Mexican Restaurants in Windsor

Following Baja Fresh’s ethos set in 1990 as a healthy take on fast food, never-frozen meats sizzle atop the grill before they're tucked into made-to-order tacos and burritos. Grilled corn and flour tortillas embrace fish, carnitas, chicken, and steak, and smoky queso fundido sidles onto nachos and into burritos. Between bites, chips scoop up salsa made from farm-fresh produce rather than poured out of a can or fabricated in a space-age replicator. A complimentary salsa bar ensures no mouthful goes unspiced, and guests can scoop up their favorites as they await their dine-in, takeout, or catering orders.

La Taquiza Fish Tacos' bilingual salsa slingers prepare marinated meats and seasoned seafood, which can be flame-grilled California-style or battered and fried to Baja-style perfection. The menu's burritos, tacos, and tazons come stuffed with a choice of eight fillings, including carne asada, veggies, shrimp, and grilled octopus. Maws can gnaw on carne asada wrapped in a burrito's passionate embrace ($7.50), or they can clamp down on a pair of Taco Taquiza's tacos loaded with creamy potatoes, salted fried fish, and salsa as smoky as a humidor filled with jerky ($3.50).

Since 1979, Casa Mañana Restaurant has served up authentic Mexican and Salvadoran dishes from scratch, making it one of Marin County's oldest family-owned Mexican eateries. All-day breakfasts, such as huevos rancheros and fajitas omelets, arrive at tables located inside the compact dining room or outside on the spacious patio. Entrees spotlight spicy preparations of sirloin and pork, as well as fresh seafood that includes shrimp, crab, red snapper, and calamari. Though well-versed in meats, chefs also happily accommodate vegetarians and unhappily accommodate vegan poltergeists.

When Jim Knudson bit into his first taco during dinner at a friend's house in 1949, he knew he had tasted something special. He added the item—which many diners were pronouncing "tay-co"—to the menu at his restaurant in Grass Valley, California. Determined to introduce the food to as many people as possible, Jim and his wife, Margaret, converted a 16-foot trailer into a kitchen on wheels. They adopted the nickname Jim had earned from one of his longtime customers and drove up to Lake Tahoe, where Jimboy's Tacos found its first permanent home.

Locals, tourists, and even members of the Rat Pack flocked to the tiny taco stand for the uniquely seasoned, parmesan-dusted ground-beef taco, the anchor of a growing menu. The family eventually relocated to Roseville, California, where they set up a small taco stand and began branching out to other locations in and around Sacramento.

Today, Jim Knudson’s daughter Karen, the current president of the company, carries on the legacy of taco obsession at more than 40 locations in northern California and Nevada. Guests who arrive early for breakfast might glimpse the cooks slowly simmering beans, mashing avocados into guacamole, and preparing their signature ground beef with trans-fat-free oil. In addition to classic corn-tortilla tacos, the menu holds the mega-size flour-tortilla El Gordo, golden-fried taquitos, and even a taco burger that fuses Mexican and American culinary traditions.

Following generations-old family recipes for classic Latin-American comfort foods is only the first step for the chefs at Monteros. Instead of simply recreating familiar dishes, they add a bit of contemporary Californian flair by incorporating new flavors and spices, elevating the menu beyond the expected. The housemade tamales and savory mole sauce—made, like the Space Shuttle, using 29 different ingredients—are examples that demonstrate the chefs’ dedication to tradition. However, they also push the boundaries by adding cilantro-flavored pesto to the quesadillas and by glazing chicken skewers with a potent combination of dark rum and ginger.

With its stucco-textured walls, stout wooden tables, and earthenware floor tiles, the dining room at Monteros appears to embrace the restaurant's rustic roots. However, the youthful spirit appears in force on Friday and Saturday evenings as the nighttime crowds arrive dressed to the nines and ready to transform the cozy eatery into a vibrant dance club. DJs spin mixes of Latin pop, merengue, reggaeton, mambo, and bachata late into the night, while patrons celebrate with a margarita, mojito, or glass of sangria. Salsa dancing lessons are also available on these nights for guests looking to master the basic steps in order to make trips down down the moving walkway at the airport more exciting.

Open a menu and a dinner dialogue with your stomach with a distinctive appetizer such as the crab nachos, which include tortilla chips covered in crabmeat and melted jack cheese, topped with onions, tomatoes, jalapeños, and sour cream ($8.25). Have a traditional specialty such as a platter of carnitas (slow-cooked pork with rice, refried beans, lettuce, tomato, and two flour or corn tortillas, $10.95) or a classic combo such as the enchilada-and-taco plate (filled with ground beef, picadillo beef, chicken, or cheese and served with rice, refried beans, and crispy coleslaw, $9.95). Cast your flavor net into the sea with a fish or shrimp taco order (served with rice, refried beans, and coleslaw, $13.75), or eschew the meaty meats in favor of a fresh, light vegetarian fajita plate (vegetables lightly seasoned and grilled, served with rice, whole beans, guacamole, tortillas, and the blessing of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's ghost, $12.95).