Taqueria La Bamba

Details:

• Rating: 6.99
• Order: Burrito - $10.20
• Meat: Carne Asada - 8
• Beans: Refried - 4
• Rice: 7
• Guacamole: 8
• Crema: 7
• Salsa: 9
• Tortilla: 8
• Cheese: 6
• Size: 5
• Taste: 7.5

Description:

The defining factor of a Taqueria La Bamba burrito is definitely the quality ingredients. I would say that every single filling was good to great (except the refried beans), which is pretty rare for a burrito. The meat was relatively un-marinated and seasoned, but that allowed the beefiness to shine through and it wasn't overcooked. The rice was unassuming but cooked perfectly. The guacamole and crema overflowed the middle part of the burrito and both were tasty. The pico de gallo added a nice cilantro and raw onion flavor throughout. Tortilla, cheese and salsa on the side were also good. However, even though all of the ingredients were very good on their own, the burrito missed a bit of the wow factor. I think a part of that was the style of the carne. Often a burrito will have very greasy, salty meat which can impart a lot of flavor the other ingredients that are naturally less flavorful (rice, crema, etc.). Because La Bamba's meat focused more on the natural flavor, the burrito as a whole lacked that huge burst of flavor all the way through. The other part that detracted from the burrito was the ingredient distribution. The top of my burrito was all meat and salsa. The middle was all guacamole and crema. The bottom was all rice and beans (which I thought they left out until the last three bites). So the beginning of the burrito did have a little bit of a wow, but because of the distribution the right flavors didn't quite come through in every bite. In the end it was still a great burrito because regardless of which fillings I was eating, they were all good. The rating right on the level of "solid" fits perfectly, I would recommend La Bamba to people in the area.

Other Notes:

Sit down taqueria with free small chips and one salsa. The wait time was long for non-takeout.

Taqueria San Bruno - repeat visit

Details:

• Rating: 8.69
• Order: Burrito - $10.82
• Meat: Carnitas - 10
• Beans: Refried- 9
• Rice: 6
• Guacamole: 5
• Crema: 10
• Salsa: 8
• Tortilla: 10
• Cheese: 10
• Size: 9.5
• Taste: 9.5

Description:

Alright, so how did a repeat visit to the holy #1 go? I went in with extremely high expectation, but it has been a while so I didn't remember exactly what the burrito was like. Well...it was actually better than I remembered. I was audibly saying "wow" almost every bite, because every bite still surprised me at how good it was.
The meat is unbeatable. This time I got Carnitas, but also got carne asada, al pastor and pollo tacos. All of them are just about the best I've had. The carne asada is for sure the best, the carnitas is at least tied for the best, the pastor is a little sweet (as it should be, but I like it more savory), and the pollo is awesome. There is honestly so little to nitpick at with this burrito. The tortilla is perfectly chewy but still grilled and flaky. The distribution is flawless - a layer of cheese, then rice, then beans around the outside. The middle is a big saucy mess of meat, crema, guacamole and salsa. The cheese is plentiful and part of every bite because of the distribution. The beans are so good. The rice (as I mentioned last time), is a bit plain, but well cooked and does it's job. I'm not even sure a flavorful rice would make the burrito better. The crema is top notch. There really isn't enough guac, which is so sad, but at least the burrito is still juicy enough. And to top it off, it is absolutely enormous.
So when it comes down to it, there is very very little that could even make this burrito better. They even have free chips and a great salsa bar. The wait can be a little long, it is pretty expensive now, there could be more guacamole, the rice is a little plain...and that's it. I'm not saying there isn't a better burrito out there, but I've eaten a lot of burritos and I can't even imagine what could make one better.
Other Notes:

Sit down taqueria with free chips. Salsa bar includes red, green salsa, jalapenos, carrots/onions, pico de gallo.

Also a note about the rating: since this was a repeat visit, the numbers in the ranking table include both visits. The most recent visit is weighted twice as much as previous visits.

See Review from 10/13/17

Tacos El Autlense

Details:

• Rating: 7.07
• Order: Burrito - $8.50
• Meat: Carne Asada - 9
• Beans: Pinto - 6
• Rice: 4
• Avocado: 6
• Crema: 4
• Salsa: 8
• Tortilla: 6
• Cheese: 6
• Size: 6
• Taste: 8

Description:

True to its rating, Tacos El Autlense ranks toward the bottom of "Top Notch." The meat was definitely near the top of the top notch. The carne asada was grilled perfectly and had a ton of flavor that melted throughout the whole burrito. (I also tried carnitas that were so so good, al pastor that was not so good, and cabeza that was quite good). On the flip side, the rice was very overcooked and mushy, but at least had decent flavor. The rest of the burrito was about average. Beans were good, avocado was about four slices right in the middle of the burrito (nice and fresh), crema was decent but not very much of it, salsa was good, tortilla was very grilled and pretty dry in places. It was slightly above average size. So basically it was a pretty good burrito, but the awesome carne asada raised it to a very good burrito. I'm happy to finally find a solid taco truck in the Berkeley/Albany area. I definitely recommend this over any other place I've been to in Berkeley.
Other Notes:

Comes with red salsa.

La Corneta Taqueria

Details:

• Rating: 6.69
• Order: Super Burrito - $11.18
• Meat: Carne Asada - 8
• Beans: Refried - 8.5
• Rice: 9
• Guacamole: 6
• Crema: 3
• Salsa: 5
• Tortilla: 4
• Cheese: 7
• Size: 5
• Taste: 7.5

Description:

La Corneta is hidden in plain sight right on Mission St., between 23rd and 24th. It is enormous, and somehow nobody has heard of it. Well, now you have and it did not disappoint...for the most part.

It looked a bit mushy upon cutting it in half (had to see if I could take a not so gross picture with bites out of it), but I had a significant "whoa" moment during my first bite. The carne asada had an extremely good smoky flavor and was all freshly cooked on the grill. The rice was very flavorful and some of the best around. Beans were also great. So basically the majority of the burrito had all of these great flavors. Unfortunately the guac was only ok, the crema was pretty runny and bad, the salsa was decent (and the hot is pretty hot), the tortilla was meh, and they add lettuce in their burrito (I just don't understand why anybody does this, but I got it because it's what they do). But the burrito was still very good overall because the majority of it was obviously meat, rice and beans.

That first bite I had was definitely worthy of a much higher spot on this list, but it was also really expensive (as most burritos in the Mission seem to be now) and pretty small, too. I also tried a lengua burrito which was not even close to as good. The carne asada added a big burst of flavor to the whole burrito, and although the lengua itself was good, it didn't enhance the burrito. Both burritos were also a bit mushy. So overall it had its downfalls, but the carne asada was awesome, the rice was great, and that first "whoa" goes a long ways toward remembering how good the good parts were.

Other Notes:

Comes with chips and pico de gallo. Two types of salsa in bottles for your table.

Taqueria El Farolito - Oakland

Details:

• Rating: 7.89
• Order: Super Burrito - $9.02
• Meat: Carne Asada - 9
• Beans: Pinto - 5
• Rice: 6
• Avocado: 7
• Crema: 6
• Salsa: 9
• Tortilla: 8
• Cheese: 9
• Size: 8
• Taste: 8.5

Description:

Another location of the Bay Area staple, the Fruitvale El Farolito is one of the best joints around. International Ave is quickly becoming the king of Burritos by the Bay, adding it’s fifth burrito to the top 10.

Now on to the burrito. This location has slightly smaller burritos than in the Mission, but makes up for that in almost every other way. That first bite was incredible, everything you could hope for in a burrito. It all starts with the meat. I went a little rogue with my al pastor order this time, but I tried a bite of carne asada and they were both bomb. So much flavor and juicy oiliness, and plenty of it. The usual complaint I hear about Farolito is that the burritos can be half filled with rice. I barely had any rice at all in mine (which means it was filled with all the good stuff). But there were a lot of beans. The rice it did have was pretty good, and the beans were just average. They were nicely cooked but lacked flavor, so were mainly just space filler. The crema was pretty good and the big, fresh avo slices were nice (even though I prefer guacamole). The tortilla was grilled and just what you hope for. The salsa and salsa bar added a great touch. There were only three types, but they ranged from good to great. The pickled jalapeños tasted really strongly like cloves, sooo...meh.

So all in all, this was good or great in every way, enough for lunch and dinner, awesome meat, and worthy of a satisfying “ohhhh yeah” first bite. Oh yeah, and better than the Mission locations.

Other Notes:

Salsa bar with 3 types of salsa and not very good pickled jalapeños and carrots.

Taqueria El Castillito - Duboce

Details:

• Rating: 6.53
• Order: Super Burrito - $11.73
• Meat: Carne Asada - 7
• Beans: Refried - 3.5
• Rice: 4
• Guacamole: 8
• Crema: 6
• Salsa: 8
• Tortilla: 5
• Cheese: 7
• Size: 9.5
• Taste: 7

Description:

This taqueria in Duboce holds it's own compared to it's cousin in the mission. Although similarly ranked, their burritos are not too similar. While the mission location was an all-around solid experience, this joint took me through a few big ups and downs. I'll start with the fact that this burrito was a bit more expensive, but was also one of the biggest around. The first few bites had me thinking I found one of the best spots in The Bay, but a slow decline had me forgetting what that first bite even tasted like. A good third of the burrito was super cold because of the crema and salsa (pico de gallo), and it was hard to distribute into each bite. So even from the start the whole burrito was just warm and by the end was not so hot. But! At least all of the ingredients in those first bites were really good. The asada had a nice fresh char from the griddle, some good meat juices, lots of guac and crema. As I got farther down much of the meat was pretty flavorless and un-charred, and the rice and bad refried beans stole the show...a show that nobody wants to see. The tortilla was grilled and as standard as they get. I'll give some extra props to the line cook who stuffed that burrito and somehow still folded all the ingredients inside. The salsa bar was ok. They had one, had options, but none were amazing. Still a plus over lots of places. So all in all this was one of the better SF burritos, fully equipped with high highs and medium lows. Not cheap, huge, and satisfying for any burrito craving. For comparison, this burrito was probably the third biggest I've ever had at a taqueria behind El Paisa@.com and El Farolito.

Other Notes:

Salsa bar with 5 types of salsa and picked jalapeños and carrots.

Guadalajara Taco Truck

Details:

• Rating: 7.86
• Order: Burrito - $10.00
• Meat: Carne Asada - 8.5
• Beans: Refried - 7
• Rice: 8
• Guacamole: 9
• Crema: 7
• Salsa: 7
• Tortilla: 8
• Cheese: None
• Size: 7
• Taste: 8.5

Description:

I've been in a burrito deficit as of late, and this burrito was a glorious return. I'll start off by saying that just about everything about this burrito was great. None of it was life changing, but all of it was great. The location has been updated with a new truck and a nice little patio area. The burritos are not super cheap, and the extra $0.75 for guac/crema/cheese makes me sad. But for that price you get a pretty decent sized burrito that is sure to satisfy any craving you might have. The meat in this burrito was top notch in flavor and char, but was a little bit overcooked (as asada often is). Rice was very good and flavorful, as were the beans but they were hidden in the bottom edge, so the distribution was not great. The rest of the burrito was mixed perfectly with tons of crema and guac. There was also a little bit of salsa, onions, and cilantro to add a nice touch. The tortilla was extremely grilled, but held it's shape and chewiness without being brittle or crunchy. It had a good charred flavor and look. The burrito was not wrapped perfectly, but nothing fell out or leaked so who cares! I'm extremely satisfied sitting here writing this with a belly full of burrito. I'm realizing this is a burrito hot spot, as 4 of the top 10 spots are held by trucks within a number of blocks of each other.

Other Notes:

Comes with two small salsas, bag of jalapeños and carrots.