Gordo's

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