La Fiesta Taqueria (Midtown)
Sacramento, CA
| Overall Score based on 8 reviews |
8.1 recommended |
Editorial Reviews (1)
Eric's Score: 9 / 10 full review...
After having eaten at least ten burritos from this place, I can really lay down the law on La Fiesta. And Eric's Law is like Eric's Love: Hard and Fast.*
User Reviews (7)
Login or register to write a review of La Fiesta Taqueria (Midtown)
Showing 1-7 of 7 (most recent reviews shown first)
Score: 9 / 10 Reviewed by: escooter (Sacramento, CA)
Yes, Yes, Yes....
Everything said about this place is true plus more. Great burritos. I've had the carnitas and al pastor, and both were fantastic. The salsa bar has a good selection including mysterious vegetables that look like they came straight outta a Dr. Seuss book.
The atmosphere is wonderful with interesting people to watch along with the ubiquitous Univision soccer match on the plasma screen TV. Probably the best taqueria in downtown Sacramento. Also, the consistency from time-to-time has been better than the La Favorita on Franklin. Pitchers of cheap beer too.
I'm beginning to get worried that the quality will go downhill as the chain spreads. I'll soon check out the La Fiesta in Natomas and give my 10 cents soon.
Score: 8.5 / 10 Reviewed by: stephencowles
Let me first state that I had no knowledge aforethought regarding this taqueria. That is, I was going in blind with no preconceptions, restaurant reviews, etc. I stopped by after doing some grocery shopping nearby. I decided to order the "gold standard" of burritos: the super carne asada. I will say that service was lightning fast. I barely had time to grab chips & salsa from the fully loaded salsa bar, when my food log arrived via a friendly server. Wow, that was "muy rapido!" Contrary to some other reviewers, I am not a fan of rice in burritos since it seems to be a Northern California addition. Aren't beans and tortilla enough carbohydrates? Face it--rice is filler, plain and simple, although it may serve to soak up liquid ingredients. Back to the burrito, it was thoroughly competent. The tortilla seemed to be grilled, as it should be, rather than steamed, as it should not be. The meat was decent. When dosed with the aforementioned salsa, the slab acheived near greatness. 'Nuf said.
Score: 9 / 10 Reviewed by: Dylan (CA)
I moved to Sacramento about 2.5 years ago and I can remember my friends telling me, "you've got to try this burrito place." Of course, I was skeptical, given that I've had my fair share of delicious Bay Area burritos. But lo and behold, this place ranks high among the establishments I've tried, and I've got my eye on you Los Charros of Mountain View. As with all my reviews, it comes with the caveat that I don't eat beef, but perhaps that's what led me to discover the magic that is pollo asado. Quite simply, it's the meat that makes this burrito great. Other taquerias attain greatness through a delicate balance of ingredients, whereas others do so through their flavorful salsa and guacamole. Here at La Fiesta, which does all of those other things well, it's the pollo asado meat that reigns supreme. Friends of beef, try chicken for once.
La Fiesta's pollo asado jumbo burrito is, without a doubt, pretty much untouchable. Sure it can vary from night to night, and sure sometimes the staff gets your burrito mixed up with someone else's as they deliver orders with lightening speed, but such is the price of greatness. In fact, this place has a sister location, La Favorita, that I haven't even tried because there's no reason to go to any other burrito place in Central California so long as this place is open and accepting orders. After driving around to find parking, you'll enjoy a brief amount of time in line as you gaze at the many menu selections, including breakfast burritos, tostadas, and seafood platters. However, let me make it simple for you, pollo asado, jumbo burrito, no crema. I'll admit, they have some other good things here as well, not least among them the ceviche tostadas and brilliant chips and salsa bar. But I stray from the path of the burritophile...back to the pollo asado burrito. The flavor of the juicy, spicy, pollo asado meat combined with a good balance of beans, rice, salsa, guacamole, cheese and tortilla, all wrapped up in aluminum foil goodness, leaves really nothing to be desired. Just know that I'd take a La Fiesta silver bullet any day of the week. And while I try to maintain a masculine cool when confronted with downright delicious food, gosh darn it La Fiesta, sometimes you make me cry your burritos are so dang good. Well done La Fiesta, well done.
Score: 6.5 / 10 Reviewed by: treed
I wanted to like this place.
I was in Sac for a job interview, and so I stopped in afterwards. Ordered a chile verde super with optimistic hopes. They got the burrito to me so fast that they must have cut corners somewhere or something.
Integration was not the greatest, and this deficiency was 'helped' by a relative lack of meat in the filling. A great lack of spiciness was not even helped by the Tapatio-like sauce on the table (it was only later that I noticed that El Yucateco was on several of the other tables). Altogether too much sauce, as well, although this did not cause the tortilla to breach; the tortilla was actually done very well, but that's the only thing I can praise about this burrito.
Score: 7.5 / 10 Reviewed by: burritoeater
Heading east on I-80 en route to Tahoe, the questions were posed: Why not a burrito? Why not a burrito in the Capital City? A couple phone calls were made, a street address was procured, and a short time later, it was slabtime at The Party in the mini-mall on Alhambra near L.
Went the pastor route, which turned out to be a swift move. The stuff was juicy, smoky, and more than a might flavorful. Plenty of it, as well. Cheese was well-melted, but unfortunately, cloddy and bunched. La Fiesta's salsa roja kicked ass, took names, and made that gallon jug of horchata at the counter look even more inviting.
The first half of the burrito was strong on most every front, but things took a devolved turn late in the slab. Most egregiously, sour cream abuse -- the fact that it showed up at all, given our vehement "And please! No sour cream" request went fully ignored behind the counter -- brought the mood down a lot. Grains upon grains of sauce-stained rice, though fine and tasty, were less than subtle in number.
Construction was mostly superb, in-burrito temperatures were more than satisfactory, and the ingredient mix was adequate, if hardly seamless.
The clever wrap-up comment goes here: _____________.
Score: 7.5 / 10 Reviewed by: TacoTim (Folsom, CA)
I went to La Fiesta after reviewing comments at burritophile. My expectations of a great burrito were nearly satisfied. I enjoyed the freshness of the meat (asada) and the flavor of the rice. I was a little disappointed with the following items:
1) The burrito seemed a little too dry. It needed a good dose of spicy salsa (which I found at the chips and salsa bar).
2) The "ingredient integration" really bugged me. All of my salsa was found at one end of the burrito. I was a little disappointed in the irregularity in which the burrito was amassed. Frankly, I expected a little more out of a restaurant with the high praises that I found online.
3) As I alluded to above, the burrito by itself was good, but needed extra seasoning which I had to add myself.
Overall, I thought that La Fiesta boasted a burrito worthy of a second visit. The price to taste ratio of the burrito is unmatched by surrounding taquerias. The atmosphere was great and service very friendly and efficient. I especially enjoyed the chips and salsa.
Score: 8 / 10 Reviewed by: sactomaya (Sacramento, CA)
When La Fiesta Taqueria and Cocina Mexicana opened a few months ago, many in the scene in which I travel were quite effusive. Located near the corner of Alhambra and K Streets in Sacramento, La Fiesta offered a glimmer of hope that we might have a chance at ingesting a burrito approaching the yummy goodness of El Farolito’s (take your pick of whichever) in San Francisco.
La Fiesta more than beats the hype, and for the life of me I don’t even understand the comparison. El Farolito’s is the type of establishment that requires one banish the notion of cockroaches from the mind. The bathroom is accessible through a locked security gate. The temperature inside is usually warmer than the breeze on the sidewalk. La Fiesta is vibrant and clean and high-ceilinged and well-ventilated. The tables and booths have serape tops. The chalkboard menus boast a host of options, none of which frighten me.
My choice for this visit was a vegetarian burrito. The veggie burrito comes with beans, rice, cheese, lettuce, sour cream and guacamole. Someone once told me that the rice in a burrito is a distinctly Californian addition, but I question the sanity of a burrito without rice. A good rice is critical to holding the flavors of the burrito together. La Fiesta’s burrito performs well in this category. Like most burritos, the La Fiesta burrito made me once again question the role of lettuce in a burrito altogether. Lettuce is disharmonious when slathered with sour cream and guacamole, incongruous with the beans and rice that make up the essence of a good burrito. Luckily, the lettuce was concentrated near the top of my burrito, and I whisked through it quickly.
The salsas available at the salsa bar are fresh and varied. I chose to sample the green, medium and hot salsas with this burrito. Each one creates a different experience for the palate, each one equally good. For a beginner, I would recommend the medium salsa. It contains generous helpings of onions and what I believe are roasted peppers. It is a flavorful and spicy salsa without being too hot for the more sensitive burrito-eaters among us.
The prices are great at La Fiesta, too. This damn fine burrito cost me a mere $4.80 including tax.
Showing 1-7 of 7
