FAFU Friday - Del Taco

 Over the years Del Taco has found a place in my heart by pushing Taco Bell into obscurity. Heavier reliance on seasoned meat rather than gimmicky sauces, ground beef that actually resembles ground beef, and an overall less expensive menu with seemingly higher quality ingredients have more than swayed my opinion on the superior fast food Mexican spot of choice. I find myself almost excited to review some of the new Epic burritos.

For this review we will be taking a look at the Steak & Potato and Chicken Chipotle Ranch burritos.

Chicken Chipotle Ranch

First, the bad. The CCR burrito hosts two sauces, pico de gallo, AND guacamole to accompany fresca lime rice, bacon, lettuce, cheddar cheese, and grilled chicken. Seems like a bit much, but when I tasted the chicken, I needed every bit of sauce to take the edge off the over-powering black pepper. The chicken tasted as if it had been encrusted with black pepper for days. The rice is flavorless and mushy without a hint of lime. This burrito needs to be simplified down to the BLTA it is trying to be.

Steak & Potato

The Steak & Potato, on the other hand, is a straight forward California burrito crinkle-cut fries and all. Sour cream, cheese, and a chipotle sauce add an appreciated creamy respite from the meat and potatoes combo. I've had great California burritos, and this option here is a solid substitution for those outside the realm of acquisition.

A notable difference between the two is the use of sauces. The S&P employs the chipotle sauce traditionally: accentuating and elevating the contents. Where as the CCR's sauces seem to mask and, at times, dominate the burrito which creates a wash of pseudo-spicy blandness.

Both are only $5, but for my money I'll go with the Steak & Potato every time. It does an adequate job recreating the flavors found at yellow sign Mexican spots in Southern California, and for a widespread fast food joint to even get close to such perfection is a thing of beauty.

King Taco, Los Angeles

Let's get one thing clear before I divulge my experiences with King Taco. They make a good taco for a good price, and I could eat 10 of them. They pile on the asada, there's good spicy red salsa, and the onions and cilantro deliver as one would expect from a quality Taqueria.

Now, if I really wanted 10 tacos, would I be willing to put up with the overall experience of ordering at King Taco? Hmm...

I guess that's a long line...

When I arrived there was a bit of a line. Maybe 15 people were ahead of me, not Pink's level, but enough to assume the place is doing something right. The tables all seemed to be filled with patrons not eating but waiting to receive their orders while only two of the three registers available were taking orders.

All told D and I were in line for close to 30 minutes until we were allowed to order some tacos, a nacho, and an al pastor burrito because their huge pork spit was seducing me with its slow turns. Another 15 minutes before our food is called out, and I am able to survey this chronophagic assemblage.

The first thing I notice is how small this burrito I just paid $6 for is, and I'm cautiously optimistic in hoping they aren't skimping on ingredients so -- blah blah balh big things in small packages blah blah -- nope, none of that.

I thought it may have been overly-cooked onions mixed with the raw or possibly heavy use of cilantro, but something was definitely off in the al pastor flavor department. Nothing blends in the burrito, so every bite is an unpleasant hodgepodge of mediocre ingredients.

The nachos took me back to high school lunch lines with the chips being poured out of a 5 pound bag into a bin with Chernobyl yellow cheese sauce pumped out on top. Hardly the stuff of kings, but one may be fooled by the $5 chips and cheese price tag.

I'm almost certain my high school wasn't staffed with above-average, volunteer, teenage food service workers, so I can't imagine why it took them so long to assemble this meal. Perhaps what is even more vexing is why anyone would wait around for this quality of food when Los Angeles hosts more Mexican food restaurants and taco trucks than any other place in the US.

Over-priced food, under-whelming flavors, and thoroughly disappointing wait times leaves me shaking rather than bowing my head to King Taco.

Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill

FAFU FRIDAY!!!

Every Friday I review a chain restaurant to incorporate more of the readership into all of the burrito fun. 

Rubio's hails from San Diego, but has setup all along the western United States hocking "fresh mex" ranging from fish tacos to gourmet burritos. 

"Fresh mex" or "new wave Mexican" is an insipid movement particularly common in the US combining traditional Mexican with ingredients reserved usually for haute cuisine. Cilantro infusions, avocado soups, and tomato reductions are applied to accentuate different flavors hidden in simple dishes. 

Of course, Rubio's is still a casual dining experience more akin to fast food than the French Laundry, but the core principles still define what separates this restaurant from your average walk-up. 

I opted for the Burrito Especial with steak and swapped the citrus-rice for more traditional orange party rice. Romaine lettuce, whole black beans, salsa fresca, guacamole, chipotle sauce, and red tomato salsa are also crammed into this burrito making me think one thing: you're trying too hard. 

Don't get me wrong, burrito, you taste fine, but your insecurities are showing with how much you tug my taste buds every which way. There is so much going on it all kind of blends together into one androgynous tongue-numbing thump. No heat. No spice. Just a cacophony of flavors banging loudly all at once. 

Luckily, their salsa bar is mighty, stocked with pickled carrots and jalapenos, four different salsas, golden state peppers, and lemons which allowed me to heat up and contextualize separate sections of my flavor experience. 

Not to sound like a Luddite, but I tend to get lost in less-traditional, high-cuisine burritos that seek to improve upon solid classics. I know my burrito was assembled by a teenager, but they are still approaching the equation wrong by adding chipotle sauces and citrus rices to round out my burrito rather than trusting the steak and salsa to do their jobs. 

Other places have succeeded in bringing something truly unique which elevates burrito culture like the Kogi trucks or expands the definition like Oki-Dogs, but sometimes it can all be too much and nothing is gained, 

...and quick side note: What the hell was up with the side of black pepper bean soup? I had beans in my burrito, and yet you felt the need to give me an entire cup as a side. Thanks?