
cross street: Bayshore
ph. 415/559-0404
Map Visits: 1
Shrug: temperature (7); vegetables (6); ingredient mix (6)
Clang: meat (5); cheese (5); sauciness (2)
Intangibility bonus: 1 (of 2)
When we ordered the “el pastor” burrito on Tonayense’s fine shammy-splashed menu, we didn’t realize that the botched phrase really means “massive amounts of jalapeño.” Our spice-proof panel’s got no truck against a few jalapeño slices in a slab, but when they stage a semi-violent coup, as they did here, there’s bound to be trouble. Far more egregious, however, was Tonayense’s truly foul mayo verde sauce (our name, not theirs — although they can patent it for all we care), which scuzzed every bite in which it was sadly involved, from the first one down. As for this failed lunch’s other-clang level elements, a couple pods of unmelted cheese brought the room down, while the only memorable thing about the pork was the sizable bone chip we unearthed — the hard way, ow — about a half-dozen bites in. That one major cilantro patch didn’t help the ingredient mix’s rating, either, and we sure didn’t appreciate those lukecold bites down around the hind end. As for what went right, construction was mostly infallible, while the pinto beans and rice (both on the pale side) turned out to be terrific support acts to the innumerable jalapeño slices and unmelted cheese grates. Hrumph.