Radio-Friendly Unit ShiftersJune 2009
JUDGES PANEL SPEAKS!
Surely you caught our recent foray into the San Francisco public radio dunk tank? In the event you had something else going on that evening, our May 28 appearance on KALW's daily news magazine "Crosscurrents" is archived here for all to hear.
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NEW COMES AND GOES
If there's a silver lining among all the economic cumulonimbus clouds, it's the thinning of the ranks among San Francisco's unaccomplished burrito purveyors.
Case in point: Taq. Viva Zapata. Its grim home, the International Food Court at Bush and Kearny, has been mysteriously shuttered for months. Granted, it's been a few years since we've been back to Viva Zapata, but our first experience back around mid decade was less than superb; hell, it was barely digestible.
Other vaguely recent taqueria news items....
Where'd Goza-Goza Taco go hide? With a strong debut this spring among the top five on our Mustache Chart and an all-business Cuban dude at the helm, this is one rad burrito truck our town can't afford to lose.
Solid slabwagon Tacos San Buena has relocated for the second time in about three years, from its former home in a parking lot at Pacific and Sansome down to a choice curbside location on the east side of Sansome near Sutter, just off Market. Time will tell if higher visibility equals increased mustachability.
Fog City is now one down in the sombrero-wearing fish mascot department with the departure of Taco Del Mar on Bryant near 6th St. We learn from the loss, however, and we endure. The trauma is eased (at least for Taco Del Mar fans) by the continued presence of the taqueria chain's original San Francisco shop on 2nd St. at Natoma.
Ultramega-popular Taq. Pancho Villa along the Embarcadero is now Pier 1 Southwestern Grill. It's OK with us, as on our most recent visit in March 2008, we nearly tossed our foiled disaster into the adjacent big salty drink. That's not good.
Two La Parrilla Grills around town are now off our radar. The space at Polk and Washington, which always seemed to harbor swanky aspirations, has dropped the definite article and gone all sit-downy and upmarket in its new guise as Parrilla. Over in North Beach, the shop at Columbus and Broadway, which had always rated fairly well by our measure of things, is simply shut. Rumors of eviction swirl.
Irving Pizza management pulled the life-support plug on Taq. El Patron some months ago, leaving Lower Haight's unfortunate Taq. La Carreta as the sole pizza parlor-managed taqueria in town.
Rolling Taco's gone baby gone, so gone! Granted, its spot right under the 80/101 interchange wasn't exactly the Ritz, but...uh...but nothing. This sub-seven-mustaches truck needed to go the way of the dodo.
Recent openings? None of note, really. We tried fresh-faced Tropisueño this past winter, but came away feeling as if it's kind of a silly place better suited to suburban Phoenix than South of Market. And we finally got over to Dogpatch's The New Spot, but in all fairness, we're lunkheads for not getting there earlier, seeing as how it opened in...2006.
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June Taqueria Visits
6/30: Four years after Taq. El Taco Loco’s nine-mustache masterpiece went down in Burritoeater history, the Mission standby did little to sully its solid reputation.
6/27: Taq. El Jalapeño's kitchen gave us one more thing to be happy about on a sunny June Saturday.
6/23: 7.42 mustaches qualifies as a victory for previously beleaguered Las Estrellas.
6/18: You will get sour cream in your burrito at Mexico Tipico Taq. Count on it, sucker.
6/12: At 8.50 mustaches, Taq. La Michoacana made the kind of debut that could merit a little Rookie of the Year statuette in a few months.
6/10: Our highly rated dinner dirigible from Taq. El Farolito in the Excelsior is the subject of what will hopefully be the only comma-free review we’ll ever publish.
6/7: It was just a big hot mess at Taq. Can-cún on Mission and 19th St.
6/3: Unmelted cheese and drips aplenty brought on Cuco’s first sub-eight-mustache effort. Good taste remained in top form, however.
6/1: Taq. El Balazo-at-wash’s spectacular chile relleno slab got June off to a surefire chooglin’ start.
Surely you caught our recent foray into the San Francisco public radio dunk tank? In the event you had something else going on that evening, our May 28 appearance on KALW's daily news magazine "Crosscurrents" is archived here for all to hear.
<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
NEW COMES AND GOES
If there's a silver lining among all the economic cumulonimbus clouds, it's the thinning of the ranks among San Francisco's unaccomplished burrito purveyors.
Case in point: Taq. Viva Zapata. Its grim home, the International Food Court at Bush and Kearny, has been mysteriously shuttered for months. Granted, it's been a few years since we've been back to Viva Zapata, but our first experience back around mid decade was less than superb; hell, it was barely digestible.
Other vaguely recent taqueria news items....
Where'd Goza-Goza Taco go hide? With a strong debut this spring among the top five on our Mustache Chart and an all-business Cuban dude at the helm, this is one rad burrito truck our town can't afford to lose.
Solid slabwagon Tacos San Buena has relocated for the second time in about three years, from its former home in a parking lot at Pacific and Sansome down to a choice curbside location on the east side of Sansome near Sutter, just off Market. Time will tell if higher visibility equals increased mustachability.
Fog City is now one down in the sombrero-wearing fish mascot department with the departure of Taco Del Mar on Bryant near 6th St. We learn from the loss, however, and we endure. The trauma is eased (at least for Taco Del Mar fans) by the continued presence of the taqueria chain's original San Francisco shop on 2nd St. at Natoma.
Ultramega-popular Taq. Pancho Villa along the Embarcadero is now Pier 1 Southwestern Grill. It's OK with us, as on our most recent visit in March 2008, we nearly tossed our foiled disaster into the adjacent big salty drink. That's not good.
Two La Parrilla Grills around town are now off our radar. The space at Polk and Washington, which always seemed to harbor swanky aspirations, has dropped the definite article and gone all sit-downy and upmarket in its new guise as Parrilla. Over in North Beach, the shop at Columbus and Broadway, which had always rated fairly well by our measure of things, is simply shut. Rumors of eviction swirl.
Irving Pizza management pulled the life-support plug on Taq. El Patron some months ago, leaving Lower Haight's unfortunate Taq. La Carreta as the sole pizza parlor-managed taqueria in town.
Rolling Taco's gone baby gone, so gone! Granted, its spot right under the 80/101 interchange wasn't exactly the Ritz, but...uh...but nothing. This sub-seven-mustaches truck needed to go the way of the dodo.
Recent openings? None of note, really. We tried fresh-faced Tropisueño this past winter, but came away feeling as if it's kind of a silly place better suited to suburban Phoenix than South of Market. And we finally got over to Dogpatch's The New Spot, but in all fairness, we're lunkheads for not getting there earlier, seeing as how it opened in...2006.
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June Taqueria Visits
6/30: Four years after Taq. El Taco Loco’s nine-mustache masterpiece went down in Burritoeater history, the Mission standby did little to sully its solid reputation.
6/27: Taq. El Jalapeño's kitchen gave us one more thing to be happy about on a sunny June Saturday.
6/23: 7.42 mustaches qualifies as a victory for previously beleaguered Las Estrellas.
6/18: You will get sour cream in your burrito at Mexico Tipico Taq. Count on it, sucker.
6/12: At 8.50 mustaches, Taq. La Michoacana made the kind of debut that could merit a little Rookie of the Year statuette in a few months.
6/10: Our highly rated dinner dirigible from Taq. El Farolito in the Excelsior is the subject of what will hopefully be the only comma-free review we’ll ever publish.
6/7: It was just a big hot mess at Taq. Can-cún on Mission and 19th St.
6/3: Unmelted cheese and drips aplenty brought on Cuco’s first sub-eight-mustache effort. Good taste remained in top form, however.
6/1: Taq. El Balazo-at-wash’s spectacular chile relleno slab got June off to a surefire chooglin’ start.
Start Slabbin' the NewsMay 2009
May Taqueria Visits
5/29: $9.75, 8.50 mustaches, and a side salad: Upmarket Andalé is the burrito purveyor we hate to love.
5/26: Youthful exuberance outdistances grammatical errors and questionable spelling in a guest review of our greasy, yet enjoyable foiled lunch from Maya (Next Door).
5/24: Despite the eight mustaches on the scoreboard at the final bell, Gordo Taq. seemingly underperformed. Didn't this just happen elsewhere?
5/21: We had a hunch Fire House Cafe was faking it back in January. Sure enough....
5/17: Despite the eight mustaches on the scoreboard at the final bell, Taq. Guadalajara seemingly underperformed.
5/9: Our breakfast slab at El Tesoro on O’Farrell may have lacked flash, but at least the tuba-pop on the taqueria hi-fi was bouncy, jaunty, etc. etc.
5/5: We celebrated Corona’s annual Marketing Blitz Day with a real good burrito at Mariachi’s. “Goo” and “slop” played significant and delicious roles.
5/1: May Day! Nine-mustache slab! La Laguna Taq.! Radical.
5/29: $9.75, 8.50 mustaches, and a side salad: Upmarket Andalé is the burrito purveyor we hate to love.
5/26: Youthful exuberance outdistances grammatical errors and questionable spelling in a guest review of our greasy, yet enjoyable foiled lunch from Maya (Next Door).
5/24: Despite the eight mustaches on the scoreboard at the final bell, Gordo Taq. seemingly underperformed. Didn't this just happen elsewhere?
5/21: We had a hunch Fire House Cafe was faking it back in January. Sure enough....
5/17: Despite the eight mustaches on the scoreboard at the final bell, Taq. Guadalajara seemingly underperformed.
5/9: Our breakfast slab at El Tesoro on O’Farrell may have lacked flash, but at least the tuba-pop on the taqueria hi-fi was bouncy, jaunty, etc. etc.
5/5: We celebrated Corona’s annual Marketing Blitz Day with a real good burrito at Mariachi’s. “Goo” and “slop” played significant and delicious roles.
5/1: May Day! Nine-mustache slab! La Laguna Taq.! Radical.
Burritos 668, Wraps 0April 2009
April Taqueria Visits
4/29: Intangibility went on half-leave at La Canasta, compromising eight-mustache integrity. But overall? Good burrito, sure.
4/27: Spring 2009’s cavalcade of eight-mustache revelry continued at Los Compadres on Hayes.
4/25: Our latest La Fonda review ends with what has to be the worst phrase in the history of language.
4/20: Our second ground beef success story of 2009 occurred at La Mexicana.
4/14: Rookie of the year?: Itinerant slabwagon Goza-Goza Taco debuted at number three on our Mustache Chart.
4/7: Our three-week run of eight-mustache slabs ran aground at Pancho’s on Polk, where intangibility remained surprisingly strong despite substandard overall performance.
4/4: There’s more to the Bayview than meets the eye. For example: solid burritowork from neighborhood stalwarts Aguila de Oro, La Laguna Taq., and El Azteca Taq.
4/2: La Corneta Taq. in Glen Park keeps building on its considerable legend of eight-mustache consistency. (Review includes built-in trip to the Bahamas.)
4/29: Intangibility went on half-leave at La Canasta, compromising eight-mustache integrity. But overall? Good burrito, sure.
4/27: Spring 2009’s cavalcade of eight-mustache revelry continued at Los Compadres on Hayes.
4/25: Our latest La Fonda review ends with what has to be the worst phrase in the history of language.
4/20: Our second ground beef success story of 2009 occurred at La Mexicana.
4/14: Rookie of the year?: Itinerant slabwagon Goza-Goza Taco debuted at number three on our Mustache Chart.
4/7: Our three-week run of eight-mustache slabs ran aground at Pancho’s on Polk, where intangibility remained surprisingly strong despite substandard overall performance.
4/4: There’s more to the Bayview than meets the eye. For example: solid burritowork from neighborhood stalwarts Aguila de Oro, La Laguna Taq., and El Azteca Taq.
4/2: La Corneta Taq. in Glen Park keeps building on its considerable legend of eight-mustache consistency. (Review includes built-in trip to the Bahamas.)
Caviar: No. Burritos: Yes!March 2009
March Taqueria Visits
3/29: No taqueria in town makes a Farolito-style slab quite as well as Taq. El Farolito.
3/26: Dogpatch’s The New Spot: not so new. But we sure enjoyed its burritowork and preposterously huge parrot mural.
3/23: When it’s all over and done, and all the San Francisco burrito shops reach the porky gates of pastor heaven, Taq. San Jose deserves a spot at the front of the line.
3/17: Nice to see Mission warhorse/linchpin Taq. La Cumbre back in the eight-mustache game.
3/12: La Salsa’s kitchen forgot the beans, although mediocrity was ensured even without this unforgivable gaffe.
3/8: We had a mediocre dunch slab at Zona Rosa. Then a fro’d-out Hendrix impersonator walked in and ordered a super carnitas. Red left-handed guitar, headband, and all.
3/6: If chicken al pastor ever becomes all the taqueria rage, zeitgeist-chasers will surely point to our ho-hum meat-adventure at Alex Gourmet Burrito as a watershed moment in the movement.
3/4: We’ve used cheers/jeers, yay/nay, hooray/boo, all that. Our latest Taq. El Tepa review goes one worse. Apologies in advance.
3/29: No taqueria in town makes a Farolito-style slab quite as well as Taq. El Farolito.
3/26: Dogpatch’s The New Spot: not so new. But we sure enjoyed its burritowork and preposterously huge parrot mural.
3/23: When it’s all over and done, and all the San Francisco burrito shops reach the porky gates of pastor heaven, Taq. San Jose deserves a spot at the front of the line.
3/17: Nice to see Mission warhorse/linchpin Taq. La Cumbre back in the eight-mustache game.
3/12: La Salsa’s kitchen forgot the beans, although mediocrity was ensured even without this unforgivable gaffe.
3/8: We had a mediocre dunch slab at Zona Rosa. Then a fro’d-out Hendrix impersonator walked in and ordered a super carnitas. Red left-handed guitar, headband, and all.
3/6: If chicken al pastor ever becomes all the taqueria rage, zeitgeist-chasers will surely point to our ho-hum meat-adventure at Alex Gourmet Burrito as a watershed moment in the movement.
3/4: We’ve used cheers/jeers, yay/nay, hooray/boo, all that. Our latest Taq. El Tepa review goes one worse. Apologies in advance.
