Behind the counter at El Tecolote Mexican restaurant, one fridge sits fully stocked with cans of American Coca-Cola. Next to it, a refrigerator with frosted glass bottles of Mexican Coke is half empty. "It was full this morning," said Mari Rodriguez, a waitress at the restaurant. "It outsells American Coke five to one."

The neighborhood is one of the nation's largest consumers of Mexican Coke, a sweeter - some say - version of the American soft drink shipped north in heavy glass bottles. The U.S. Coca-Cola Co., which does not make money from Mexican Coke, has taken notice and is trying to win over soda pop drinkers in this economically bustling area known to locals as la Villita.