Taco Review #2: Gordo Taqueria

Gordo Taqueria on 5450 Geary Blvd. (between 18th & 19th ave)

Gordo's is yet another place I've been to a lot but have never ordered tacos from. 

Their restaurant is a bit bigger and has a beautiful mural on one of its walls that you can admire while eating. The staff seem to know what they're doing and are very nice, especially if you speak Spanish.

An order consists of just one taco and comes up to be about $3.15.

All of your options for tacos are right in front of you and you just tell the cook whatever you want to put on your taco, a la Subway or that Godforsaken Chipotle. In order to keep things consistent, I just asked for carne asada and salsa. These tacos have beans included in them, which is something I tend to frown upon and didn't know until after the cook had already put them in my taco. 

Beans are for burritos, not tacos.

My taco was wrapped up in tinfoil, as if it was a to-go burrito, so after unwrapping it, it was hard to take nice pictures of it. The taco itself ended up being very messy. The heat from the ingredients added with the tinfoil made the tortillas too soft to hold up all of the ingredients.

Instead of the usual corn tortillas, the ones at Gordo's are more traditional and made from masa. A lot of people enjoy this more authentic type of tortilla, but for tacos I like to stick to corn.

The carne asada was very tender and easy to eat with a nicely seasoned flavor. The pinto beans were evenly cooked, not too hard or too mushy, but there was a lot of them so sometimes they overpowered the flavor of the meat. The green salsa seemed to be made from a tomatillo base and had a strong kick to it.

Even though there were a lot of components to the taco that either I am not the biggest fan of or made the taco more difficult to eat, it was still flavorful and fairly enjoyable.

If you're going to Gordo's I'd say save the tacos for a different location and go with a burrito instead.

Taco Review #1: Papalote

First Up: Papalote on 1777 Fulton St.

I've been to Papalote plenty of times since it's so close to my school, but have always just stuck to their yummy burritos so I was very excited to try their tacos.

The restaurant itself is pretty small with limited seating. It has a nice casual atmosphere to it with a friendly staff and quick service. An order comes with two tacos with lettuce and pico de gallo (which I decided to opt out of since I'm not a fan) on top. You can also get "super" tacos which include guacamole, sour cream, and cheese for an extra dollar. The total came to around $7.00, which is pretty decent for two well-sized tacos.

Soon after my friend and I sat down after ordering, chips and salsa were brought to us. The tortilla chips were fresh and lightly salted. They had that fried-in-oil taste to them, without actually being drenched in oil. The salsa seems to have very simple ingredients, but complex flavor. There is a strong taste of chiles and chipotle with just a hint of tomato. It has just the right amount of heat to it as well--spicy, but not overwhelmingly so.

My order arrived fairly quickly and the first thing I noticed was how much green was on my plate. It looked as if someone had decided to add a small salad to my tacos. I don't actually mind lettuce, but since my first bite consisted mostly of the green stuff, I took the majority of it off. The full-sized corn tortillas were nicely grilled, still soft and warm. Even though I did not have a lot of extra toppings, it was evident that the tortillas could still hold up with a lot of toppings.

The carne asada was very nicely chopped and easy to eat. You get a strong grilled/charred flavor and can tell that the meat was cooked to order and well seasoned. Papalote does not have a salsa bar and the only extras they had out were jalapeños, but the salsa that comes with the tortilla chips is really all you need if you want some extra flavor on your taco.

This is a very "plain" taco, but in a good way. The meat is really the star, as it should be. The tortillas act as a nice support and the salsa adds just a little extra. If you're a taco purist and don't like a lot of frill on your tacos, I'd definitely recommend Papalote!

Hello!

Just wanted to make this first post to let you guys know a little more about me and why in the world I'm making this blog. Being Latina and growing up in California, I have always been surrounded by great Mexican food. Especially tacos. When I was younger my mother would always joke and say that if I could, I'd live off of tacos alone. And I totally would if I could. When I moved to San Francisco to attend college I was really excited to hear about all of the great Mexican food (and just food in general) it had to offer!

So here is where I will talk about and review all of the taco places I visit in San Francisco. Since I've been eating tacos all of my life, I have a pretty old school idea of what tacos should consist of and this is how I will base all of my reviews.

Tortillas: Tortillas should be soft and warm preferably from a comal (a popular type of griddle used in Mexico). They should be able to hold all of the meat and any extra toppings you decide to add to your taco without having the majority fall out or the tortilla come apart.

Filling: There are many different things you can put inside a taco. From beef, to fish, to vegetables. Whatever it may be, this should be the star ingredient in a taco. The meat should be fresh and flavorful. It should be evident that it was seasoned/marinated and grilled. The meat should also be chopped fairly well for easier consumption. In order to judge each restaurant fairly, I will only be ordering carne asada tacos (and because they're my favorite).

Toppings: To me, a good taco doesn't need much else other than some salsa and a squeeze of lime, but there are a number of different things a person can add to a taco. The staples that I expect to be offered are: salsa, cilantro, lemons/limes, onions, and maybe even radishes and pickled jalapenos. Toppings should not take away from the main flavor of the taco, aka the filling, but add to the experience. Since many of these are fruits and vegetables, they should also be fresh and not appear to have been sitting out for days on end.

Other things I will take into consideration are prices, ambience, and customer service.

Now that the groundwork has been set, it's finally time to review some tacos!