Editorial Review
El Tepeyac (Los Angeles, CA)
Score: 5 / 10 Reviewed by: Mark
The menu was pretty complicated so I asked advice. Most of the differences seem to involve topping (none, cheese, meat & sauce). I saw some good looking pork chile verde simmering on the stove so I ordered a pork Hollenbeck (topped with meat & sauce) burrito.
The creature they put on my plate was wrapped in a tortilla, but I am not at all sure that it was a burrito. For openers it was huge (perhaps 9x5x3). The last time I confronted a burrito that size, somebody wound up calling the paramedics. The topping was a thick and delicious tomato sauce long simmered with onions, peppers and spices, containing large (3/4-1") chunks of tasty (though not certainly not tender) fried pork. The filling was mostly a nicely seasoned Spanish rice, topped with pinto beans, (surprisingly good) guacamole, and more large chunks of fried pork. The tomato/pork sauce on the spanish rice was quite tasty ... but nothing like a burrito. Focusing on the filling, it was mostly rice ... with an occasional bite of pork (a little tough and dry), beans, or guacamole. On the whole, it was bland, dry, and not at particularly satisfying.
A lot of people swear by El Tepeyac. It is old and venerable, and the burritos are indeed huge (there were some even larger Manual's Special burritos on the menu, which I shudder to contemplate). Maybe this is a great burrito that I just don't understand ... but I enjoy all three of the great families of burritos ... and this one didn't trip any of my happy-sensors. The guacamole (obviously freshly made) was delicious, and I saw alot of good looking enchiladas and taquitos disappearing into happy faces (did I mention the pork chile verde?) ... but the only thing I found exceptional about the burritos was their size.
The burrito aside, I actually loved the restaurant. A brightly muraled building on a small street, with a large, cluttered, dining room packed with noisy and happy family and business lunch trade, a busy and noisy kitchen across the counter from the dining room, and an outside patio with a service window, a long line, and a bunch of tables (where people sat in front of some scary-big plates of food). This is place is a picture postcard of a great, crowded, hole-in-the wall, mexican family restaurant. Order a dinner. It will probably be great.
–Mark
posted 5/17/2006 2:58 PM
