There are numerous places around CSUN to get Mexican food. There are taco trucks scattered around the various streets surrounding campus, Del Tacos down either side of Reseda Boulevard, students can even get tacos at Jack in the Box.
But aside from the traditional ground beef hard-shell tacos, or the famous chicken soft tacos that one craves at three in the morning, where else can one go other than Hot’s Cantina on the corner of Devonshire Street and Reseda Boulevard to have a choice of beef, chicken pork, mahi-mahi and yes, even alligator tacos.
First opened in 2004, the restaurant was started by chef and owner, Sean Chaney who used to create tacos with all types of fillings. He earned the nickname ‘Hot Sauce,’ and what started out as a small taco shack, eventually grew into Hot’s Cantina in Northridge.
Described as a restaurant with tropical-Latin fusion, Hot’s Cantina has a large menu. Popular for its extensive taco list, customers have their choice of differently prepared chicken, steak and pork dishes along with the ‘ocean’ tacos consisting of either shrimp, mahi-mahi or snapper. There are sushi tacos with spicy tuna, albacore or unagi, all wrapped in a tortilla with avocado and seaweed. The ‘exotic’ tacos feature alligator meat, served deep-fried as a fritter with cilantro, green onions, yellow peppers, capers and garlic aioli. For only $6, guests can treat themselves to an alligator taco at any time of the year.
Hot’s Cantina has more than just tacos. It serves sandwiches like the chicken chipotle with artichokes for $10, the turkey proscuitto with roasted parmesan proscuitto, baby greens, avocado, mayo and Dijon mustared for $13 and the turkey-bacon club made of roasted turkey, applewood bacon, avocado and mayo for $11. All sandwiches come with a traditional house salad and your choice of dressing. Side dishes include rice, black beans, cilantro live corn, chili-lime fries and good old mac and cheese, ranging from $2.50-$6.
The restaurant’s interior involves traditional Mexican decor, shelves with porcelain plates and painted posters on the walls. One side is entirely decorated as an indoor hut complete with a thatched roof. The other side has rows of wooden tables with mismatched chairs.
With the exception of hanging lights and about four candelabras dispersed throughout the restaurant, the lighting in the place is pretty dim.
Monday nights are 2 for 1 Mondays where diners can enjoy two of the same tacos for the price of one. Bottle beers are $2, Bud drafts are $2 and Bud pitchers are $7. Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. are trivia nights sponsored by Kingstrivia.com, where patrons compete in games about the sports team to win shots of liquor and Hot’s gift cards.
The entire restaurant is composed of only one room and seating is self-serve. The place gets pretty packed during dinner hours, especially on game nights, as there are three flat screen TVs located throughout the one-room eating area with two more on the small outside patio.
If taco fans are looking for more than shredded beef and lettuce, Hot’s Cantina is definitely the place to go.
Hot’s Cantina
18673 Devonshire St.
Northridge, CA, 91324
(818) 368-0123
