized version of the dish is an appetizer, but at many Mexican places it is a meal — a large glass filled with medium shrimp, tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, onions and cilantro.

There is a touch of spice added, as well.

Most of the food is prepared mildly, but there are three types of hot sauce on the table. Tapito is the one that most places have, but I liked the gringo bandito.

There is nothing fancy about this place. Like a lot of Mexican places, there isn’t a lot of thought to the décor. There are photos of Latino cinema stars on the walls and in the far end of the room there are several paintings leaned up against a wall.

That is fine with me. Keep the emphasis on the food, and you can hang whatever you want on the walls.

La Cocina de Isabel

Address: 841 W. 19th St., Costa Mesa

Phone: (949) 722-8330

Website: No website

Cuisine: Mexican

Specialty dish: Any of the combination plates

Alcohol served: Beer

Entrée price range: $2.50 to $13.95

Family friendly: Yes

Credit cards accepted: MasterCard and Visa

Rating: ***

JOHN REGER reviews local restaurants and may be contacted at [email protected] or P.O. Box 2984, Seal Beach, CA 90740.