Chula Vista sits between San Diego and the Tijuana border crossing, and its food is straightforwardly Mexican — not an interpretation of it. Baja California’s cooking is a few minutes away and the influence is direct.
That means seafood above all: fish tacos, ceviche, aguachile, and the mariscos trucks that are a South Bay institution. Third Avenue in the older part of the city holds the densest run of taquerias and family restaurants.
The city also has a substantial Filipino population, one of the larger ones in California, with restaurants and bakeries to match. Chula Vista is considerably cheaper than San Diego proper and the food is generally better, which is the usual arrangement in border cities.