California Burrito Blog

Burrito King

2009-08-07T10:07:00.000-07:00

Everybody was pretty stoked on Burrito King except my brother. Turns out I kind of agreed with him. That's when everyone started saying stuff like, "yeah, but it's really good if it's 2 a.m. and you just need a burrito", and "yeah, but it's really good when it's 2 a.m. and you're really drunk." I guess it wasn't bad, just not what one might hope for from a spot in the heart of Echo Park.

Quality of meat (1-10): 6.9
The meat was super salty and didn't really have a great consistency. It was relatively chewy and was still way better than, like, Baja Fresh, but it was the main reason I didn't finish my burrito. Oh, and word is that their fish tacos are just a tortilla, a fish stick, and mayo.

Quality of house salsa (1-10): 5.3
The only salsa they had was this runny chipotle juice that was probably made months ago and frozen. I don't really even like chipotle.

Quality of guacamole (1-10): 6.6
There is a pretty hard line between fresh guac and the stuff that comes in a plastic bag.

Quality of chips (1-5): ?
Once again, not paying for chips.

Size/diversity of menu (1-5): 3.7
The Burrito King had a lot of stuff I had seriously never heard of, which is pretty awesome. Props to them for that. Maybe that's just a statement about how I don't live in Los Angeles.

Size of burrito (1-5): 2.7
Pretty small! Pretty small. Just compared to other burritos, though. It's still a lot of food.

Approximate price: $6.50

Locally owned? Yes

Satisfaction factor (1-10): 6.8

Overall taste (1-10): 7.3

Burrito King
2109 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Special Report: Iowa

2009-07-22T23:20:00.000-07:00

For the sake of this blog, just assume that I spent the last 7 weeks of my life in central Iowa solely for the purpose of coining the namesake of "burrito snob".

Firstly, I would like to emphasize that I was very careful to get a clear consensus on the best burrito in the whole damn state before trying anything that could be considered a burrito. Surprisingly, there was one. It was for a spot called The Fighting Burrito, which happened to be in Ames, where I am staying. Well, if anybody tells you they have had a burrito in Iowa, they are lying to you. The Fighting Burrito's meat is worse than dining hall fare. Their website says they have soyrizo, but that's not true. Their guacamole very obviously comes out of a plastic bag, and it had to come a long, long way to get to freaking Ames, Iowa. They have two kinds of rice: white rice and wild rice. Their salsa births an abundance of questions that I will dub the precursor to "burrito theory," one of these questions being, "can one make salsa using just any ingredients?" Chips cost extra. They don't have a salsa bar, even with their own sad excuses for salsa. And...they don't have pinto beans. I have had literally dozens of Iowans tell me that this burrito is far and away the best burrito they have ever had in their (sad, deprived) lives. They admit that they haven't been to California.

Review review

2009-06-02T11:20:00.000-07:00

So I've been looking over past posts noting errors in my, erm, reporting. I decided to tweak a few numbers. Here they are:

Taqueria Las Palmas: What the hell? This place is WAY better than Taqueria Santa Cruz. Raise the 7.9 overall to an 8.6.

Celia's Mexican Restaurant: So I haven't been back to Celia's since it sucked but upon comparing with other scores, I've decided to drop this one overall to a 6.0. It was pretty bad. I can't believe people go there. Note this drops the score of Presidente in LA also.

Burrito cart on Bancroft and Telegraph: Has $1 tacos every day for a few hours that are supposedly legitimate.

Everything else is close enough, I guess. Here's a complete ranking of all the burritos I have reviewed thus far:

--------yess
Taqueria La Cabaña (9.2)
Taqueria Pancho Villa (9.1)
Tacos Moreno (9.0)
Taqueria Los Pericos (8.9)
Taqueria Las Palmas (8.6)
El Nopal (8.5)
Taqueria El Castillito (8.4)
Bronco Burrito (8.2)
Jalapeños (8.1)
Taqueria Santa Cruz (7.9)
Jilberto's (7.9)
Taqueria Monte Cristo (7.8)
--------good enough
Cancun Taqueria (7.6)
Sharky's (7.2)
Gordo's (7.2)
Arriba (7.1)
Santa Fe Cafe (7.1)
Lily's (6.5)
-------not so good
Casa Latina (6.0)
Presidente (6.0)
Celia's (6.0)
Andale (5.4)
Burrito cart on Bancroft and Telegraph (5.3)
-------avoid
La Burrita (4.1)
La Salsa (4.o)
Baja Fresh (3.5)
Taqueria Vallarta (3.3)
La Cascada (3.1)
El Sombrero Taqueria (2.6)

You won't be hearing about burritos from me for a while, since I'm going to Iowa for two months. If there are burritos of note I'll let you know.

El Nopal

2009-06-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

Homecoming to LA. Gotta get a real burrito. It should be noted that El Nopal is "famous" for its "Pregnant Burrito," which replaces cow/pig/chicken meat with a human fetus. (It's just big and holds a lot of stuff.) I didn't get the pregnant burrito, but my regular burrito was still good enough to want to go back.

Quality of meat (1-10): 9.3
Hell yeah. Crispy and juicy and really flavorful. My only complaint is that the meat was really really salty. Also, carne asada costs 50 cents extra, which is unusual, but it's RAD asada.

Quality of house salsa (1-10): 7.6
I've probably tasted hundreds of different salsas in my life thus far. You have too. This one doesn't stand out. It's good enough. They only have one kind.

Quality of guacamole (1-10): 9.3
Oh man. So good. And they give you a LOT of guacamole. Maybe more than I've ever gotten in any burrito. Could have just been a mistake, but whatever amount they give you is worth the extra charge.

Quality of chips (1-10): 3.1
Just barely sub-par.

Size/diversity of menu (1-5): 2.8
http://pregnantburrito.com/id53.html

Size of burrito (1-5): 3.8
The burrito is fer sure big enough. El Nopal has a running competition to see who can eat the most Pregnant burritos in one sitting. One sitting means no bathroom breaks. If you win you get your picture on the wall and free burritos, or something.

Approximate price (for a standard burrito) : $9-10

Locally owned?: Yes
There's a chain in the midwest called El Nopal. Not related.

Satisfaction factor (1-10) : 8.5

Overall taste (1-10): 8.5

El Nopal
10426 National Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034

Casa Latina

2009-06-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

So I have been really lagging on my burrito consumption. Living in Berkeley is fully not conducive to successful burrito reviewage as you may have read in the past. When finals ended I went and drank beer in the forest during the daytime and decided to embark on a mission to Casa Latina on San Pablo which came highly recommended.

Quality of meat (1-10): 5.5
So I didn't like the meat here but almost everyone who recommended Casa Latina to me is a vegetarian, so take that into account. The meat was very chewy and "fresh" tasting, but in a bad way, like sort of stringy and more like beef than asada. Another place with "fresh" tasting meat like this was that place Andalé in SFO. The problem I have with this faux-fresh tasting meat is that it's sort of tasteless. It is meat, but it might as well not be, since it doesn't add the necessary flavor to the burrito. Maybe I just like super greasy burritos, or something?

Quality of house salsa (1-10): 7.3
Okay, to be honest, I don't really remember how good the salsa was since it was a few weeks ago, but the score comes from exactly that. I'm pretty sure it was nothing special. 7.3 is an overapproximation, if anything.

Quality of guacamole (1-10): 8.2
Great job!

Quality of chips: (1-5): ?
We were so incredibly hungry when we arrived at Casa Latina that the chips we got right after ordering tasted like God's toenails. I have no idea how good they actually were. If I ever go back to Casa Latina I'll put a real number score. I guess it's not like chips will sway your decision to go there one way or the other, mm?

Size/diversity of menu: 4.4
Well, I am pretty sure the menu was really general and standard, but this is where it's worth mentioning that Casa Latina has supposedly great flan and all sorts of Mexican pastries. It's actually more of a bakery than it is a taqueria. If you find yourself down on San Pablo near Hearst you might just want to go in for some pastries because they are super good.

Size of burrito: 3.6
Coming back to blogging, this is maybe the hardest part, because I can't remember how big my previous burritos ACTUALLY were, and my stomach is smaller since I don't eat as many burritos. This is my best guess.

Approximate price (for a standard burrito) : ~$9

Locally owned?: Yes

Satisfaction factor (1-10) : 7.7
This is based on the circumstance, really. We were HUNGRY.

Overall taste (1-10) : 6.0
I wouldn't go back here. If you're veg it's worth checking out, I guess, but you might just want to trek up University and go to Monte Cristo. If anyone knows where in Berkeley or even Oakland where I can get a burrito better than a Taqueria Monte Cristo burrito, please let me know!!

Casa Latina
1805 San Pablo Ave
Berkeley, CA 94702

Jilberto's

2009-01-09T10:23:00.000-08:00

So this is the first San Diego burrito I've had, but I guess it's not even really a San Diego burrito. People from San Diego will insist that Escondido is not San Diego, even in terms of burritos.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 8.0
The carne asada's downfall was that it was intensely salty. Actually, the carne asada burrito here originally had no beans or rice in it. I added beans. I suppose it is a personal belief of mine that beans in a burrito are indispensable. Anyway, the meat tasted pretty good, but it wasn't anything super fantastic-amazing.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 8.2
There are two salsas of note. One is the standard awesome pico de gallo and one is another standard sort of salsa, but this is the "house salsa." I'm running out of unique ways to describe house salsas...um...it was pretty heavy on the cilantro.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 9.5
Some of the best guacamole I have had, I think. There are loads of avocado trees around here.

Size/diversity of menu (1-5) : 2.7
Nothing too extensive. There are carne asada fries, which are sort of like nachos with French fries, but San Diegans are used to this. Another one of these San Diego taquerial idiosyncracies is the California burrito, which is a carne asada burrito with potatoes and cheese.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 3.9
It was pretty heavy. I barely finished it.

Approximate price : $4-5

Locally owned? : Yes

Satisfaction factor (1-10) : 8.0

Overall taste (1-10) : 7.9

Jilberto's
1301 E Valley Pkwy Ste A
Escondido, CA

Presidente Restaurant

2009-01-06T13:19:00.000-08:00

SEE POST FOR CELIA'S MEXICAN RESTAURANT HERE:
http://caburritoblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/celias-mexican-restaurant.html

The only difference is that Presidente is a chain.
www.presidenterestaurant.com
You can and should avoid both of these places.

Presidente Restaurant
11451 Sepulveda Blvd
Mission Hills, CA 91345

Arriba Mexican

2009-01-06T13:01:00.000-08:00

Seriously, let me know if any of you guys ever go here. Really. I'll be so surprised. It's in Idyllwild. When are you gonna go to Idyllwild?

Quality of meat (1-10) : 7.2
I must admit, for sit-down unauthentic Mexican fare the meat was pretty okay. Of course it didn't hold a candle to any real taqueria, with the non-exception of Taqueria Vallarta, which is not an exception because it is not a real taqueria. Same goes for all sub-4.0 burritos on here and most sub-6.0s. Um...yeah, the meat was fine.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 7.5
The only salsa was just standard pico de gallo, and I haven't quite figured out what score to give to standard pico, but this stuff was just barely worse than that. The tomatoes were somewhat mealy and they added too much salt to the stuff.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 8.5
So I guess making good guacamole is about the easiest thing you can do, but most taquerias that fail at it fail because they don't want to spend money on good avocados. Too often guacamole comes squeezed from a plastic bag. Unauthentic sit-down Mexican food restaurants (USDMFRs) such as this one don't have that problem. Props.

Size/diversity of menu (1-5) : 3.1
I must say, for a USDMFR the menu was not terribly diverse. But I guess it was a while ago, so I might not remember that well. I guess it doesn't really matter. Come on. It's in Idyllwild. Seriously.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 3.8
All USDMFRs have burritos in the 3.5-3.9 size range.

Approximate price : $7-9

Locally owned? : No

Satisfaction factor (1-10) : 7.1

Overall taste (1-10) : 7.1

Arriba Mexican
25980 Highway 243
Idyllwild, CA 92549

Las Palmas Taco Bar

2009-01-06T12:38:00.001-08:00

So I finally made it down to Las Palmas, months after I moved out of Santa Cruz. I must say, I was pretty underwhelmed...for a greasy, cheap burrito it wasn't that great.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 8.0
So I guess the meat was good; it was crispy and obviously pretty greasy. Taquerias in the suburbs have much to learn about "quality of meat" from taquerias like this one.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 7.8
There was only one kind of salsa here, which is definitely not (necessarily) a bad thing (see Tacos Moreno), but it wasn't outstanding. It was definitely good enough to eat with the whole burrito, but I wouldn't go out of my way to find it again.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 8.1
Hard to mess up guacamole. Pretty hard. Nothing special, but it sure isn't bad.

Quality of chips (1-5) : N/A
Chips are extra, so Las Palmas should really be getting a penalty here, but I'm not going to split hairs. Hahahahahaha. Penalty.

Size/diversity of menu (1-5) : 2.8
Pretty average; all the old standbys and a few more.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 3.8
This burrito was definitely sizeable. I was able to finish it, but I can imagine numerous situations in which I would not have been able to. The size is really not what makes you feel full, though. Las Palmas food sits with you.

Approximate price (for a standard burrito) : $6
Dude, the veggie burrito is only $3! Seriously!!

Locally 0wned? : Probably

Satisfaction factor (1-10) : 8.3
The burrito feels like lead in your stomach at first, but that slowly turns into not being hungry for several hours.

Overall taste (1-10) : 8.6
Update: Definitely way better than Taqueria Santa Cruz, contrary to what I said before. Santa Cruz destination burrito status.

Las Palmas Taco Bar
55 Front Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Taqueria Monte Cristo

2008-12-17T13:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm convinced that this is the best burrito in Berkeley and I happily challenge you all to prove me wrong.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 7.9
I haven't tried the carne asada here because I was fully feeling al pastor, but that was pretty good. One could easily tell that it was pork, which I find slightly unusual. Make of that what you will. Still, next time I'm getting carne asada. I'll let you know how that goes.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 8.4
I don't really know what to say about the salsa except that the avocado salsa tasted right. It's a shame that apparently salsa verde is easy to mess up. Taqueria Monte Cristo doesn't think so.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 8.2
I'm not sure if the guacamole is anything more than avocado. It didn't seem like it, but they called it guacamole. Obviously worth it!

Quality of chips (1-5) : 2.8
The chips are okay, nothing special. They are, however, exceptionally oily. They do not fit the burrito terribly well, but they are certainly not bad.

Size/diversity of menu (1-5) : 3.3
Barely above average. Check it: http://www.sporq.com/berkeley/montecristotaqueria/1446universityave

Size of burrito (1-5) : 3.8
They did a real bad job wrapping the burritos, which was strange. That's never really happened to me at a taqueria outside Chipotle. Anyway, I had trouble finishing mine, but I don't feel that they deserve to break 4.0, since the vast majority of the burrito was rice.

Approximate price (for a standard burrito) : ~$6

Locally owned? : Probably? I don't think they have any other locations.

Satisfaction Factor (1-10) : 8.2

Overall Taste (1-10) : 7.8

Taqueria Monte Cristo
1446 University (University at Sacramento)
Berkeley, CA 94703

Taqueria Pancho Villa

2008-11-14T17:23:00.000-08:00

Pancho Villa is well-known, and for good reason. It stands out even among the rest of the Mission district. One of their walls is plastered with statewide and national salsa awards. Seriously. Anyway, the Pancho Villa burrito is pretty unique. I've never really had anything like it.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 8.5
So I'll be honest here and say that we got high before coming here. So I don't actually remember exactly how amazing the carne asada was beyond "really," though I do remember laughing hysterically at a bust of Pancho Villa himself. The meat's texture wasn't fantastic, but that's really the only negative thing about it that I could point to.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 9.6
Holy crap. So they have four kinds of salsa here. I tried two of them. One was sweet and comprised mostly of tomato. The other kind I tried was standard salsa, akin to pico de gallo, except it also contained carrots and magic. This salsa was some of the best salsa I have ever had. I don't need to remind you about the wall. It is that good. I can't wait to come back to try the other two kinds of salsa. And I haven't even mentioned the pico de gallo they put in the burritos to begin with, which is in itself super notable. It's freshly chopped, crisp and colorful. It's pretty. And the hot pico is "hot enough." The salsa alone makes Pancho Villa a destination.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 7.7
Like, it was good. But it wasn't totally amazing. I couldn't tell if it was made there or not, but I would guess that it wasn't. However, you can get straight up avocado in lieu of guacamole, which is the option I'll be hitting next time. I recommend this as well, since I'm sure you've had the guacamole before. I wouldn't be surprised if it was shipped in in a plastic bag. But really, it wasn't bad.

Quality of chips (1-5) : 4.1
I think that our intoxication affects this category more than any other, since we were really hungry anyway when we came in and the chips were what we started with. They didn't necessarily pair fantastically with the burrito, but they were damn good on their own. I actually feel pretty strongly about how stoked I was on these chips. I would bet good money that they're excellent consumed in sobriety as well.

Size/diversity of menu (1-5) : 4.4
Okay, maybe it's this category. We walked in and stared at the menu for like, ten minutes. And I knew that I wanted a carne asada burrito when I walked in. You could spend a lot of time experimenting with different meals at this place. They have an especially extensive collection of vegetarian burritos : http://panchovillasf.com/page/o5wz/Menu.html

Size of burrito (1-5) : 4.2
In my experience, burritos in the Mission are all of comparable size. I must say, I have had very, very few burrito experiences in which I felt as perfectly sated as I did after eating exactly one Pancho Villa burrito.

Approximate price (for a standard burrito) : $8

Locally owned? : Yes

Satisfaction factor (1-10) : 9.5

Overall taste (1-10) : 9.1
It's really hard to compare Pancho Villa to Taqueria La Cabana, the so-called California Burrito Blog reigning champion. They're both amazing, but numerous times since Pancho Villa, I have thought about the comparison and decided time and time again that I would rather, in that moment, get La Cabana. Make destinations out of both places. Or don't. Pancho Villa fuckin delivers. Wow, if I lived in San Francisco.

Taqueria Pancho Villa

3071 16th St
San Francisco, CA 94103

Taqueria El Castillito

2008-11-06T11:53:00.000-08:00

Oh man, I have been waiting so long for a Mission burrito. Maybe you have, too. This place is not a bad choice but among Mission burritos I have a feeling there are better picks...though I haven't really eaten very many burritos around there. Posts forthcoming.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 7.9
So I definitely went with the carne asada. I can't figure out if it was the salsa or the meat, but whatever it was tasted slightly of fennel, and it was awesome. The meat wasn't crispy at all and the texture wasn't necessarily brilliant, but I would say that it's precisely the sort of asada one might expect from a Mission taqueria. Definitely flavorful, but not really a highlight of the burrito.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 8.8
Soooo good. I usually don't go for the green salsa, for whatever reason. I usually hit up the pico de gallo or its next of kin. The salsa of the latter sort (there was no pico) was pretty good. Clearly made with carrots, which is a much better idea than it may sound like. However, the green salsa was the outstanding item of the night. I can't fully describe the taste, but it definitely contained avocado (and possibly fennel), making it pretty inimitable. That is, I've never had anything like it.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : ?
This question mark is a much happier question mark for this category than the others. The question mark is there because, like before, there is no guacamole, but there is avocado. For $1.50 extra. I'm not sure what score to give straight avocado as guacamole. Ideas?

Quality of chips (1-5) : 2.7
So the chips were definitely not outstanding. They went okay with the burrito and they only gave me a few. They were certainly not bad, though. They weren't made straight-up from corn tortillas in the style of many other taquerias. I couldn't comment further on the composition of these particular chips, but maybe you could figure out the chief differences between this chip and that chip and help me with this category.

Size/diversity of menu (1-5) : 2.8
Minimalist menu. No messing around. A few tacos, some burritos, and standard taqueria meat selection. They did have some combination plates/specials, but not very many, and nothing terribly unique.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 4.1
So I finished it, but it was real big. There was a pretty good "that's what she said" dropped shortly after receiving our burritos.

Approximate price (for a standard burrito) : $5-7

Locally owned? : Yes

Satisfaction factor (1-10) : 8.6

Overall taste (1-10) : 8.4

Taqueria El Castillito
2092 Mission St. (Between 16th and 17th)
San Francisco, CA 94110

Celia's Mexican Restaurant

2008-10-16T16:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been so lazy. I have been very, very lazy. So lazy that the only burrito I have to report about is two blocks away from my own dwelling place. Obviously, it's in Berkeley, so, accordingly, it sucks. A hopeful friend and a hopeful me went here after a walk, only to find that it was a sit-down Mexican food place. You know what that means. Knife and fork burritos. I was excited, but I knew in the back of my mind that Celia's was bound to Berkeley law and was only allowed to serve shitty burritos.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 7.7
Yes, the meat is good. The carne asada at least is high-quality and somewhat flavorful, but not completely outstanding. It's not worth the cost of the burrito, though (wait for it...)

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 7.2
My friend put it very well: the salsa is bland. There is nothing wrong with the flavor, in fact, it's decent salsa, but it too fails to be exceptional in any way.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 6.6
Celia's is at least generous with the guacamole. They spread a thin layer over my burrito. But it too wasn't really flavorful. I could taste the guacamole when I tried to, and it tasted enough like avocados to be somewhat legitimate, but it was runny and contained no onions, tomatoes, or anything of the sort unless they were powdered and mixed in with that thin green paste I ate.

Quality of chips (1-5) : 2.5
Finally, something that made an impression! The chips were just bland enough to be noticeably sub-par. Great job.

Size/diversity of menu (1-5) : 4.2
Really great job. So this is something Celia's did well. I walked in knowing I wanted a carne asada burrito and I had to look at the menu for ten minutes before I finally figured out what I was going to order. They didn't really have a lot of fully original stuff like Cancun Taqueria, whose size/diversity of menu score I will increase to 4.1, since they do offer a lot of pretty original stuff. http://www.themenupage.com/celiasmenu.html

Size of burrito (1-5) : 4.0
My stomach must be getting smaller.

Approximate price (for a standard burrito) : $10 (?!!)

Locally owned? : Probably

Satisfaction factor (1-10) : 6.7

Overall taste (1-10) : 6.0
Celia's burrito was definitely underwhelming. The ingredients were fine, but they didn't form a great burrito. My burrito came smothered in Mexican red sauce, which sucked, please note. The burrito overall was certainly way better than La Burrita and its ilk, but really, ten dollars? Shut up. This place will be out of business within one year.

Celia's Mexican Restaurant
1841 Euclid Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94709

La Cascada Taqueria

2008-09-18T01:30:00.000-07:00

Sucks. They have a sign out front that says proudly, "Voted Best Burrito in Berkeley." At the bottom it reads, "The Daily Californian, 1997."

Quality of meat (1-10) : 3.2
So bad. It's dry and almost completely flavorless. The flavor it does have is passed on from the cigarettes these particular meatpackers smoke while working. This is on par with Vallarta, maybe even a bit worse. This brings up an interesting problem, though. Because the meat at La Burrita wasn't reeeally that much better, so I have decided to, in bold letters, decrease La Burrita's quality of meat score to 4.1. It's not that big a deal, since I think the 4.9 communicated the bottom line: the meat at La Burrita is pretty bad.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 7.3
The salsa at places with awful burritos often receives high scores, as you may have noticed. Today I realized that the reason for this might be that the saving grace of a shitty burrito is the salsa you put on it. My first thought after biting into this particular burrito was, "Wow, I need to get some salsa on here, NOW." It is difficult to compare salsas 100% cerebrally, but I think this phenomenon maybe slightly inflates salsa scores of shitty burrito joints. In my mind, the chances the salsa is actually legit are at least as strong as the chance of an inflation factor. Anyway, the salsa was decent. It looked nice, too. But please. Don't come here just for the salsa. Save your money, for God's sake.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 4.4
Did not taste too pleasant. The flavor was okay but was also very obviously not fresh. Not sure if it's worth the 85 cents extra, but you should steer clear of this burrito anyway.

Quality of chips (1-5) : 3.3
The chips were nothing too exciting. They were standard tortilla chips, like the standard tortilla chips they sell at Trader Joe's in the yellow & blue bag.

Size/diversity of menu (1-5) : 2.8
This is not a great score for diversity of menu. The only credit comes from having a variety of wraps and vegetarian burritos, which are kind of the same thing here. Some sound interesting, however, I would bet they suck as well.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 3.4
The burrito was pretty big, I guess, teetering on the precipice of unmanageable for the non-conditioned burrito consumer.

Approximate price (for a standard burrito) : ~$7

Locally owned? : Probably

Satisfaction factor (1-10) : 2.9

Overall taste (1-10) : 3.1
I would rather eat any burrito I have ever tried (except El Sombrero on University and Shattuck) than this one. You should be tipped off by the deceving sign out front that the proprietors of La Cascada, as well as the burrito, are not to be trusted. I swear I would choose Vallarta over this place any day of the week, and that's saying something. Now that I think about it, the same might be true for La Burrita...no, probably just some of the days of the week. I hereby, again in bold letters, reduce La Burrita's overall taste score to 4.1. Because it really does suck.

La Cascada Taqueria
2164 Center St.
Berkeley, CA 94704

Cancún Taqueria

2008-09-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

It is worth noting that there are many taquerias by the name of Taqueria Cancún. I know of one in Berkeley, one in San Francisco, and one in Santa Cruz. Today I went to the one in Berkeley, though I have been to the one in San Francisco and it rules. Entry forthcoming.

Anyway, Cancún is another one of those Berkeley taquerias that has the distinction of being the "best burrito in Berkeley," according to generic student who is convinced he or she knows everything about everything. Let me tell you something. So far, by my experience, and in my own humble opinion, this is the best burrito in Berkeley.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 7.6
The carne asada was flavorful, I suppose, but not enough to stand out. It was definitely above-average, and not standing out means the meat was about on par with the rest of the burrito's contents, which were excellent. I also hear great things about the carnitas here, by the way.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 7.5
Cancún Taqueria has no less than fifteen distinct kinds of organic salsa. They limit you to two salsa cups. Can't have people stealing their precious to-be-burrito-juice ingredient. Unfortunately, none of the salsas really stood out to me. I don't think I have tried all of them and some of the salsas I had were even tasty enough and unique enough to recommend (cucumber salsa, pineapple salsa), but their staple salsas (original salsa, avocado salsa, garlic salsa) were let-downs. However, they do give you some very good pico de gallo in your burrito. No more than that.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 7.3
The guacamole was good, but not great, and $1 extra. It was somewhat runny, but it did add precisely the right flavor to the burrito. It was probably somewhat fresh, too. I am tempted to inflate the guacamole score because, unlike almost every other burrito I have paid extra for guacamole on, Cancún gives you your damn money's worth. I have never had more guacamole in a burrito than this one, which is a huge plus. The 7.3 reflects the guacamole in quality, not quantity.

Quality of chips (1-5) : 4.3
Chips almost always do not stand out. If you have read my other blog posts, you'll notice that the number associated with chips hovers chastely between 2.5 and 3.5. However, Cancún has excellent chips and they give them to you with your order. And they don't skimp, either. I'm pretty sure the idea is that they're more proud of their salsas than anything, and want you to try as many as you want in the hopes you'll find one you really like...that you can't find anywhere else. Accordingly, bomb chips. In light of recent burrito excursions, I'm tempted to say, "good on you for not charging for chips, Cancún," but they don't deserve recognition for that. The ones that do charge for chips deserve the attention.

Size/diversity of menu (1-5) : 4.1
Taqueria Cancún has a somewhat extensive menu. It's big enough for them to print their menu on pamphlets rather than post it behind the register. The reason Cancún Taqueria scores high in this category is that they have burritos and Mexican dishes I haven't seen anywhere else. They're pricey, (as is everything else, but I'll get to that later), but you aren't going to find nopales or mole anywhere else in the immediate vicinity. I don't know why I haven't thought of doing this sort of thing before: http://www.themenupage.com/cancuntaqueriamenu.html

Size of burrito (1-5) : 3.1
The burrito's pretty average-size. I ate it and felt somewhat full afterwards. I wasn't bursting at the seams or anything. Don't expect a big burrito, but don't expect to be disappointed, either.

Approximate price (for a standard burrito) : $7-9
Yeah, the prices on that webpage up there are wrong. I paid upwards of $8 for mine today.

Locally Owned? (Y/N) : Yes

Satisfaction factor (1-10) : 7.4

Overall taste (1-10) : 7.6

Cancún Taqueria
2134 Allston Way
Berkeley, CA 94704

La Burrita

2008-09-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

Everyone swears by the superiority of one of the two proximal La Burritas. The burrito this entry will describe came from the northside La Burrita, but I am convinced that is inconsequential. My belief is that they both have their good days and bad days, since the ingredients are never exactly the same. I will not do another entry for the southside La Burrita unless it's actually different from the northside one, which I will probably never find out, because La Burrita is worth avoiding.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 4.9
The meat was very greasy and very gristly. It did not contribute to any desire to finish the burrito.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 8.0
The salsa was done well, in my own opinion. They didn't have any pico de gallo, but the standard tomato salsa didn't fuck around. Think La Salsa's above-average salsa, but fresher. (This alleviates most of the problems with La Salsa's...salsa.)

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 4.9
The guacamole was runny and most likely came out of a plastic bag. It's only 50 cents extra, so it might be worth getting, but don't expect it to significantly enhance your burrito experience.

Quality of chips (1-5) : 3.1
Thank God La Burrita understands the importance of chips being served with all Mexican food. They offer unlimited free chips, which a lot more burrito joints should do. Sadly, the chips aren't fantastic, but one can't say no to free chips & salsa, unless the salsa is really, really bad. The chips at La Burrita are not particularly good, but they certainly meet all the standards chips should.

Size/diversity of menu (1-5) : 3.4
La Burrita's menu is not particularly expansive, but they do have more than enough choices to make you stand and think for a long time about what you're going to order. Even if you love burritos as much as I do. Really, it's not so easy.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 1.8/3.5
Take your pick between small burrito and large burrito. Large burrito if it's going to be a meal. Small burrito otherwise. I might actually recommend the small burrito because the large burrito almost isn't good enough to finish.

Approximate price (for a standard burrito) : $4-5 (small) / $5-6(large)

Locally owned? (Y/N) : Probably

Satisfaction factor (1-10) : 3.5

Overall taste (1-10) : 4.1
The rice and beans, which obviously make up most of the burrito, are dismally sub-par. I haven't eaten here inebriated yet, which I'm sure makes the burrito a lot more enjoyable, but I'm going to try not to for as long as I can because I don't want to help them buy terrible ingredients with my burrito money.

La Burrita
1832 Euclid
Berkeley, CA 94709

Gordo's

2008-09-10T16:04:00.001-07:00

Gordo's is allegedly the best burrito in Berkeley. I have heard the same thing about both Taqueria Cancun (Shattuck/Allston) and Chipotle (Telegraph/Durant), and reviews of both are forthcoming, though I will put off the latter for as long as possible for political reasons. Anyway. Gordo's is really not that far away from Cal, especially if you have a bike. It will take you no more than ten minutes to bike there and the same amount of time to bike back, even on a shitty mountain bike.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 6.6
The meat was the poorest quality thing in the Gordo's burrito. The carne asada was somewhat chewy and tasted a bit like chunks of nearly-shredded beef.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 8.4
Unfortunately, Gordo's doesn't make the salsa available outside the burrito they hand you, which is a shame because it reminded me a wee bit of EXACTLY WHAT PICO DE GALLO SHOULD BE, which is diced tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and maybe some jalapeños and NOTHING ELSE. It wasn't Los Pericos quality, but it wasn't too far off the mark then, either.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 7.1
The guacamole was just barely good, so I guess I'll call 7.0 the baseline for "good" from here on out. I could tell that it wasn't the freshest of guacamoles, but that's because I saw them put it in the burrito. It tasted enough like avocadoes to pass just above "decent." I'm not sure if they charge extra for guacamole, but if I had to guess, I would say they don't. So ask for it.

Quality of chips (1-5) : $0.90
I hate paying for chips. Seriously. Make them fucking free because they're chips. At least make them free with purchase of a burrito. How much money are you really going to be missing out on from not selling chips? How many people actually pay for chips and how much of a profit are you really turning on selling chips? Having chips with one's burrito will (or should) positively influence the burrito experience the vast majority of the time, which means returning customers. And if your chips don't have that effect, you certainly shouldn't sell them, because people will be angry at you that they spent ninety cents for your shitty chips.

Size/diversity of menu (1-5) : 1.4
The menu is very, very, very small. Basically, you get to choose between a taco, a burrito, or a bigger burrito with cheese in it.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 2.3
Yeah, it looked really small, but it filled me up, which makes me think either it had more girth than I originally gave it credit for or my stomach is shrinking. Guess which one. (Hint: 2.3) However, they do have a "super burrito," which is supposedly bigger, though I don't know how much bigger. So I'll give an update next time I venture out.

Approximate price (for a standard burrito): $5-6

Locally owned? (Y/N) : Yes

Satisfaction factor (1-10) : 6.7

Overall taste (1-10) : 7.2
Disclaimer: Given the burrito competition in the vicinity surrounding Gordo's, I was originally going to give a 7.7. I might as well have written it since if you're in the Berkeley area and don't feel like heading out to the city for a real burrito, Gordo's is where you should go. However, I had to adjust for relativistic effects to meet my goal of judging burritos of California on a statewide scale rather than citywide scale.

Gordo's Taqueria
2989 College Ave. (College and Ashby)
Berkeley, CA 94705

Andalé

2008-09-02T00:28:00.000-07:00

So this probably shouldn't even be on here, but it is my aim to review each distinct burrito of California, and I suppose SFO is part of that state. Yes, this is an airport burrito. It wasn't as disappointing as one may have expected, but it will set you back a lot.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 5.8
Obviously, they GM'd the fuck out of the carne asada. It was crafted to taste like grilled steak, in other words like charcoal. I would spend more time trying to describe it, but you already know exactly what I'm talking about.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 7.0
The salsa wasn't half bad. It was just the right spiciness and mixed very well. The ingredients were somewhat legit, too. Really. Go figure. But don't go out of your way just for the salsa.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 6.5
The guacamole was avocado. That's pretty much what guacamole is supposed to be, but, as you can imagine, it wasn't the best avocado in the world. Still, I was happy to actually receive guacamole, as promised.

Quality of chips (1-5) : 2.1
The chips were mediocre, somewhat stale, and didn't taste all that great. Sort of like if you left open a bag of tortilla chips for 6 hours.

Size/diversity of menu (1-5) : 3.2
The menu was the whitest "Mexican" food menu I've ever seen. Everything came with a salad. Everything. But they did have red snapper, shrimp, and something I've never even heard of called "guajillo chicken" wrapped up in all sorts of stuff.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 2.0
The Andalé burrito is distributed solely for gringo consumption. The burrito is sized accordingly.

Approximate price (for a standard burrito) : $11-12

Locally owned? (Y/N) : No

Satisfaction factor (1-10) : 3.9

Overall taste (1-10) : 5.4
Tasted like La Salsa, transposed upwards towards legitimacy. Nothing further.

Andalé
San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

That Burrito Cart on Telegraph and Bancroft

2008-08-28T16:05:00.000-07:00

If the place has a name, it doesn't matter, because nobody knows it. After spending all 90 minutes of my first day of upper-div linear algebra deciding whether to go here or Chipotle after class, I decided that I'll definitely end up going to Chipotle some other time. Which I will when faced with this decision again.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 6.0
The meat was somewhat chewy and moderately flavorful. It was a bit disappointing, truth be told. I was expecting hole-in-the-wall burrito joint-quality asada and got cheap-tasting beef.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 5.1
This particular burrito cart had two types of salsa: one carrot-based and one standard salsa verde. The salsa verde was dismally sub-par, whereas the carrot salsa was palatable, at best. I would call it just good enough to eat. Barely. So we'll call 5.0 the baseline for "worth eating" from here on out, k?

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 6.1
The guacamole was nothing special, and they skimped rather drastically. I don't know if you have to pay extra for it, but if you do, you should probably go without unless you've really got an aguacate jones.

Quality of chips (1-5) : 3.6
The chips, I liked. They would have been better had the salsa been better, but they went very well with the burrito anyway. They're oily. As chips might be if you, I don't know, made them by frying a tortilla?

Size/Diversity of menu (1-5) : 2.9
Even for a tiny burrito cart the menu was pretty small. I give them a better-than average mark because they had al pastor and lengua.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 2.2
Yeah, the burritos are pretty damn small. Even the Tacos Moreno burritos are bigger, which is saying something.

Approximate price (for a standard burrito) : $5-6

Locally owned? (Y/N) : Probably

Satisfaction factor (1-10) : 5.8

Overall taste (1-10) : 5.3
The flavor of the lettuce was somewhat overstated in this burrito, which is a small transgression, but worth noting. I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but peas have absolutely no place whatsoever in a burrito. There is no person nor burrito that can sway me from this position. I dare you to try. In fact, don't. Don't waste my time and belly space. Don't waste your own with this burrito. Go to Chipotle.

Some burrito cart
Telegraph & Bancroft
Berkeley, CA 94709

El Sombrero Taqueria

2008-08-22T13:27:00.001-07:00

My first Berkeley burrito since moving up here! Is a monstrous failure!

Quality of meat (1-10) : 2.8
By far the poorest quality meat of any burrito in my own recent memory. It's chewy, even a little bit slimy, and one in three pieces is straight up gristle. Worse than Vallarta.

Quality of salsa (1-10) : N/A
THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY FUCKING SALSA. How the hell you gon' have a taqueria with NO SALSA? El Sombrero "Taqueria" is heretofore dubbed NOT a real taqueria. Shameful.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : ?
Sooo...I paid extra for guacamole. $1.30. And they didn't give me any. Enough said.

Quality of chips (1-5) : 3.6
The chips are okay, albeit very salty. I like salty chips, though. This is, however, nullified by the fact that there WASN'T ANY GODDAMN SALSA TO DIP THEM IN. On second thought, the chips just taste like Tostitos.

Size/Diversity of menu (1-5) : 2.2
They offered a few kinds of burritos, including a veggie burrito, a chile relleno burrito, and a "supreme" "burrito", which, strangely enough, DID NOT INCLUDE SALSA. Thus it is neither supreme nor a burrito. They do offer a fair amount of Indian food, though.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 4.0
Not that it matters, because you won't want to finish it.

Approximate price (For a standard burrito) : $6-7

Locally owned? (Y/N) : Probably. But seriously, it doesn't matter. They aren't making money.

Satisfaction Factor (1-10) : 2.5
I didn't have the motivation to eat more than half this burrito.

Overall taste (1-10) : 2.6

El Sombrero Taqueria
2101 University Ave (University & Shattuck)
Berkeley, CA 94704

Lily's

2008-08-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

Lily's has a strong reputation for being the spot for a good burrito in Malibu. I have many friends who ate there every day of senior year, who rank the Lily's burrito just below better-than-average sex, who have made Facebook groups titled with high-school style one-liners like "A Lily's Burrito is So Beefy It Could Beat Up Chuck Norris."

Before yesterday, I had only eaten there once. I lived with a friend this summer who urged me to challenge my previous, negative verdict of the Lily's burrito. Yesterday I found myself in Malibu, so I decided it would be a good time to hit up the one business the most Malibuites seem to remain loyal to.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 6.6
The meat was flavorful, but it tasted far too much like beef and not enough like carne asada. It was chewy and grew increasingly unappetizing as the burrito went on and on.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 1.5
I have to admit, I have tried a lot of salsas. The "salsa" at Lily's is not salsa. It has the consistency of pus and tastes like peas and carrots. I have had very, very few salsas that I have refused to eat after trying them a few times. I tried this one multiple times to make sure my mind wasn't playing tricks on me. No, it was really that bad. I hereby decree the least favorite of all the salsas I have tried to be the Lily's "salsa."

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : ?
I paid extra for guacamole, as I do when necessary. However, they must have only put a few drops or none at all. I don't remember tasting any guacamole, and I searched.

Quality of chips (1-5) : ?
Chips don't come with the burrito and are upwards of three dollars, without guacamole or salsa. Welcome to Malibu, ladies and germs.

Size/Diversity of menu (1-5) : 2.9
So I suppose the Lily's menu is somewhat diverse, but not as far as Mexican food is concerned. They have hamburgers, fish and chips, and other standard beach-food fare. I'm not sure if they have tacos, but none of my friends have ever mentioned Lily's tacos, so they're probably not worth noting.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 3.3/?
Lily's offers a small burrito and a large burrito. The small burrito was pretty big for its namesake, I must admit. I would guess that it would be a good idea to get the large burrito if and only if you're stoned or have a reliable fridge.

Approximate price (For a standard burrito) : $5-$7

Locally owned? (Y/N) : Probably

Satisfaction Factor (1-10) : 7.5 (for a "small" burrito!)

Overall taste (1-10) : 6.5
There is one thing worth noting about the Lily's burrito, which is that mine got progressively less appetizing as the burrito went on. By the end, I was eating it out of sympathy for my wallet. I am not sure what it was exactly about the burrito that gave it this curious quality, but something tells me it might have been in my head. As far as the supposed superiority of the Lily's burrito, I do not see what the big deal is. I do not. Lily's fans, get yourself to a real taqueria. Details perpetually forthcoming.

Sharky's

2008-08-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

I was surprised by Sharky's. I haven't been there in a while, and I was expecting it to be just another chain (that happened to use organic ingredients), but it was much more. Granted, it's a chain, and Sharky's does score low in the authenticity category, as expected. I ordered a fajita burrito and...well, let's just say I'm not used to eating burritos with zucchini and squash in them, but it didn't make the burrito bad, necessarily.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 7.6
The meat was a little bit dry and tasted a lot more like steak than carne asada, if you catch my meaning. However, it was flavorful, thick, and tasted of glorious charcoal.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 7.3
The pico de gallo contains too many tomatoes, but the "original" salsa is somewhat legitimate. It's obviously fresh and the ingredients seem to complement each other well. But don't believe their spiciness ratings. They're transposed upwards to make the place seem authentic.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 8.6
YES, the guacamole here is very, very legit. It's mostly just whole avocado, but it boasts flavor to rival the guacamole you made that one time when you had too many avocados.

Quality of chips (1-5) : 2.2
The chips are greasy and taste exactly like the chips from Baja Fresh, La Salsa et al. Nothing more. You might not even eat them, which is really saying something.

Size/Diversity of menu (1-5) : 2.5
The menu is about as diverse as other chains, that is, not very, but what gives Sharky's the leg up is that they offer organic tofu as a substitute to chicken and steak in every would-be meat dish.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 4.2
This was, for me, the most surprising part about Sharky's. The burrito was BIG, big enough to hold one over for half a day or so. Longer if you can't finish it all in one sitting, which is a possibility, even if you go in hungry.

Approximate price (For a standard burrito) : $6-$8

Locally owned? (Y/N) : No

Satisfaction Factor (1-10) : 7.6

Overall taste (1-10) : 7.2

Bronco Burrito

2008-08-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

I love hole-in-the-wall Mexican food places. For some reason, they always satisfy me. This place is no different. My friend and I were driving down Ventura Blvd. and decided to eat the first burrito we saw. This was it. It was a knife-and-fork burrito, not a hand-friendly burrito. You go ahead and have your prejudices about non-handy burritos.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 8.4
I went with the carne asada, as I normally do, and I was not disappointed. The meat was juicy and flavorful, but not too greasy and not too shredded.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 5.2
The salsa wasn't nearly as bad as it was strange. It consisted of cabbage, tomatoes, cilantro and nothing more. They didn't have any other kind of salsa, either. It went well with the burrito, as you can imagine, but I had never been to a burrito joint that put less of a general emphasis on their original salsa.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 6.7
Guacamole is extra in the burritos here. They must have only put a few drops in mine because I could only taste it when I really searched. It's worth adding in, as guac tends to be, but don't expect all that much. Unfortunately, it was runny and farther away from avocadoes than one would prefer their guacamole to be. Than I would, at the very least.

Quality of chips (1-5) : ?
No chips! I didn't even think to ask if they had chips. They really might not even have any.

Size/Diversity of menu (1-5) : 4.1
I'm beginning to understand that the size and diversity of a menu at a Mexican food place is positively proportional to the number of actual Mexicans that eat there. Bronco Burrito, taking as data the single time I ate there, exemplifies this idea.

Size of burrito (I will buy a tape measure) : 3.7
Not enormous, but a good size. I hesitate to call it "standard size," because that would make my blog boring. Let's call it "burly."

Approximate price (For a standard burrito) : $6-$7

Locally owned? (Y/N) : Probably

Satisfaction Factor (1-10) : 8.6

Overall taste (1-10) : 8.2

Bronco Burrito
19511 Ventura Blvd
Tarzana, CA 91356

La Salsa

2008-08-04T12:52:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, you already know it sucks. But how much?

Quality of meat: 3.9
The meat is somewhat flavorful, but sadly, it is the wrong flavor. It does not taste fresh at all and is intensely salty, as is the rest of the burrito.

Quality of house salsa: 6.3
They had one type that was reminiscent of the not-so-fresh-tasting Santa Fe Cafe salsa, somewhat sweet and clearly blenderized. La Salsa features 6-7 kinds of salsa. Most of them I consider to be crap. Thankfully, they did have pico de gallo, but if one could ever identify the taste of GMO tomatoes, it would have been with La Salsa's pico de gallo.

Quality of guacamole: 5.3
Well, it was really just avocado. It's hard to go wrong with straight avocado, but in the ranking of obviously GM foods, the avocado ranked #2. Not so flavorful.

Quality of chips (1-5) : 2.7
Again, not so fresh. The chips taste processed and don't go very well with the salsa or the burrito.

Size/Diversity of menu (1-5) : 1.6
La Salsa fails epically in this department. I can practically count the number of items on the menu on both my hands. And half the burritos don't even have beans in them, effectively turning them into wraps. Boooooooo.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 1.6
La Salsa fails equally epically here. The La Salsa burrito is perhaps the smallest burrito on this blog thus far. A burrito lover could eat two, that is, if they didn't taste so awful.

Approximate price (For a standard burrito) : $7-$8

Locally owned? (Y/N) : Noooo.

Satisfaction Factor (1-10) : 3.6
Even before the end of the burrito, you'll be thinking "Why did I bother?" This sentiment will last an hour or two, until you forget you ever ate it.

Overall taste (1-10) : 4.0
The burrito was just barely flavorful enough to save it from the 3.x and below range. Just barely. Still. Not worth it at all. They probably drown puppies, too.

Santa Fe Café

2008-07-31T16:08:00.000-07:00

I decided last night that I would hit Santa Fe Café on my bike when I woke up this morning. I rode through suburban "traffic" up the hill to the single burrito haven of the immediate vicinity. I have heard lots of good things about the hilariously named "café" and even went there once, but that was before that fateful first burrito at La Cabaña that changed my perspective on life and burritos. So this was, for all intents and purposes, my first time.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 8.4
The meat here is pretty legit. I am not sure exactly what it reminds me of, but it tastes fresh and truly grilled, like carne asada from a hole-in-the-wall carniceria should always taste. It wasn't as juicy as it could have been, but we are in Calabasas.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 7.1
The salsa was very okay. The standard red salsa tasted as if the ingredients weren't fresh or necessarily of the highest quality, but it was well-mixed. It was even a bit sweet, though I'm certain there were no special ingredients added to make it so.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 4.7
The guacamole was disappointing, especially considering the amount it costs. It was just barely not disappointing enough for me to have wished I hadn't gotten it. Still, I wouldn't recommend it. Sadly, it does not synergize well with the rest of the burrito.

Quality of chips (1-5) : 2.4
I'm not sure what it was about these chips, but they were definitely unique. They were not stale, but they tasted very slightly of cardboard. Strangely enough, they went really well with the burrito. Go figure.

Size/Diversity of menu (1-5) : 1.9
Yeah, the menu was pretty small. The most interesting part about the menu is the kinds of burritos they offer. They feature a fajita burrito that I haven't tried, but I am generally a big fan of such experiments. Why don't more places serve them? To my knowledge, only chains and Santa Fe Café do. I find the crunch and flavor of bell peppers and onions to be refreshing, especially in a burrito. Other than the fajita burrito, there wasn't much interesting choice. They only serve two kinds of meat: chicken and steak (as with most Mexican food joints in the suburbs).

Size of burrito (1-5) : 4.1
I was impressed by the size of the standard Santa Fe burrito. I finished it all right, but I was definitely feeling full by the end, and I went in with a burrito-sized appetite. If you aren't conditioned for large-ish burritos, there's a chance you won't quite kill this one on your first go.

Approximate price (For a standard burrito) : $7-$8

Locally owned? Probably

Satisfaction Factor (1-10) : 7.7
I left feeling full, but regretted spending an exorbitant amount of money on a sub-par burrito. Still, if you're accustomed to La Salsa and its ilk, Santa Fe Café is surely a legitimate lunch destination.

Overall taste (1-10) : 7.1
I felt that the burritos at Santa Fe Café reminded me way too much of UCSC dining hall burritos. The only thing I can point a finger at is the presence of whole corn kernels in the burritos. It is my firm belief that non-ground corn has no place in or on a legitimate burrito. However, whatever strange quality about the taste of this burrito that drew a connection between it and UCSC fare was not immediately recognizable as corn, so I could be mistaken about the presumed yellow culprit. It could have been the substandard salsa as well, clearly made with a blender rather than a knife, as in the clean kitchens of UC Santa Cruz. Once I go back to try the fajita burrito, I may write an addendum to this review, hopefully a positive one. Now I know there are a lot of Santa Fe Café fanatics out here. Got a recommendation? A rebuttal? That's why you can leave comments.

Baja Fresh

2008-07-29T21:25:00.000-07:00

Baja Fresh is the premier burrito chain, not in the sense that it's the best, but that it's the farthest-reaching. Not for good reason. The thing about Baja Fresh burritos is that I swear they used to be good; then something changed and now they suck.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 3.0
Worse than Vallarta in Santa Cruz. Maybe. The meat is dry, tough, and flavorless.

Quality of salsa (1-10) : 7.7
So they didn't mess up the salsa, thankfully. Sadly, it's not good enough to save the rest of the burrito.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : ?

Quality of chips (1-5) : 2.7
The chips are not great, but they're chips and they're edible and you can dip them in salsa.

Size/diversity of menu (1-5) : 2.2
More options than a soccer mom would ever need, but you aren't a soccer mom, you're a Mexican food connoisseur! The selection here fails rather epically, simply offering the same ingredients arranged in 25 different ways.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 3.5
Very standard size.

Approximate price (for a standard burrito) : $6-$7

Locally owned? (Y/N) : No

Satisfaction factor (1-10) : 4.1

Overall taste (1-10) : 3.5

Tacos Moreno

2008-07-29T17:27:00.000-07:00

Tacos Moreno is famous for being the good burrito that occasionally wins the SC Good Times reader's poll for "Best Burrito." I can't imagine why Vallarta wins occasionally. Must be because they have four locations, or they're all really good at blowing editors.

Anwyay, Tacos Moreno has a location up Water St. as well as one on campus, much to my delight. Both locations have exactly the same ingredients. Don't be fooled by people that swear to one or the other. I have verified this myself with employees. However, Tacos Moreno definitely has its incredibly good days as well as its mediocre ones. My guess is people catch one location on a good day and swear by it for all time. Hit whichever one is most convenient for you.

The Tacos Moreno on campus is located at Merrill College on the east side, right next to where my 12:30-1:40 math class was last winter. That period marked the height of my burrito consumption. I ate 5-6 per week. To be honest, I wasn't crazy about Tacos Moreno when I first had it, but it definitely quickly grew on me. I am a regular there now. The burritosmiths here eschew lettuce for crispy cabbage, which is a surprisingly good substitute. Also, I have been told time and time again that the horchata is awful, as in, avoid it like you would an LA drama queen.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 9.2
I can see how someone could not like the meat at Tacos Moreno, but I love it. It's just barely crispy enough to make your teeth applaud. The al pastor is so drenched with sauce and juicy itself that you can expect to fully drink your burrito. In my opinion, it becomes a little bit much by (and at) the end; I like to go with the straight carne asada. The green chile beef is really desebrada (shredded beef) bathed in a green salsa, which is a good idea, but does not hold a candle to the standard asada.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 9.6
I have a friend at KZSC campus radio next door to the Tacos Moreno who said something to the effect of, "I would never need another topping for anything ever again," in response to a desert island-style question. And yes, it is that good. It comes in squeeze bottles, which seems pretty sketchy at first. I must admit, the first time I saw it I didn't know what it was, but the stuff is miles ahead of any other house salsa I've tried. The bottles of salsa are stolen regularly.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 2.2
Like at Los Pericos, the guacamole at Tacos Moreno is one of its burritos' key shortcomings. It is shipped in and squeezed out of a plastic bag, which is all too obvious from the taste. Do not try and certainly do not pay extra for the guac here.

Quality of chips (1-5) : 4.5
The chips, interestingly enough, are very, very good here. However, you must dig for $1.50 if you want some. They don't even give you any with a burrito order. $1.50 is pretty steep for chips, I must say, but given the right conditions, they might actually be worth it.

Size/Diversity of menu (1-5) : 2.0
The size of the menu at Tacos Moreno (or lack thereof) is inconsequential. One would never need to order anything here other than a burrito or maybe a quesadilla, if that's your thing. They are fully aware of this, as burritos are their mainstay.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 2.4
The size of the burritos (or lack thereof) here is Tacos Moreno's saddest flaw. I can eat two under the right conditions, and I'm not a big guy, by any means. Thankfully, this is reflected in the price and you do get what you pay for, which is a damn tasty (albeit small) burrito.

Approximate price (For a standard burrito) : <$5 (!)

Locally owned? (Y/N) : Yes

Satisfaction Factor (1-10) : 8.7
I love eating here. The burrito would be satisfying enough (barring the size) given the flavor of the ingredients, but the end of your burrito will be wet with salsa dregs and burrito juice. Not many other burritos inexorably force you to save the best part for the end.

Overall taste (1-10) : 9.0

Tacos Moreno
UCSC
1156 High St.
Merrill College
Santa Cruz, CA 95064

Taqueria Santa Cruz

2008-07-29T17:04:00.000-07:00

Taqueria Santa Cruz has two locations, and I've only been to one. It's the one on Mission. Taqueria Santa Cruz boasts the latest closing time of any legitimate taqueria in the city (11:45pm), which is a notable, redeeming quality. Not to say the burritos aren't excellent, which they are. However, I know absolutely nothing about the veggie burritos here. I would say that you veges out there would undoubtedly find a spot-hitting burrito down the street at La Cabaña, famous for their selection of vegetarian/vegan Mexican food. The rest of you might be well-advised to do the same, but Taqueria Santa Cruz is good enough to merit choosing over La Cabaña every now and again.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 8.3
Again, I usually go with the carne asada, which is very good. It's not exceptionally good, but it is certainly above average. Once I ordered a carnitas burrito and was very mildly disappointed by the flavor; I might recommend the chile verde if pork is your bag. I haven't been adventurous enough to try the birria, which is goat's meat, but if you end up trying it, let me know how it is. To my knowledge, Taqueria Santa Cruz is the only taqueria on the westside with birria.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 6.9
I must say, the salsa at Taqueria Santa Cruz is surprisingly underwhelming. They have many kinds, all of which are only mediocre. They feature a fantastically spicy habañero salsa (if you're into it).

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : ?
Come to think of it, I have never actually tried the guacamole here...

Quality of chips (1-5) : 3.3
Good, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Size/Diversity of menu (1-5) : 4.2
Taqueria Santa Cruz has a real big menu, complete with breakfasts and tons of ceviche/camarón dishes, even more expansive than the standard extended taqueria selection.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 3.1
The burritos here are, I believe, slightly smaller than the average SC burrito. However, this is of some importance, considering the state in which you may decide to eat said burrito. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that, in my own humble opinion, La Cabaña, for some reason, is the best burrito to eat while intoxicated. Blue ribbon. If you happen to find yourself in such a state, go just one more block west and eat at La Cabaña.

Approximate price (For a standard burrito) : ~$6

Locally owned? (Y/N) : Duh

Satisfaction Factor (1-10) : 7.8

Overall taste (1-10) : 7.9

Taqueria Santa Cruz
2215 Mission St
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Jalapeños

2008-07-29T12:31:00.001-07:00

My friends in Santa Cruz are more polarized about Jalapeños than any other burrito joint in the area. I happen to occupy the "yea" camp, but I will seek out someone in the "nay" camp to provide rebuttals to my big ups. Anyway, if you find yourself hungry downtown and don't have the energy to walk off Pacific, go to Jalapeños, perhaps one of the smallest taquerias in Santa Cruz. Thank me later. The service isn't great, but that doesn't affect how your burrito will taste.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 7.3
The meat must be the reason why some people don't like the burritos here. I happen to be a fan, but I can understand why some aren't. To be fair, I have only tried the carne asada, which is certainly flavorful, but a bit shredded and a bit too salty. I prefer my carne asada in full strips; that is, I'll take carne asada over desebrada any day. However, if you are a fan of shredded beef, they do have bistec ranchero here, which I imagine is comparably good. Also, I can't forget to mention that the chicken mole here is really, really good. If you are a fan of pollo burritos, do not skip over Jalapeños' chicken mole.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 8.7
The pico de gallo here is really good, significantly better than most other places. They even give Los Pericos a run for their money. Pico is pretty hard to mess up, a fact that Jalapeños is fully aware of.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 7.4
Like at La Cabaña, the guacamole here is good, but it doesn't stand out as great on its own; rather, it adds to the flavor of the meat. It might be barely worth paying extra for, but thankfully, it already comes with most of the burritos.

Quality of chips (1-5) : 3.5
Standard chips, nothing too special.

Size/Diversity of menu (1-5) : 3.0
The only diversity on the Jalapeños menu comes from the selection of meat, specifically the availability of mole. They don't have a lot of different cuts of meat, but they do have a lot of different preparations of chicken and beef, most of which are noteworthy at worst. And I do hear very, very good things about their vegetarian burritos.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 3.6
Jalapeños burritos are well-sized. They will certainly fill you up, as any burrito should, but they probably won't make any future appearances as leftovers.

Approximate price (For a standard burrito) : $6

Locally owned? (Y/N) : Yes

Satisfaction Factor (1-10) : 7.6
I like the burritos here, but I feel they pale in comparison with other burritos in the greater Santa Cruz area. The burritos themselves are satisfying; knowing the burrito you could have gotten is disappointing. Then again, there's no point in not trying to be content with every decision you make. I highly recommend that you at least try Jalapeños. I do have friends that swear by it.

Overall taste (1-10) : 8.1

Jalapeños

206 Laurel St

Santa Cruz, CA, 95060

Taqueria La Cabaña

2008-07-29T11:57:00.000-07:00

I just woke up with a craving for this burrito, another one of my favorites. Sadly, it's upwards of 350 miles away. All you Santa Cruzians should capitalize. I definitely loved burritos the first time I went to Taqueria La Cabaña, but I was not at all ready for what I was about to taste. This epic first La Cabaña burrito was my introduction to the world of burrito fanaticism. The standard "Super Burrito" comes with rice, beans, lettuce, cheese, salsa, guac, and sour cream.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 9.0
Taqueria La Cabaña is the only taqueria where I don't normally order carne asada burritos. The chicharron is incredibly good and the carnitas are juicy as well. I think their chile verde is among the best I have had. They also offer red snapper burritos and salmon burritos, which are well-liked by the community. I find the meat here slightly better than at Los Pericos because it's the foundation for real synergy between all the contents of the burrito.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 9.3
I cannot stress enough how excellent and unique the salsa is here. It's not pico de gallo and it's even extremely runny, but it's amazing. I am still trying to figure out what they put in it. I wouldn't be surprised if they put cucumber in it, an extremely good call. Put down that Tapatío.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 7.7
As previously mentioned, the burritos here have great synergy going on. That said, the guac doesn't stand out, but it adds wonders to the overall taste. And it comes with the burrito already!

Quality of chips (1-5) : 4.2
Even the chips at La Cabaña are uncommonly good. The chips and salsa will definitely hold you over until your burrito arrives, and you'll enjoy every minute.

Size/Diversity of menu (1-5) : 4.5
La Cabaña is one of the taquerias whose authenticity people question because of their selection. In my opinion, who says burritos have to be authentic? It's a food. If it tastes good, I'll eat it. La Cabaña has an awesome menu and selection, boasting excellent fish tacos/burritos and a great selection of veggie burritos, including burritos with spinach, mushrooms, nopales (cactus), artichoke, and standard veg. They even have California burritos, if that's your thing. And if none of the aforementioned tickles your fancy, they have soups, a variety of ceviche y camarónes, and even hamburgers, all aimed to satisfy.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 4.2

Approximate price (For a standard burrito) : <$6

Locally owned? (Y/N) : Yes

Satisfaction Factor (1-10) : 9.3
Now, it is at this point I would like to venture that there is no better burrito to eat while inebriated in the city of Santa Cruz than this one. Just sayin'.

Overall taste (1-10) : 9.2

Taqueria La Cabaña

2332 Mission St
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Taqueria Vallarta

2008-07-29T02:51:00.001-07:00

I would like to preface this one by saying that Vallarta has many locations in Santa Cruz county, and I have only visited the one in downtown SC, on Pacific Avenue. I haven't tried the guacamole here, but no matter. I cannot stress enough that, more than possibly anything I have ever experienced, this taqueria deserves the label overrated.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 4.0
The meat here is incredibly dry and tough. I have tried both the carne asada and the carnitas, and I have given them both many chances; each time they have failed me.

Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 2.5
All of the salsa at Vallarta is so bad that the burrito tastes better without it. They even somehow managed to screw up the pico de gallo, which is no easy task. Don't ask me how they did it.

Quality of guacamole (1-10) : ?

Quality of chips (1-5) : 3.0

Size/Diversity of menu (1-5) : 2.0
The menu at Vallarta is the smallest of any taqueria in Santa Cruz. Prove me wrong.

Size of burrito (1-5) : 3.4

Approximate price (For a standard burrito) : $6-$7

Locally owned? (Y/N) : ?

Satisfaction Factor (1-10) : 2.7
More than one friend of mine has gotten sick from eating here.

Overall taste (1-10) : 3.3

I beg you, if you find yourself in downtown Santa Cruz with a burrito jones, do not search here. A better burrito within walking distance is Jalapeño's at the south end of Pacific. An entry on this hole-in-the-wall taqueria is forthcoming.

Taqueria Vallarta
1101 Pacific Avenue, Ste. A
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Taqueria Los Pericos

2008-07-29T02:30:00.000-07:00

I might as well start with one of my favorite burritos thus far. The place is Taqueria Los Pericos, in Santa Cruz.

I would like to begin by saying that while Los Pericos has a variety of salsas, they all pale in comparison with the pico de gallo. This is made even better by the fact that Los Pericos offers infinite chips and infinite salsa. Do not hesitate to take advantage of this.

The menu has something on it called "Turbo." It offers no description of what a "Turbo" is. Next time I go here, I may try one. You should, too. I'm sure the stoned guy behind the counter will laugh when you ask him.

Los Pericos offers wheat tortillas along with tomato and spinach-flavored tortillas, for those of you who are bored of white flour tortilla. The selection of meat is standard for an authentic taqueria, offering six or seven different types, including the "weird" ones like lengua and buche. I recommend the carne asada, as I usually do, but I hear the carnitas are great as well.

Also, for those of you that are vegetarian, I hear that Los Pericos boasts one of the best vegetarian burritos in SC, along with taco salad with and without meat, both of which are highly touted by friends.

Quality of meat (1-10) : 8.5
Quality of house salsa (1-10) : 9.3
Quality of guacamole (1-10) : 3.0 (The guacamole here is the only thing that will disappoint you.)
Quality of chips (1-5) : 3.7
Size/Diversity of menu (1-5) : 4.2
Size of burrito (1-5) : 4.0
Approximate price (For a standard burrito) : <$6
Locally owned? Yes
Satisfaction Factor (1-10) : 9.1
Overall taste (1-10) : 8.9

Taqueria Los Pericos

139 Water St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Open late

Welcome to me and to you!

2008-07-29T02:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome, that is, to my new burrito blog!

I harbor the belief that burritos are una comida perfecta. They are far too great for me not to have a blog devoted to them. I have dilly-dallied far too long in creating this blog.

I figured that I might as well make it fun for me and informative for you, so I have made it my mission to visit as many burrito joints in the state of California as I possibly can.

If you have a place to recommend to me, please tell me about it and I will make plans to visit. I will be in the LA area until August 21, when I will be relocating to Berkeley.

I will have guest authors periodically so as to attempt to cover as much of the California burritosphere as possible.

I will rate each establishment for:
Quality of meat (1-10)
Quality of house salsa (1-10)
Quality of guacamole (1-10)
Quality of chips (1-5)
Size/Diversity of menu (1-5)
Size of burrito (I will buy a tape measure)
Approximate price (For a standard burrito)
Locally owned? (Y/N)
Satisfaction Factor (1-10; to be measured 1-2 hours after consumption)
Overall taste (1-10)

Now, I need your feedback on something. Do you want pictures of the burritos? I can do this, but I cannot promise pictures for every place. Do pictures of burritos affect how you might judge the taste of the burrito? Let me know.