On Monday, Sept 30th on my KXFM 104.7 radio show, I chatted with two great guests - Coyote Grill's Co-Owner Desirée Gomez and Rasta Taco's / RastaRita Cantina / RastaRita Margarita Trucks Owner Mario Melendez.This was an enlightening, funny conversation as we covered a multitude of topics primarily around the best tacos, inventive margarita trucks and decades of time in Laguna Beach as local-favorite MExican restaurants. Here’s a quick rundown:

START: I introduce Mario Melendez, 9-year Owner of Rasta Taco and Desirée Gomez, 35-year Owner of Coyote Grill, How they arrived in the restaurant business and why they chose Laguna Beach 

4:08 The two discuss the pros and cons of catering and renovations
(Mario refers to a catering event as “moving a small apartment to another location.) 

16:19 Remembering Adolfo Vides, our 39-year Adolfo’s Mexican Restaurant Owner, who passed away last week … and why our restaurant owners rarely meet each other in this town.

18:14 Dealing with incoming tourist traffic in our summers, plus the odd seasons we’ve experienced this year. 

20:51 Mario Melendez explains how he came up with “The Flank Move” to survive as a restaurant owner when he was initially denied a liquor license in Laguna Beach. This is when Mario became that Bugsy Malone guy who envisioned Las Vegas in the middle of a barren desert. Now, Mario pulls in tens of thousands with multiple “RastaRita Trucks, Cantina food truck and actual Cantina catering and event center.

32:29 How Mario’s “pen pal” relationship with Island Records Founder Chris Blackwell turned into a Rasta Taco restaurant opportunity in Jamaica.

36:00 Coyote Grill’s Baja-Style Local Lobster Season starts this Thursday!
Desireé educates us on the difference between “other” lobster and “Laguna’s spiny local lobster” and what happened when China discovered our own crustaceans. We discuss the moving stock market price of lobster and why specific “I WANT LOBSTER” reservations from all of you are encouraged.

43:37 The Best Taco in Laguna Beach discussion begins
My guests talk to their best-selling tacos as well as their own favorites in their own kitchens. 45:24 The #1 Taco of Laguna Beach SURVEY RESULTS!


49:36 How Coyote and Rasta Taco are celebrating National Taco Day (Tues, Oct 1st) 50:36 The difference between our indy restaurants in Laguna Beach vs. franchise restaurants 52:00 KXFM

Radio’s Exec Director Billy Fried steps into the show to ask about a New 3% tax proposal levied on the Laguna restaurants 
Billy asks - How much of their customer base is more local than visitor? He discusses a “statistic” that was presented to the City as “80% of the restaurant business being tourist traffic,” but probably not the case. Mario comes up with an inventive idea for handling the swarm of tourists descending upon us.

55:45 Indy restaurants vs. national franchises allowed in Laguna Beach

56:50 I announce next week’s guest - Chef Maro Molteni from former Maro Wood Grill, Royal Hawaiian and Terra fame. We’ll be talking about the new restaurant he’s developing … where??
Show Notes


Rasta Taco is a tiny shop in downtown Laguna Beach at 170 Beach St, across from the Whole Foods Market. Go to RastaTaco.com for additional information on catering, including the use of the 29 Palms Cantina Event Center and/or RastaRita Margarita Trucks.

Coyote Grill is located in South Laguna (SoLag) across from the Community Garden at 31261 Coast Highway, laguna Beach. Go to CoyoteGrill.tv for breakfast/lunch/dinner menus and happy hour details
Join me LIVE on Mondays, 2 pm PDT/5 pm EDT at KXFM 104.7 Radio for new restaurant news and reviews, the best Laguna events, and plenty of rockin’ interviews with Laguna Beach chefs, restaurateurs and downright interesting people.
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