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California burrito6/6/2023 The problem is that neither the French fries nor the meat carry much flavor. To its credit, it’s one of the most meaty of the bunch. The California burrito at Don Carlos Taco Shop looks like it should be amazing, but looks aren’t everything. Ranking: 2 out of 4 tortillas California burrito at Don Carlos Taco Shop Chuck Cook Photography The sauces help (the green is particularly flavorful and allows serrano peppers to dominate rather than other ingredients) but no burrito should depend on hot sauce for flavor. The meat is rather bland and not particularly tender. It’s a competent example but not an outstanding one. There are lots of thin French fries - too many, perhaps - with a good amount of crunch at first, although these will inevitably soften thanks to a generous but not sloppy amount of sour cream. As far as the California burrito goes, this one could be considered a baseline against which to measure others. These days, there are six locations and there are no complaints about the sunset views on the patio at the one in Bonita. Casual Mexican fare runs in the family as Delores’ grandfather, Roberto Robledo, founded Roberto’s Taco Shop. The first location in Chula Vista was founded in 1984 by Joaquin and Delores (Lolita) Farfan. Ranking: 2 out of 4 tortillas California burrito at Lolita’s Mexican Food in Bonita Phaedra Cookįor many, Lolita’s is considered the gold standard of California burritos. So, do visit - but maybe not for the California burrito. Humberto’s also deserves credit for being open 24-hours. These are topped with plenty of enchilada sauce and a nice heap of lettuce and chopped tomatoes. The reason for that may be because Humberto’s does a much better job on other Cali-Mex standards, like the beef and cheese enchiladas, for example. Still, Humberto’s has plenty of fans, as evidenced by the crowd in line and the 20-minute wait on a Sunday night. In addition, parking is a chore both in the tiny lot and on the nearby streets. Some can get by without sour cream or guacamole if there’s enough pico de gallo, but that wasn’t the case at this Golden Hill spot. As mentioned earlier, no one likes a dry burrito and that was the sin of this one. This was the first California burrito tried for this list - and the most disappointing. Ranking: 1 out of 4 tortillas California burrito at Humberto’s Phaedra Cook We went on a crawl through six eateries across San Diego known for their California burritos see which burrito scored top marks. And while a California burrito can be ordered “wet,” or enchilada-style, all in this survey were ordered as-is with no other customizations. Diners come for the burritos but might return based on the the quality of the salsa bar. Sauces are another distinguishing aspect. One thing’s for certain no one likes a dry burrito. Many restaurants don’t include guacamole in the standard California burrito, so unless diners ask for it, it ends up being sour cream that provides silky texture. On a few ingredients we can agree: a California burrito includes carne asada, made with beef skirt or flank, potatoes - usually in the form of French fries but as you’ll see below, even that isn’t a “rule” - cheese, sour cream and pico de gallo. Locals are nothing if not loyal to their favorite spots, and so passionate about what it should or should not contain that they’ll go to war for it - well, a war of words, anyway. There are dozens of restaurants that serve it, from sparse eateries with little more than a bare bones dining room and utilitarian kitchen to fancy “barstaurants” decorated in too many colors. Ho-hum may be fine for hamburger or pizza joints, but not for a taco shop in PB.The California burrito is one of San Diego’s most iconic dishes. Had I not checked the bag before driving off I wouldn’t have realized they didn’t give us any hot sauce.Įverything else was ho-hum. In addition to the long wait, they shorted me one burrito. While they got 4 out of 5 for freshness, they got a 1 for the shop. If I didn’t already pay for it, I would have rather they forgotten about my order. After waiting 15 minutes, I went up to the window to ask about our order and the woman looked at me like I was a total stranger who asked what the distance from Earth to Alpha Centauri. At 8am on a Tuesday, with no one else in line, it took 20 minutes to prepare our order of 6 California burritos. Walking up to the window doesn’t get much better. You can only order at the window, so be prepared to wait. In the two times I’ve eaten there, I’ve had two bad experiences. This taco shop has been here for as long as I can remember and if it wasn’t for one team member claiming it was her favorite, I would keep my distance from this place.
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