Though flawed in several ways, our dunch at Pasilla had plenty going for it — impervious construction, a whole lot of piping-hot bites, sharp-cutting spiciness, and even sharper-cutting intangibility. The veggie armament was particularly strong, as our special requests at ordering time (add fajitafication for $1.25 extra; add guacamole for $1.50 extra; hold the damn lettuce for free) all came up roses for us...one member of our panel was even heard mumbling halfway through, Them’s some real crunchy bell peppers. The Spanish rice provided some nicely moist moments, even if the whole pinto beans were more austere than a south Nevada sunset. Pork report: somewhat soft, as if it’d been stewed rather than roasted, but inoffensively adequate nonetheless. The cheddar/Jack blend was brilliantly melted, but never managed to consistently contribute. Things could have been saucier, but considering all the limp-wristed taqueria competition in these parts, eight mustaches is pretty much gold in this part of town.

Juicy steak. Unremarkable rice. Juicy steak. Unremarkable rice. That’s how the first several bites of this chubby and girthsome burrito went, and while a few other elements eventually poked their way into its poorly mixed portrait, its lousy ingredient distribution was positively Chipotle-esque all the way through. (To be fair, so was its excellent meat.) Even the spicy moments were exclusively shoved down at the hind end. We also struggled with the austere pinto beans, set as they were against a slabscape of dry rice and a vaguely adequate amount of melted cheddar. Most frustrating of all, the extra $1.50 we dropped on a guacamole add-in seemed to come for naught – come on, where’d our guac go at? At least Pasilla’s kitchen nailed the basics of hot bites and solid construction. Quite the come-down from our first visit earlier in the summer.

Stumpy sizing and a set of overly austere pinto beans notwithstanding, Pasilla’s debut entry turned out to be a pleasant surprise full of many of our favorite slabular elements: exceptional pico de gallo; nicely seasoned cuts of chicken; a smartly grilled tortilla; and, believe it or not, hell-bringing spice. Cool bites were never in the cards – nay, not even in the playing deck – thus rendering the polite jack/cheddar blend 100% melted. Other than placing the greater percentage of the chicken and pepper-fire in the burrito’s lower half, the mix treated us to most every ingredient in every bite, and that’s really how it ought to be. Trade-off: a reasonable amount of Spanish rice for some ingrown tortilla moments...burstage still rated nine mustaches. We’ll take a few questions now, if anyone’s got any.

Was the smattering of Pasilla’s guacamole worth an extra $1.50?
It’s debatable, Bob.

Did this burrito perform well beyond initial expectations?
Oh yes, definitely, Bob.

My name’s not Bob. It’s Tina.
Thanks for your call, Bob.