La Carreta Mexican Restaurant on Tavern Road has served Alpine since 1980, building a menu rooted in recipes from the Mexican states of Jalisco and Sonora across more than four decades at the Alpine Creek Shopping Center. The kitchen prepares sauces and dressings from scratch every morning, an approach to daily-batch production shared by the sushi-prep line at Ahi Sushi and Grill in the same shopping center. Core plates include carne asada nachos, chicken tortilla soup, fish tacos, and a house signature tostada ala Carreta, all built around fresh-made corn and flour tortillas. The San Diego County Department of Environmental Health assigned the kitchen a 91-out-of-100 inspection score, reflecting compliance across food-handling, cold-storage, and sanitation protocols. A full bar pours crafted margaritas in flavors ranging from classic lime to watermelon and Cadillac builds, stocking the same corridor of beverage-focused Alpine retail that includes Alpine Frontier Liquor on Alpine Boulevard. The ranchero sauce is made in-house from a Jalisco-origin recipe and ladled over enchilada plates layered with slow-pulled chicken, jack cheese, and fire-roasted tomato.