La Morena
South San Francisco, CA
After running a late afternoon errand at the post office, I decided to mosey on over to La Morena to pick up some dinner for me and my coworker. At work, people tend to be loyal to El Farolito, La Morena, or La Tapatia Mexicatessen. I noticed Mi Pueblo up the street from La Morena, which I will try sometime soon. =) Also, I haven't developed any loyalties yet, but I do like El Farolito's burritos and their selection of meats but I've been impressed with La Morena's flavors of meats. Also, I've had a good steaky (not sure if it's considered carne asada) burrito at the Hernandez Panaderia and Mercado (er, not real name - I'll find out what it is).
Coworker's order: 2 carne asada tacos ($2.00 each), 1 pescado ceviche tostada ($2.30), and 1 regular al pastor burrito w/o beans ($3.50): Total = $9.80
My order: 1 buche taco (they were out so I subbed an al pastor taco, $2.00), 1 camarone ceviche tostada ($2.30), and 1 regular carnitas burrito ($3.50): Total = $7.80
Total with tax = $19.01
The shrimp ceviche consisted of tiny bay shrimp "cooked" with lime juice and what looked like salsa fresca with lots of jalapenos. Disappointingly meh...I have yet to really find a good ceviche tostada in a taqueria yet. The one I had at El Farolito appeared to be shrimp cocktail-like with lots of citrus and avocado - great in a tortilla the next day as a wrap.
Now here is my al pastor taco. I had forgotten that La Morena puts beans in their tacos. I think I prefer my tacos with just meat, salsa, cilantro, and onions, but this version was heartier. La Morena's al pastor is greasier than El Farolito's, but I think has the edge in marinated flavor.
Al pastor: 8.5/10 - One of my new favorite meats, La Morena's version is juicy and flavorful but a tad greasy. Only Taqueria San Jose has the edge right now.
Tortillas: 7/10 - Nothing special, nothing horrible. A wee bit thicker than El Farolito's.
Other toppings: 8.5/10 - Good salsa fresca, low amounts of cilantro, beans were tasty and not too soggy
Overall: 8/10 - Solid taco. Yum!
Next up: Regular carnitas burrito
At this point, I'm pretty full, but I was determined to sample some of the fresh burrito. I whacked off 1/4 of the burrito to savor...plus, I was heading to the gym later to work off this meal. Heh heh.
Mmm, mmm, mmm...the carnitas were moist, yet kinda crispy. Burnt in a good way, I suppose. Not too ricey nor was it too beany or spicy. Damn, I ordered the HOT sauce too! Very well balanced burrito...
Tortilla: 8.75/10 - Grilled and not quite as greasy as El Farolito's but had that nice grilled tortilla smell.
Carnitas: 8.5/10 - Nice burnt/crispy pieces mingled with the moister pieces. Good amount of flavor from the char.
Beans: 9/10 - Excellent flavorful beans, I just wish they were a teense firmer.
Salsa: 9/10 - Perfect amount for non-sogginess of burrito. Not spicy though. =( (BTW, La Morena's hot salsa is their green one. Very nice kick...was my favorite salsa verde until it was unseated by the avocado-bodied salsa verde from Taqueria San Jose in Oakland).
Rice: 9/10 - Not too much of it - makes for a nice accompaniment. Good moistness without sogginess.
Overall: 8.75/10 - Had to ding them 1/10th of a point for the overall structure of the burrito. Not a defined tuck and not a defined cylinder. Taq. San Jose and El Farolito churns out perfect cylinders of tortilla wrapped goodness.
________________________________________________________________________
La Morena definitely makes tasty burritos and tacos. Plus, they have a pretty good selection of other items such as tortas, chile rellenos, and enchiladas. Problem is, I can't decide where my loyalties lie! One day, I'll have to have a taco taste-off in South San Francisco.
After running a late afternoon errand at the post office, I decided to mosey on over to La Morena to pick up some dinner for me and my coworker. At work, people tend to be loyal to El Farolito, La Morena, or La Tapatia Mexicatessen. I noticed Mi Pueblo up the street from La Morena, which I will try sometime soon. =) Also, I haven't developed any loyalties yet, but I do like El Farolito's burritos and their selection of meats but I've been impressed with La Morena's flavors of meats. Also, I've had a good steaky (not sure if it's considered carne asada) burrito at the Hernandez Panaderia and Mercado (er, not real name - I'll find out what it is).
Coworker's order: 2 carne asada tacos ($2.00 each), 1 pescado ceviche tostada ($2.30), and 1 regular al pastor burrito w/o beans ($3.50): Total = $9.80
My order: 1 buche taco (they were out so I subbed an al pastor taco, $2.00), 1 camarone ceviche tostada ($2.30), and 1 regular carnitas burrito ($3.50): Total = $7.80
Total with tax = $19.01
The shrimp ceviche consisted of tiny bay shrimp "cooked" with lime juice and what looked like salsa fresca with lots of jalapenos. Disappointingly meh...I have yet to really find a good ceviche tostada in a taqueria yet. The one I had at El Farolito appeared to be shrimp cocktail-like with lots of citrus and avocado - great in a tortilla the next day as a wrap.
Now here is my al pastor taco. I had forgotten that La Morena puts beans in their tacos. I think I prefer my tacos with just meat, salsa, cilantro, and onions, but this version was heartier. La Morena's al pastor is greasier than El Farolito's, but I think has the edge in marinated flavor.
Al pastor: 8.5/10 - One of my new favorite meats, La Morena's version is juicy and flavorful but a tad greasy. Only Taqueria San Jose has the edge right now.
Tortillas: 7/10 - Nothing special, nothing horrible. A wee bit thicker than El Farolito's.
Other toppings: 8.5/10 - Good salsa fresca, low amounts of cilantro, beans were tasty and not too soggy
Overall: 8/10 - Solid taco. Yum!
Next up: Regular carnitas burrito
At this point, I'm pretty full, but I was determined to sample some of the fresh burrito. I whacked off 1/4 of the burrito to savor...plus, I was heading to the gym later to work off this meal. Heh heh.
Mmm, mmm, mmm...the carnitas were moist, yet kinda crispy. Burnt in a good way, I suppose. Not too ricey nor was it too beany or spicy. Damn, I ordered the HOT sauce too! Very well balanced burrito...
Tortilla: 8.75/10 - Grilled and not quite as greasy as El Farolito's but had that nice grilled tortilla smell.
Carnitas: 8.5/10 - Nice burnt/crispy pieces mingled with the moister pieces. Good amount of flavor from the char.
Beans: 9/10 - Excellent flavorful beans, I just wish they were a teense firmer.
Salsa: 9/10 - Perfect amount for non-sogginess of burrito. Not spicy though. =( (BTW, La Morena's hot salsa is their green one. Very nice kick...was my favorite salsa verde until it was unseated by the avocado-bodied salsa verde from Taqueria San Jose in Oakland).
Rice: 9/10 - Not too much of it - makes for a nice accompaniment. Good moistness without sogginess.
Overall: 8.75/10 - Had to ding them 1/10th of a point for the overall structure of the burrito. Not a defined tuck and not a defined cylinder. Taq. San Jose and El Farolito churns out perfect cylinders of tortilla wrapped goodness.
________________________________________________________________________
La Morena definitely makes tasty burritos and tacos. Plus, they have a pretty good selection of other items such as tortas, chile rellenos, and enchiladas. Problem is, I can't decide where my loyalties lie! One day, I'll have to have a taco taste-off in South San Francisco.
posted by Manda at
3/20/2006 09:37:00 PM
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