El Faro (Folsom & 20th)

El Faro - 2399 Folsom St (@ 20th)
Visited: 8/11/10

Ordered: No Meat Burrito
Cost:$ 6 and change (5.50 + tax)

Overall Description: Possibly the wettest burrito I've ever had.

Composition: (out of 5) 1 - Loosely rolled and DRIPPING with liquid! The beans had liquid, both kinds of salsa had liquid, and the lettuce was wet. The ingredients were also lined up on top of each other, which ensured that there was no mix of flavors.

Ingredients: (out of 5) 3 - Actually, everything tasted pretty good on it's own. The pico was definitely fresh and flavorful. There wasn't enough cheese however, and the "guac" was very liquidy (see a trend). But nothing tasted "bad".

Size: (out of 3) 3 - One of the bigger burritos I've had, although it really suffered from being loosely rolled. I ate half of it at the taqueria and was fine - although I also didn't eat any more b/c of how wet and unsatisfying it was.

Taste: (out of 10) 4 - I think I'm being nice by giving it a 4. Like I said, everything tasted fine, but the ingredients didn't mix together. Also, I just tried some of my leftover half, and while I don't expect burritos to be great cold, it was pretty gross.

Value: (out of 5) 1 - I can't see why I would ever come back here - at 6 bucks it's almost expensive, and while not far off of Mission, they also close at 7 pm. I do wonder if perhaps their baby burritos or beans and cheese minis are tastier since they are smaller and the ingredients tasted good.

Total Score: (out of 28) 12 - Too bad. I've biked past this place to work almost every day and was always curious about it. The staff was pretty friendly too, but both my friend and I weren't expecting much after we saw it being made.

Additional Comments: Chips were okay, the spicy salsa grew on me. The interior is done in tiles, which sort of works, but also has some cheesy real pictures up. It's kind of halfway between no decoration and some of the more atmospheric places I've seen. The bathroom was a little hard and I never found a light for it - a little creepy. But this place means well.