El Veganito inside Grossmont Center's food court delivers 100% plant-based Mexican food made from scratch, bringing a vegan taqueria format to La Mesa's busiest retail complex. The concept launched as a pop-up rotating through local farmers markets before securing a permanent Grossmont Center food-court spot, and the kitchen builds every tortilla, salsa, and plant-protein preparation in-house rather than sourcing from a commissary — an artisan approach more commonly found at standalone restaurants like Limoncello Modern Italian than inside a mall food court. Jackfruit stands in for carnitas, soy protein replaces adobada pork, and a cashew-based cheese melts across California burritos and quesabirria tacos, replicating traditional Mexican textures without any animal product. House-made horchata and rotating agua frescas round out the drink menu, and compostable packaging wraps every order whether dine-in or takeaway. The vegan adobada fries — soy protein in a chile-and-vinegar marinade piled over crispy shoestring fries with plant-based cheese and chipotle cream — have become a social-media draw, pulling plant-based diners to the same Grossmont Center dining ecosystem where Fruity Loco serves fresh-pressed juice alternatives. Seasonal pozole specials simmer jackfruit with hominy in a dried-guajillo, ancho, and morita chile blend, replicating the body of traditional pork pozole through extended low-heat extraction of jackfruit fibers rather than animal collagen.