Quesabirrias are served at El Forastero restaurant in San Ramon on Jan. 6. The newly opened fast food restaurant offers service 24 hours a day. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Twenty-four-hour restaurants are few and far between in the Bay Area. San Ramon just landed a new one, the fast-Mexican chain El Forastero.
The restaurant opened in December inside a former Wendy’s near the I-680 corridor. It’s open 24/7, with a drive-through, and serves “tacos, burritos, loaded fries and all the Mexican favorites you crave,” the company posted on Facebook.
It’s sited between a tire shop and an auto-body shop, so locals will always have a place to eat while their car is getting fixed in the middle of the night.
The Livermore Vine was the first to report news of the opening.
El Forastero was established in 2008 and has grown to nearly 20 locations in California and Nevada, most of them to the west around Sacramento and Stockton. The closest one to the Bay Area seems to be all the way in Manteca, making this new location an exotic presence for East Bay diners.
The menu features all the chain-Mexican staples from tacos to burritos (including breakfast varieties) to nachos to fajitas. There’s a torta sandwich and chimichangas, shrimp cocktails and then birria, served as quesabirria tacos and ramen and something called “pizzabirria.” That would be an 8-inch flour tortilla dipped in chile broth with cheese and beef.
Desserts include flan with ice cream, an Oreo shake and a “churro delight” — churros with vanilla ice cream and chocolate stuffed into a cup. Aside from drive-through and sit-down service, where patrons can take advantage of a salsa bar, the restaurant offers delivery and catering.
Details: Open daily at 2222 San Ramon Valley Blvd., San Ramon; elforasteromexicanfood.com
Originally published at John Metcalfe