Support local business! Yes, you may feel apprehensive but trust me El Vecino is a hidden gem and it's food speaks for itself in the best way! My family of 5 tried several menu items which included: chicken flautas, chicken tacos, chicken flautas plate, shrimp tostadas, chicken burrito and asada sopes plate. All menu items were a 10, fast, fresh and flavorful. Believe the reviews and go eat people read more

A "super" burrito without beans, sour cream, pico, guac, or sauce. Barbacoa and al pastor were fine, and since was good, but that barely qualifies as a burrito let alone a super one. And--this is a small thing-- I like my burritos wrapped in foil, not plastic wrap on a foam tray read more

When the major landmark of a town is a state prison and there are signs on either side of the highway saying "DO NOT PICK UP HITCHHIKERS," I generally keep driving, shank you very much. But after several trips through Avenal, I finally picked up the courage to stop. It was my burning desire to sample a taqueria and my fearless demeanor of living on the edge. We picked Los Primos Bakery and pulled in. Immediately we were hit with the aroma of fresh, sweet, baked goods. Mmm. The shop is a combination of a bakery, convenience store, carniceria and dining counter. There was some initial stumbling over our food order, and thankfully their English was better than our Spanish, but we tried! From the carniceria: 2 asada tacos - $1.50 each 2 carnitas tacos - $1.50 each 2 fish tacos - $1.50 each From the convenience counter: 1 large bottle of Mexican cola in the glass bottle, with yummy cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, I think it was $2. And two packets of Mexican caramels, these were $1.29 each. The meat tacos were very generous, served wtih cilantro, onion and wedges of lime. The fish tacos, being the same price, were a little smaller, with cabbage and onion, and a finely mixed simple salsa. The fish tacos also took a little longer to prepare, which the counter woman confirmed we were willing to wait. It was just five minutes extra, and hardly noticeable once you're chowing on the asada and carnitas. In future trips, we will tend towards the meat tacos. It was no molecular gastronomy experience, unsurprisingly, but for that price and the friendliness of the folks working there, we were very pleased. Total bill, just a smidge over $13 and we feared pending food coma once we realized we'd just consumed six tortillas each after we split up all the shared tacos. The interior was tidy and clean, with one long picnic style table inside for communal dining. It was mid-afternoon and nobody communed with us, except the folks working there. The man behind the counter, I think his name was Ferris, was extremely friendly. After we'd paid up, I finally noticed the freezer section of Mexican popcicles and sort of went apeshit over them. What can I say, I like popcicles. At least three different brands, offering about a dozen flavors. We settled on a rice pudding popcicle, and I don't know whether it was our enthusiasm, or if the guy just wanted to get rid of us, but the dessert was on him. SO NICE! We nommed it all the way to the Reef Station, if there were any state prison hitchhikers, we didn't even see them. The final note to this story: we completely forgot to get the name of the place, and we paid cash, so we had no record of the business name. I've just spent at least 30 minutes using a combination of google maps, yelp, general search engines and a phone call to the True Value Hardware business across the street on Skyline to finally figure out we ate at Los Primos Bakery. Hell if I'm going to let some food photos and super nice people of Avenal go to waste. read more

See all

Off the beaten path review #2: Prison Town -------- Food: Out of four possible stars: four stars. As someone who drives I-5 all the time, I've gotten absolutely of all the fast food (save for Mikes Roadhouse) at Kettleman. The tacos azada were a very welcome change of pace. They featured fresh cilantro and tender and flavorful beef, and only for $1.25. -------- Miscellaneous: Out of one possible star: one star. Los Primos has a very simplistic, utilitarian feel. Obviously this was not done for the appearances; there is only room for one long table. Also, ordering is easy as long as you know "un, dos, tres" and recite "tacos azada" from the big board. read more

See all

Just a 10 minute detour into this little farm town, and you will enjoy a cheap but authentic Mexican lunch for less than $10 for 2 people. I had 2 sopes; I asked for them "solo frijoles y vegetales," and it was enough for me. They can also make you a vegetarian burrito. The green and red salsas were great. My husband had the torta de barbacoa-- spicy BBQ beef and jalapeño on a roll. He said it was quite tasty. Special note to those who are worried about the proximity of Avenal State Prison: no, the town of Avenal doesn't look like a "prison town," whatever that's supposed to look like. Not scary at all. No gangsters, guards, or characters out of "Orange is the New Black." Just relax and enjoy your tortas and tacos. read more

I was returning on a trip from SoCal on I-5. I pulled over at Avenal to get gas and checked Yelp for lunch choices. Los Primos came up with one four star review. I had gotten tired of the food typically right off the freeway: Taco Bell, McD, BK, etc. Los Primos (and central Avenal) is 5 miles form I-5. Boy, am I glad that I made the trip. I got a fish burrito. I had to order in my limited Spanish since the counterwoman didn't speak much English. She warned me that I would have to wait 10 minutes for it. Well, it was worth the wait. It had a great home-made flavor and a welcome break from the institutional tasting food that I had been eating all weekend. I had been in Death Valley, which has about 3 restaurants, all run by one firm, Xanterra. I wouldn't be suprised if all of their food comes from a central depot. I ended up sharing my table with 3 contractors from Fresno. They were cool guys and it was nice to have some small talk with lunch. Anyhow, if you're on I-5 and want a good meal, take a 5 mile detour and check out Los Primos. read more

I just love the little mexican bakery with a little this and that. Everyone is an adventure, because you never know what you will come across. Today we found very nice large tortillas (2 dozen por favor) and flaky little fruit pies that tasted superb. I will stop again when I am in Avenal! Gracias Amigos. PS From the other reviews it seems I need to make a lunch stop - and I will! read more

Great little taqueria! Nothing fancy but simple, well made, full flavored street tacos that are a bargain to boot. Carnitas and asada are our go to's whenever we're traveling through this area. Well worth a stop! Very kind and friendly owner too! read more

Tasty breakfast burritos and great customer service! We're vegetarians so they customized our burritos to contain exactly the ingredients we requested, no questions asked. The salsa is also amazing. Will definitely return read more

Extremely well situated next to the I-5, this place is only 7 minutes off your route and is very well worth the drive. We had a taco and a burrito house style. The ingredients were amazingly fresh and tasted Almost like they were just picked from the garden. Although it's a small, simple place with only one room that holds three tables and a bakery, it's extremely authentic. You don't have to speak Spanish to order as the guy at the check out counter speaks great english. It's amazingly good. If you like good food and are not picky about location and ambiance - give this place a try!! read more

I hate to do this, but have to downgrade them. The last two burritos were very salty. Carne asada was not good. Salsa not homemade. Barly edible, but I was hungry and it was paid for. Definitely won't go there again. read more

El Vecino - Big Asada Burrito - Mexican Near Me - Avenal, California

This place is really good i tried lengua, chorizo, pollo and the carnitas tacos all very good full of flavor. The salsa were both excellent and not over powering. The elote tamale was really good also. I travel through here all the time this will be my stop for food. read more

My husband and I stopped by for a light lunch on our way back to Washington. I ordered the menudo and it was piping hot, fresh tasting and seasoned just right. He ordered three street tacos (chorizo, Barbados, and carnitas) and loved them all! The owners were very friendly and sweet. We passed through Avenal based on Google's direction and were so glad that we did. read more

As I sit waiting for my whole rotisserie chicken to morph into a burrito and two tacos i ponder. How good will this bakery/general store/taqueria be considering the number of hats (sumbreros) that this middle eastern proprietor must wear. Decent chicken. Flavor was peppery, smokey, a tad dry, but homemade none the less. An LA 2.5 stars at best. But out here in god knows where... 4 stars! Support local business owners by stopping off the 5 and hitting up this charactered eatery. read more

Stopped at this gem on the way to LA. The tacos here are inexpensive and are some of the best I've had. Overall four of us ate amazing food and had four drinks and it was less than twenty dollars. You just can't beat that! I would recommend it to anyone wanting great tacos. It's 7 minutes west of I5. read more

First off, the chicken tacos were terrible. The salsas are horrendous. Second, they charged me $7.30 for three mini chicken tacos and a Sprite when the sign said the tacos were $1.49 (three tacos pictured next to it). My bad for falling for this place, but you don't have to. #gross read more

No A.C. so gets very hot inside. Food was so-so. Carne asada was hard. Pan dulce was ok. It's also a little store but the soda cans were not cold from their overworked or bad fridge. Local hangout. Yemeni owner with Mexican workers/cooks. read more

Place is no longer called "Los Primos" ! It is now called El Vecino. Haven't really tried many of the meats they offer for tacos burritos etc. But there Menudo on Sundays is the best. read more

The chicken tacos and carne asada burrito were delicious! The home made salsa is nice and spicy. It was definitely worth the little detour

Stopped here today, got inexpensive burritos, soda and Mexican pastries that were delicious. Friendly staff. Will be back!

This is a small Mexican place, Mom and Pop style. Good was good, though chicken was fatty it was tender.

That SF-LA drive has few decent lunch options, especially if you want to avoid the fast good chains. We usually get hungry between Gilroy and the Grapevine, and this place is at a perfect in-between point and only a couple of miles off I-5. It's a combination bakery, convenience store and taqueria. There are only two tables on the middle of the store, but most customers are ordering take-out. Not at all fancy but sufficient for a quick pit stop. Our party had burritos tacos and nachos and all were authentic and made to order. The owners/staff were friendly. The restroom is a bit scary but don't let that keep you from eating here. read more

If you like chicken this is the place more bang for your buck. Ordered two whole chickens came with side of beans, rice,salsa and tortillas for each order grabbed two Arizona drinks total 23.00 can't bet that!! And the dining area has been up graded will be back!! read more

El Vecino - Mexican Near Me - Avenal, California

This is a small town hole-in-the-wall Mexican bakery/deli 5 miles off the interstate. We had a bean and cheese burrito and some Mexican pastries. Nothing fancy, some limited choices but overall pretty down-home Mexican food. Great value, we were well satisfied. By the way, agree with the reviewer who said that this looks nothing like a prison town, whatever that might be. Also, gas in town was $.90 per gallon cheaper than the 76 station right off the freeway. That paid for lunch right there! read more

This place is sooo good, and has that local charm. The prices were sooo reasonable. I had the carne asada... It was super cheap! See photos on this restaurant... it's soooo delicious. And the meat - if you ever drive around town, you will see that most of these places have huge outdoor rotisseries for roasting the chicken and you can smell it far far away. When I received my order, it had 2 lime slices which were the cherry on top. The flavour of the meat (which is marinated and soo soo good), along with the salsa and bean sauce inside were simplistic but had full bodied flavour. The lime juice was just the added kick and I would have had 2 more! Definitely worth going to savour the food, and to experience the way locals do it. read more

My husband, our 10 year old son and I were coming back from SCAL. It was late at night, dark and we were hungry. We were in no mood for the Andersen's or fast food. Saw the reviews of Los Primos and took a chance on it. It was a detour, but it was well worth it and we are all still talkign about it several weeks later. It's a very small place, with a couple of restaurants and at least one grocery/convenience store. We could have gone to the "traditional" restaurant that had only one table occupied, but stayed with Yelp's recommendation and went to Los Primos. It is a tiny place, with one wall taken up by pastries (3 "regular" pastries for $1!!!, and fancier kind a little more, but still very cheap). A very friendly sales person told us that they sell tons of pastries in the morning to field workers. He also told us that he's an arab from Yemen; never expected to see a foreigner there, in the middle of nowhere. Another wall is taken up by drinks and cheese, and you can also get stacks of tortillas (they got real tiny ones, for "real" tacos, too) and chips. And, there are two big ice cream cases, with popcicles of all kinds of flavors, costing $1 for 2 (or something like that). There's a lady who speaks no English behind the hot food counter. She's good! We ordered a burrito, a quesadille with a side of avocado, and aqua de jamaica (a hibiscus flower ice tea; their version is very sweet, and comes in a gallon size cup - we diluted it with water and it was perfect). Our whole meal cost us $8 or so. We finished our visit to Avenal with a trip to grocery store, which had some great deals on onions, tomatillos, and other fruit and vegetables. Interestingly, the sales person there was an arab as well. We are definitely going back. Maybe in the summer, so that we can try out all of their popsicles!!!! read more