La Cumbre

LA CUMBRE 
 
515 Valencia Street in between 16th and 17th streets

PRICE: $6.50 (not including tax)

La Cumbre is located on Valencia near 16th Street.There are tables and chairs inside with posters and photographs on the walls. The menu includes burritos, tacos, quesadillas, nachos, and dinner plates. La Cumbre advertises that it uses olive oil (not lard), ingredients without preservatives, and range chicken and grass-fed beef.

My friend and I conducted this taste test on October 26, 2012. I ordered the grilled chicken burrito with whole pinto beans.

OVERALL RATING: 8
(1= lowest, 10= highest)




CONTENTS

Quality of Meat: 8
We ordered the grilled chicken burrito. The meat was delicious and juicy. I watched the cook chop the chicken breast before my eyes.

Quality of Beans: 6
Good, fresh beans.

Quality of Rice: 6
Good rice.

Quality of Salsa: 6
Nice salsa.

EXTRAS
Free chips? Yes. The chips are a bit thick.
Free salsa? Yes.

FINAL THOUGHTS
La Cumbre is a popular taqueria. It has been around since 1967 and touts itself as "the birthplace of the now famous 'Mission Style' burrito." El Faro says the same thing.

La Cumbre is open late on Friday and Saturday nights so many hipsters leave the Valencia bars and fill up on huge burritos. The fresh ingredients without additives work. The chicken meat was very flavorful. My friend and I commented that we would go back.

El Toro

EL TORO (San Francisco)
598 Valencia Street at the corner of 17th Street

PRICE: $7.00 (not including tax)

El Toro is located at the corner of Valencia and 17th streets. There are tables with benches inside. The menu includes burritos, tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, nachos, etc.

My friend and I conducted this taste test on October 26, 2012. I ordered the grilled chicken burrito with whole pinto beans.

OVERALL RATING: 5
(1= lowest, 10= highest) 



CONTENTS

Quality of Meat: 4
We ordered the grilled chicken burrito. Unfortunately, the meat was flavorless.

Quality of Beans: 6
Good, fresh beans.

Quality of Rice: 6
Good rice.

Quality of Salsa: 8
Nice and spicy salsa with fresh jalapeno pieces. El Toro has a great salsa bar with 8 different types of salsas plus there are roasted whole jalapenos, radishes, and lime wedges.

EXTRAS
Free chips? Yes. The chips are a little greasy.
Free salsa? Yes! Lots of options.

FINAL THOUGHTS
El Toro is a popular, long-standing taqueria. It is a favorite of many folks in the Mission. The burrito is basic. I wish the chicken had more flavor. However, the salsa bar is great. I also ordered a sandia (watermelon) agua fresca, and that was wonderful. 

SF Comedy and Burrito Festival

I received an e-mail about the SF Comedy & Burrito Festival  happening October 11-13, 2012.

It says, "The San Francisco Comedy & Burrito Festival is a brand-new event celebrating comedy and burritos in San Francisco’s culturally vibrant Mission District. The three-day festival, taking place October 11th to 13th, will feature over 35 events showcasing more than 100 stand-up comedy acts from around the country – including LA, Chicago, New York, Portland, Austin, and of course, San Francisco.

Each ticket purchase includes coupons for two free super burritos from sponsor taquerias Pancho Villa and El Toro!"

What?!?! Comedy and burritos, you say. And not just burritos...SUPER burritos.

Let's see. Comedy produces laughter. Laughter burns calories. Burning calories creates hunger. Hunger is satisfied by burritos.

I like it.

I looked at the website, and there are mucho comedians.That means a lot of calorie burning.

Check 'em out!
As the Nerdist podcast says, "Enjoy your burrito!"

What is this nonsense? The San Francisco Comedy & Burrito Festival is a brand-new festival celebrating stand-up comedy and burritos in San Francisco’s culturally vibrant Mission District. Spanning three days, the festival will showcase over a hundred comics performing at six venues in over thirty shows.

Why burritos? The Mission District is known to be the birthplace of the Mission Burrito and is said to have the highest concentration of taquerias in the world, numbering more than a hundred in an area less than two square miles. The Mission burrito is a unique culinary creation known for its quality taste, giant portions, and affordable price. Each ticket purchase will come with coupons for free burritos from our participating taquerias.

Hibernation

The Best Mission Burritos blog is going into hibernation.

I am going to graduate school on the East Coast and leaving my hometown of San Francisco. I hope to write new posts when I go home during school breaks.

El Metate (Chicken Mole)

EL METATE (con sabor a Mexico)
2406 Bryant Street @ 22nd

PRICE: $5.50 (not including tax)

After watching the 2012 Carnaval Parade, my friend and I decided to avoid the crowd along 24th Street and eat nearby. We went to El Metate.

I conducted this taste test on May 27, 2012.

NOTE: I ordered the chicken mole burrito.

OVERALL RATING: 6
(1= lowest, 10= highest) 




CONTENTS

Quality of Meat: 6
I am a huge mole fan, and there is nothing better than a restaurant with a fantastic mole recipe. However, it is an odd filling for a burrito. The mole overpowers the burrito and makes it messy. I wish I could have tasted it alone.

Quality of Beans: 5
Average.

Quality of Rice: 5
Average.

Quality of Salsa:8
There is a salsa bar with four different choices. I couldn't stop eating the fruit salsa with mangoes! Plus, I like a place that serves pickled whole jalapenos.

EXTRAS
Free chips? Yes
Free salsa? Yes

FINAL THOUGHTS
The chicken mole burrito is interesting but too messy. Plus the mole overpowers the other ingredients--rice, beans, etc. I would have preferred a plate of chicken mole with rice and beans.

El Faro

EL FARO
2339 Folsom Street at the corner of 20th Street

PRICE: $6.49 (not including tax)

El Faro is located at the corner of Folsom and 20th streets. The interior walls are decorated with tiles about the taqueria's long history in San Francisco (since 1961). There are a few tables inside. El Faro is the self-proclaimed inventor of the Mission burrito. The menu is basic: quesadillas, burritos, or tacos with choice of meat.

I conducted this taste test on September 18, 2011. I ordered the grilled chicken burrito with whole pinto beans.

OVERALL RATING: 2
(1= lowest, 10= highest)



CONTENTS

Quality of Meat: 3
I ordered the grilled chicken burrito. There is the choice of grilled chicken or chicken in red sauce. They skimped on the meat (see photo) and the meat was flavorless.

Quality of Beans: 2
Bland and the beans were swimming in juice.

Quality of Rice: 2
The rice was flavorless. Also, the burrito had too much rice and too little beans or meat.

Quality of Salsa: 2
The salsa is horrible. Basically it was tomato sauce with bits of cilantro. You are given one little cup of salsa for the burrito and chips. I had to add El Tapatio hot sauce to the burrito.

Note: The tortilla was horrible!!! It was very chewy. I left a huge part of the tortilla uneaten. Also the burrito is skinny.



EXTRAS
Free chips? Yes. The chips are boring too. See photo.
Free salsa? Yes. See note above.

FINAL THOUGHTS
I think this is the worst burrito I have found in the Mission. Nothing stood out.

La Taqueria

LA TAQUERIA
2889 Mission Street between 24th and 25th streets

PRICE: $6.50 (not including tax)

La Taqueria is located near the 24th Street BART station. It has a small outdoor space and a few tables inside. The menu is basic: burritos or tacos with choice of meat (or veggie).

I conducted this taste test on January 20, 2011. I ordered the chicken burrito with whole pinto beans.

OVERALL RATING: 5
(1= lowest, 10= highest)



CONTENTS

Quality of Meat: 7
I ordered the chicken burrito. The meat was moist with a big chunk of breast meat in the center (see photo above).

Quality of Beans: 4
Boring and bland.

Quality of Rice: 4
I don't think there was rice in the burrito. I couldn't taste any.

Quality of Salsa: 4
Very disappointing. The salsa inside the burrito was weak. The green salsa on the table was watery and boring.

Note: The burrito is skinny. I ate the whole thing easily and did not feel stuffed.

EXTRAS
Free chips? No
Free salsa? Yes (A squeeze bottle of green salsa is on each table.)

FINAL THOUGHTS
The burrito is below average. Nevertheless, I would return to try a taco. The tacos look delicious, overstuffed, unlike the burritos. Also, there are no free chips. :-(