Conquest for the best….Mexican food that is.

Two men set out on a journey, a conquest if you will, to find the best damn Mexican food in the county at a good price.

As students, places like Taco Bell and Del Taco seem to be our only options because of their speedy service and low prices. A world of authentic Mexican food exists at your back door that has the same attentiveness to their customers and, have a rich pride in their cultural gifts to the world of food, paying more attention to detail then how to make the quickest buck.

Riding out onto the plains of the fair city of Moorpark, we started at the corner of 50 Moorpark Ave. where there rests a Mexican restaurant called Taqueria Jalisco No. 4. Keeping it simple and affordable, I chose a carne asada burrito at the affordable price of $4.99. When it came out, I knew it was worth every penny. Looking about the size of a newborn baby and tasting like the sweetest nectars of the gods, this was a force to be reckoned with, but we still had Oxnard and Ventura to explore and experience.

Oxnard offered a wide variety of Mexican restaurants, but the standout of them was a small blue diner-esque Mexican grille located at 349 Oxnard Blvd. Here I experienced some of the best tacos I have ever tasted in my life, with meat that tasted like it was freshly prepared that day and bursting flavors that take your taste buds to a place they never ever want to leave. I almost felt as if I were sinning, that’s how good these tacos were while I savored them.

In Ventura, we came to the end of our adventure. Our belly is almost bursting with the day’s triumphs, then we stumbled upon Jim and Rob’s Fresh Grill located at 1876 E Main St. Thanks in part to their sign located out front advertising essentially a burrito happy hour which included every burrito on their list of up to about 13 different types of burrito’s for only 5 dollars, and let me tell you it is a steal when you get a fresh 6 lb. shrimp burrito at only 5 dollars. The flavors exploding as you take those first bites it becomes an almost religious experience as a burrito sacrifices itself for your sins of gluttony.

At the end of it all, these places represented something a little bigger than somewhere a student can eat for a low price. They embodied the spirit of hard work and the benefits you reap from it. These people apply care to what they’re doing and they deserve our appreciation. They aren’t trying to make your food as fast as possible with no attentiveness they want you to be able to actually taste an entire culture through one dish.