cross street: Alpha
ph. 415/587-7721
Map Visits: 1
Shrug: rice (7); vegetables (7); sauciness (7); burstage abatement (7); tortilla (6); meat (6); cheese (6); ingredient mix (6); temperature (6)
Clang: no elements clanged
Intangibility bonus: 0 (of 2)
Every now and then, we get sideswiped by a burrito so spicy, we’re sure it’s some kind of ruse — a hidden-ball trick of sorts to distract our impossibly evolved palate from taking note of the overall substandardness happening elsewhere in the slab. Well, we’re not buying it. We never have, we never will, and we sure as hell didn’t on our first visit to Taq. El Buen Sabor in Viz Valley. While there were one or two ingredients on point here — the well-played refried beans, more than anything — this disappointing burrito was best represented by its cavalcade of seven- and six-mustache element ratings. Chiefly due to poor pico de gallo integration, the first bite was half-cool; others followed. Spanish rice was as segregated as the pico, and only some of the micrograted cheese was melted (we prefer when it’s all melted, duh). The fine-enough salsa roja was far too prevalent, and because of that, we never got a true sense of the pork’s taste — although there was plenty of proof in that one cube of gristle that reared up halfway in. All this, plus low-end sog/burstage. Hrumph.