User Review
La Taqueria (San Francisco, CA)
Score: 10 / 10 Reviewed by: tulrich
My expectations were high given the location and the good reviews here. The busy atmosphere, quick hands behind the counter, whole-beans-fits-all menu, and looks of the carnitas did nothing to slacken my anticipation.
I ordered carnitas with cheese & avocado, and a small tangerine agua fresca, for about ten bucks. My order came up within minutes, a medium-sized foil-wrapped package, not giant but not small. What I consider, at this stage in my life, "just right".
The contents: pure perfection. I have encountered very few taquerias that do carnitas perfectly; I've had little bits of rubbery meat with gristle, shredded limp fibers soaked in orange juice, dry strips coated in rust colored powder, almost-rancid chunks plus mystery membrane (skin? intestine?), and those are just the awful ones. The mediocre ones tend to be flavorless or distractingly spiced, and the good-but-not-perfect ones may not be salty enough or lack crispy bits or aren't juicy enough or taste good but are too greasy.
I digress. The carnitas here was juicy, crispy, salty and wonderful. The beans were just right, the cheese creamy and fully integrated, the pico fresh and yummy, the avocado ripe, the tortilla warm and resilient. The whole was expertly assembled and wrapped, no binding or leaks at the ends, a bit fluffy towards the top, and full of juice at the bottom.
They didn't put the hot sauce in the burrito itself, but each table has a squirt bottle of flavorful green hot sauce, so it was no trouble to drip a few drops before each bite.
The tangerine agua fresca was well worthwhile, sweet and not too acidic, a perfect complement to my burrito.
As I reached the bottom, I had to suppress an urge to immediately eat another one. I wisely resisted, but I may return for dinner.
If I were looking for nits to pick, I guess I would point to the lack of rice, and the meat being slightly more salty than absolutely necessary. But I would also be a jerk to pick nits.
This was my third burrito in the city limits of San Francisco, and the first truly great one. Thank you burritophile for pointing me in the right direction!
