El Farolito
San Jose, CA
| Overall Score based on 2 reviews |
7.5 recommended |
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Score: 7 / 10 Reviewed by: massd (Los Gatos, CA)
Looking at El Farolito from the intersection of Senter and Capitol, it was obvious that this El Farolito was not built in the same architectural style as the one on 24th in San Francisco. No, this was an old school Taco Bell building. The crowd was mostly hispanic but it did fill up with a lot of younger kids. Bottom line: mostly locals and that's a good sign. There's a couple of TVs playing mexican soap operas and they have a jukebox or radio somewhere playing mariachi music which I dig.
I visited today on my way to an errand and this El Farolito qualifies as "a place I would eat semi-regularly but not drive across town for". The super carnitas burrito was solid but there were some issues: irregular temperatures (cold sour cream in a glob), poor integration (or was it just the massive amounts of carnitas?) and the fact that the woman behind the counter couldn't provide me with a cup of water. The burrito was a little longer vs. thick with a steamed tortilla. Although it held together well, it didn't *look* like it was going to hold.
However, on the plus side it was cheap: $5.53 for the super which included cheese, sour cream and guacamole. The carnitas was also tasty. I personally prefer a more fried and crispy carnitas but as far as soft and juicy ones go, it was good. The spice factor was very mild. I threw in some of their creamy guac-based green salsa which turned things up a notch and the burrito was better as a result.
I believe chips are free here, but some hombre swiped them as I went to pick up my burrito but no worries.
My companion had the carne asada and mirrored my opinion: pretty good but not the best ever. You can't go wrong eating here (unless you want a cup of water!)
UPDATE: I was in the area again last night, 5/20/2008, and while the ambiance and ambivalent staff were the same, the super carnitas was a *much* better burrito. Almost too much carnitas resulting in semi-poor integration but great flavor and still just $6.01 after tax.
I'm leaving my score as a 7 until a future visit to see how consistent it is. The only thing worse than a bad burrito is the unmet expectation of a great burrito.
Score: 8 / 10 Reviewed by: treed
The SJ El Farolito is related to the chain in SF. The veggie burrito didn't vary much from the one I had at 24th & Mission, but the place is significantly different. Chips are free here, too, but the most notable thing is that I can now get a solid veggie burrito within 5 miles of my residence.
EDIT: I'm dropped the score briefly based on a more recent visit, but multiple subsequent visits after that one have given them the original score back.
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