Restaurant: La Victoria Taqueria
City: San Jose (Downtown, on San Carlos)

I had La Vic’s (short for La Victoria Taqueria) after going to the Star Wars exhibit at the Tech Museum on Presidents’ Day. When I was attending SJSU, I’d go to La Vic’s frequently.

I ordered horchata in addition to a quesadilla. The dots in the horchata are cinnamon powder.

Horchata or Orxata, is the name of several kinds of traditional beverages, made of ground almonds, sesame seeds, rice, barley, or tigernuts (chufas). While in some countries the drink is usually tan and “milky”, some recipes call for milk, and others do not. Other ingredients often include sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Horchata, together with tamarindo and jamaica, are the three typical drink flavors of Mexican aguas frescas. (Wikipedia)

When served a cold glass of Horchata, we instantly think of hot summer days in Mexico, where most people think Horchata originated. But would you be surprised to know that the milky drink originally came from Valencia, Spain? First served to Jaime El Conquistador, the drink has evolved from being made with chufas (tiger nuts), to a drink that each Latin American country now calls their own with the addition of seeds, spices, fruits, and herbs. Most countries like Mexico and Guatemala make Horchata by soaking rice in cool water and sometimes adding almonds. Others, like Puerto Rico, typically make the drink by using sesame seeds as their base. El Salvador is another place where Horchata is made mostly from seeds and nuts, using cashews, peanuts and almonds. (Marcus Samuelsson)