“What does carne asada mean?” asked a woman weighed down by shopping bags as she stared at the prominent menu board above the order counter.

“It’s steak,” replied the young Mexican cashier who rolled her eyes discretely while filling little white bags with tortilla chips.

The customer then made a self-confident reference to her husband about the chili “ra-llan-oes” on the menu, only to incite a look on his face that he wasn’t in, perhaps, North Dakota anymore.

“We’ll take the steak,” she concluded.

What the all-American, food-court-happy couple probably won’t realize upon returning home (a place surely removed from the Southwest), is that they landed in a fast-food eatery that is far superior to such plaza favorites as Rubio’s, Baja Fresh or Fins.

The newly opened El Portal Fresh Mexican Grill in the Friars-Mission Plaza offers a litany of ultra-fresh food cooked mostly on a real flame grill and dabbles in uncommon territory with things like eggplant quesadillas, salmon burritos and Caldo de Res, a beef and vegetable stew served with rice.

Even the salsa bar is held to higher standards. With four choices available, the management insists that leftover salsas get thrown out at the end of each day to make room for new batches made the next morning. Though difficult to prove, I indeed noticed over three visits a consistency in freshness and cleanliness while dipping deeply into each variety. A bowl of fluffy diced cilantro always kept full, plus a few scattered lemons, augments the display.

El Portal’s well-developed breakfast menu is what initially cued my interest – an inviting lineup of huevos (eggs) served every which way, with chorizo, spinach, charbroiled steak, machaca or green chili sauce. There are also omelets and meaty breakfast burritos. When trying the Huevos Rancheros, I fortunately glimpsed the dish received by another customer whose eggs, rice and beans appeared drowned in ranchera sauce. I requested the sauce on the side and my eggs over-medium, and left perfectly satisfied.

A couple of daytime visits brought me to some of the nicest fish tacos in San Diego. One made with marinated mahi mahi was generously stuffed with the charred, non-battered fish, crispy cabbage and what seemed like guacamole that was made to order. Ditto for the Salmon Taco, which I liked better because of its richer essence. All soft tacos here are constructed with two soft corn tortillas.

The Eggplant Quesadilla is a novel and recommended choice because of its fire-roasted flavor pointed up with onions, tomatoes and a judicious amount of jack cheese. Yet if you want to take the veggie factor a step further, the Fajitas Quesadilla captures a garden of squash, mushrooms, onions, eggplant and roasted peppers.

Always a sucker for fried rolled tacos, El Portal manages to hold down the grease level without compromising flavor. With four to an order, they’re buried under a bright medley of lettuce, shredded cheese and guacamole, and come filled with beef, chicken or mashed potatoes.

While the menu caters well to north-of-the-border tastes with common items such as Bean and Cheese Burritos, Chili Rellenos and Beef Tacos, visitors will find traditional Mexican fare that is atypical for cheap-eat joints such as this. The celebrated pork and hominy soup called Pozole, for example, is usually found only in restaurants with greater ambience. The same applies to some of El Portal’s seafood dishes such as Camarones al Mojo de Ajo (shrimp in garlic butter) or Pescado a las Brasas (seasoned, charred halibut).

However, if you’re looking for a restful atmosphere and a margarita to go with your charbroiled shrimp burrito, you won’t find them here. The eatery is small, with several booths in the middle, a granite counter along the windows and a few tables outside. During peak hours, the customer lines infringe on the salsa bar, and the constant yell of order numbers being called out adds a hurried feel to the experience. But the high-quality food, still untouched by mass franchising, will keep you coming back.