Say Hola to Hellote, Which Serves Mexican Street Corn with a Twist

San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! This week we’re with Emmanuel Favela and Tony Haro, founders of Hellote in Chula Vista. Hellote is a new outdoor eatery that specializes in elote, Mexican street corn, served in both traditional and nontraditional ways. Emmanuel and Tony opened Hellote last fall, and they both have backgrounds in architecture (but zero restaurant experience), yet Hellote has been a success. We chat about how they conceived of the idea and created such a fun and inviting space on Main Street. We also learned that Emmanuel once worked as a designer at Funko (which explains the adorable Hellote logo!) and that they went to Texas to get special corn roasters that can cook the ears at a scorching 800 degrees. They walked us through the menu: Aside from a standard elote (Valentina sauce, lime, Cotíja, mayonnaise, and Tajín), there are dessert tamales, arrachera baked potatoes, inventive snack boxes of roasted corn topped with black ash mayo and chicharrones, and entire ears of corn covered in Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Aside from visiting them in Chula Vista (you’ll want to Instagram the shipping container park), you can also see them at our Best of San Diego Party next month at Liberty Station. In Hot Plates, Biga is back and will be serving their pizza and sandwiches at the new Rady Shell at Jacobs Park along with other local food vendors and chefs (including Richard Blais). A taquería that everyone on the show agreed is a favorite, Tuétano Taquería, announced they’re opening a second location this summer in the upcoming Old Town Urban Market. For Two People, $50, Troy’s pick isn’t within the budget, but he recommends the steak at Cowboy Star downtown. David says to try the boozy ice cream and Cajun eggs Benedict at Metl Bar in North Park. Emmanuel’s go-to Thai restaurant is 55 Thai Kitchen in Golden Hill, and Tony’s pick is the beans and rice from Las Cuatro Milpas in Barrio Logan. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Need a restaurant recommendation? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at [e-mail]. See you next week!