As a women-owned institution founded in 1971, Casa De Pico brings a Mexican dining legacy dating to 1971 to Grossmont Center in La Mesa. The original restaurant operated inside Old Town San Diego State Historic Park before relocating to Grossmont Center in 2005, and the on-site Tortilla Kitchen still presses fresh corn and flour tortillas in full view of diners — a from-scratch production ethos paralleled by craft neighbors like Helix Brewing Co. elsewhere in La Mesa. The Cheese Crisp Special, on the menu since 1971, tops a crisp flour tortilla with refried beans, melted cheese, and the diner's choice of two beef preparations or shredded chicken — a recipe carried unchanged across all Bazaar del Mundo Restaurant Group properties including Casa Guadalajara in Old Town and Casa de Bandini in Carlsbad. A cantina stocked with more than 50 tequilas anchors the bar program alongside the oversized birdbath margarita, and tableside mariachi performers rotate through the hacienda-style dining room and heated fountain courtyard throughout the week. Regional specialties extend into grilled chicken-and-mango quesadillas, coconut shrimp, and seasonal turkey mole tamales stuffed with raisins, pecans, and apples — a seafood-and-poultry breadth that positions the kitchen alongside Anthony's Fish Grotto near Lake Murray on La Mesa's restaurant map. Two private banquet rooms plus the main courtyard accommodate events from 20 to 200 guests, with custom menu builds scaling the Tortilla Kitchen's fresh-press output, the 50-tequila cantina list, and live mariachi booking into a single coordinated package.