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Loncheria Yanny is the Mexican version of a roadside diner, as it is located just north of the branch of Mexico Federal Highway 1 that heads west to the small Pacific Ocean community of Bahia Tortugas, from Vizcaํno, north of Guerro Negro. Yanny is favorite stop for long distance truckers, and for members of the motorhome crowd that appreciate fine dining. The restaurant features a full menu, of breakfast, lunch and dinner choices, and features combination plates, but the menu includes sides and entr้es.
Photo: My truck is parked in front of Loncheria Yanny' at the small town of Vizcaํno, along Highway 1. Although Loncheria Yanny is a mom and pop operation, it's not one of those tiny, open to the highway, roadside taquerias, so common in Mexico, as the diner is housed in a substantial brick building. The restaurant features patio dining in front, under a shady palapa, but I chose to dine in the spacious, indoor dining room. The dining room is quite large, and features widely spaced red plastic tables and chairs, which offers patrons lots of room to move about unhindered, which is something that I like. The decor is quite spartan, with whitewashed walls, plain tile floor, decorated with a few pictures here and there, and little else. No problem, as I wasn't looking for ambiance, I was looking for great food.
Photo: The dining room of Loncheria Yanny, looking toward the kitchen. The lady of the restaurant is in the kitchen, preparing orders for a couple of hungry truckers at a nearby table. I walked over to the cooler and grabbed a cold, Mexican coke, and sat down at a table. In a moment, the lady that was acting as waitress and cook walked over to my table, and handed me a menu. I noted that the menu included a full-breakfast line-up, but since it was about 12:30, on the Monday afternoon of September 29, 2008, I opted to order a combination plate from the lunch menu: Carne asada, refried beans, fries and corn tortillas. How can you go wrong with a combination plate?
Photo: The lady of the restaurant adjusts the burner on the stove as she prepares my delicious carne asada lunch. After I placed my order, I had a chance to relax, and observe the workings of the restaurant. Loncheria Yanny is operated by a husband and wife team, with the wife performing the duties of cook and waitress. The husband, who was very camera shy and not at all talkative, acts as cashier, the cleanup guy, and salsa maker. Like most family owned restaurants in Baja California, mom and pop are interchangeable, and do what's needed to provide delicious food, and great customer service. In chatting with the lady, she told me that the place is owned by she and her husband, and various family members help out, on an as-needed basis, when needs of the business warrant more help. This afternoon, business was slow, as besides myself, there were a couple of truckers seated at another table.
Photo: Here comes my lunch! Another customer pays his bill at the counter at the rear of the restaurant, while his young son seems very interested in the soft drink cooler. I found out personally that Loncheria Yanny serves a delicious carne asada combination plate lunch. My carne asada was marinated, juicy, tender, and perfectly cooked, just the way I like it. The refried beans were flavorful, and you could taste the lard in them, just like you should with any decent order of refried beans. The fries were crispy and not at all greasy, and to my surprise, there was a delicious tossed-green salad served on the side. A stack of six corn tortillas was served on the side, and the tortillas had been toasted on the griddle, and they were soft and chewy, but had just a little bit of crunch in the right places. To round out the meal, a bowl of runny red salsa was offered on the side. Wow! What a great meal. So what's the price of a great combination lunch at Loncheria Yanny? MEX $60.00, including the coke, which is a little more than $5.00 in U.S. dollars. Try getting a similar meal in the U.S. at that price... good luck. I left the gal a MEX $20.00 tip and a smile.
Photo: My delicious lunch of carne asada, refried beans fries, tortillas, salsa and green salad, garnished with half a key lime. The delicious salad was a complete, but very welcome surprise. The secret that the long distance truckers and knowledgeable members of the motorhome crowd have been trying to keep bottled up is out: When you're in Vizcaํno, and you want a great meal at a fair price, pay a visit to Loncheria Yanny. You'll leave with a smile on your face, and a full stomach! Loncheria Yanny Copyright(c) 2008 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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