greasepig reviews

Finding a place randomly like this is one of the many things I love about living in San Francisco. I wasn't sure what I was hungry for, so I just saddled up the V-Star and cruised down Mission Street. Just a couple blocks north of the border with Daly City, this taqueria came into view. Little did I know that in less than an hour, I would have a new favorite burrito place in San Francisco

First of all, this place is really clean. It's got these really attractive wood tables with round brown leather chairs that were more substantial and comfortable than your typical taqueria furniture. The decorations on the walls were truly original and colorful, with your typical ceramic tiles and various shapes of mirrors. Even though there were your typical Mexican beer ads and, strangely, a display of DVDs for sale, the whole place was very tasteful. There was a big HDTV with the USA vs. Egypt soccer game being shown, with the Spanish commentary maybe a tad too loud, but this seemed only to enhance my dining experience. Another thing, I was the only gringo in there for a while, which is always a good sign of authenticity. There were a couple of families in there and and few middle-aged dudes drinking Tecates and just hanging out to watch the game.

Now to the menu: it's gigantic, probably the biggest selection I've ever seen. Not only do they have the weird meats like sesos and lengua that I like, but they also have birria (goat meat) which I absolutely have to try some day. The super pollo asado burrito I ordered was only $4.75. This has to be the cheapest super burrito I've seen in years. But, at that price, the portions must be much smaller, right? Not in the slightest. The characteristic of this place that clinched it for me: they re-grill your meat before inserting it into the burrito. They also grill the tortilla. I usually ask for no cheese, but I figured since I hadn't tried this place before, I'd see how they did the cheese. Perfect amount, evenly distributed without any big chunks (that's the reason I usually don't get cheese on my burrito). All the ingredients were well distributed and the burrito was very well and tightly wrapped. Many other places could learn a thing or two from these guys' technique. (I'm talking to you, Mexico au Parc). Finally, after they wrap it up with foil, they hit the whole thing again with steam! The result is as amazing as it sounds. And the large watermelon agua fresca was really freaking large - I actually couldn't finish it all.

What I shouldn't have finished was the burrito itself. It's simply too big for one person - I really should have eaten half and taken the rest home. But it was just so delicious and I was enjoying the whole experience watching the other people in there and the game, that I chose not to leave. I was way too full and literally ate nothing else the rest of the day.

Now I went at 3:30 in the afternoon and it was almost full then, so I would imagine it's best to go at non-peak times like that. Next time I'm going to try the goat soup - this guy at a table next to me had it and it looked really delicious.

Now, the only reason I'm not giving this five godzillas is that I've only gone here once. I may raise the rating at a later date.

Rating: 4.5 Godzillas