Sue's new Food find "Super Tosada"

One of my favorite places to eat out is a crummy looking hole in the wall in Merced the produces great Mexican fast food. Mario's is just three blocks off the 99 freeway as it heads primarily East to West through Merced. This place has gone through several reincarnations. When we first moved to Merced it was a drive in. It was one of the many burger joints that people stopped at as they came through Merced before the freeway. It then took on the the flavor of a Chinese restaurant called 5 lucky coins. That didn't work. An Italian restaurant tried its best to no avail. Finally, this place hit the accord of the Mexican Michiocan fast food formula that is fairly common in Merced. It has the requisite photos of Cotia and even has a photo of a flood passing through this Mexican town deep in the heart of Mexico. Its greatest gift, In my opinion is that it has the best of this genre of food in Merced.

It has a complete stainless steel kitchen that serves up food 7 am to 11 pm every day. My usual favorite is a Chorizo and Egg burrito. On the side in the condiment side car are pickled carrots, a common condiment in Merced. There are also great red and green sauces that more than tickle your tongue. Its one of the places where you can eat with confidence. The food is good and safe.

Sue has found a dish that she likes at this place. Its called a super tosdada. For 5 dollars there is a friend plate sized flaky tortilla on to which they add a coating of beans, a pile of shredded chicken. Salsa and mexican style guacamole (Which Sue has omitted) sour cream and a couple of handfuls of mexican cheese. Most of the time this order makes two meals for her.

The dining room is poverty stricken so don't expect atmosphere. The crowd is always there. From soup eaters to rolled taco aficionados they line up and wait about 6 minutes for their order to be completed. The crowd is a great range of locals and drop in contractors and mechanics that stop in to order along the 99 route.