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Burrito Factory in San Jose

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

Long time San Joser’s told us to include Burrito Factory in the San Jose Burrito challenge. They instructed me to try the chicken burrito.  I have to say, I didn’t try this one yet.  By the time we got to Burrito Factory last October (open until 10pm), it was closed.  So this weekend we finally got the chance to try it.  Everyone was griping thinking for some reason it would be a chain like Chipotle.  It is not a Mexican chain like Chipotle, even though it is in a strip mall.  However, they do have four locations in the San Jose area.

The food was good and we liked their salsa which had some good heat (you purchase the chips and salsa).  I got the crispy tacos with steak and el pastor and they each got a Chorizo breakfast burrito.  John said it is now the second best breakfast burrito in San Jose.  His first favorite breakfast burrito in San Jose is from Henry’s Fresh Mexican Grill in Santa Clara because they put tater tots in their breaky burrito!   The staff was really nice at the B.F. we tried on Camden.

We know the food is made with vegetable oil because a friend with allergies called and talked to them about it.

Zach: Good. Good service. Salsa was good.

Lesley: It was pretty good.  We need to go back and try more things on the menu to really see what we love there. But my tacos were tasty, particularly the shell.  I like more stuff on my tacos so I would probably get a burrito next time, a super burrito!

Bread of the Dead: Pan De Muertos

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Skull & Crossbones: Day of the Dead Bread

On November 1st and 2nd of every year, Mexican and Latin Americans pray for loved ones who have passed away.  On these days they make Pan de Muertos (Day of the Dead Bread).

Some use anise seeds and orange zest when they make their Bread of the Dead.  We decided the cinnamon version sounded much more appealing.  In the end, I did add an orange-sugar glaze to the top, which turned out very well.

Recipe after the jump. . . .

Click to continue »

Mexican Fare & Free Transient Dinner Theater at Cafe Campesino: Santa Cruz

Monday, October 26th, 2009

One of the yelp reviews says, “Ignore the hippies and enjoy the food!”  We did notice that the owners of the Cafe were very aware of the Saturday night rowdiness and were attentive to the interesting dinner theater performance occurring around us.  They said it was particularly rowdy that night, I don’t doubt it.

This is not your big burrito, beans made with lard, oil drenched nachos kind of Mexican spot.  Cafe Campesino is a bit different than your typical Taqueria.  It is located in a small kiosk on the sidewalk in downtown Santa Cruz in front of New Leaf Grocery Store on Pacific.  It serves such dishes as Mole, Cactus, Gorditas, and Frida Kahlo Spicy Tomato Soup.  We had the Mole Plate, the Tinga Plate (Chipotle Sauce on Chicken with Potatos and Beans), Frida Kahlo Soup (Tortilla Soup) and a Pollo Big Taco with Spicy Guacamole, tomatoes, and potatoes.  Even though this is a casual kiosk, all of the dishes are lovingly presented on ceramic plates.

Tues.-Thurs. 11:30am-7:30PM
Wed.-Sat. 11:30PM-9:00PM
Sun.- 12-7PM
Closed on Mondays

1130 Pacific Ave
Santa Cruz, CA 95060-4581
(831) 425-5979

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=6485828850245878238 Click to continue »

Out of Town: Morro Bay, Central Coast

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

We went camping at San Simeon on the Central Coast over the weekend and after five straight camp cooked meals we decided to give the cast iron a break.  I googled/yelped the best tacos in Morro Bay and found the Taco Temple.  The aspect of Yelp that I dislike the most are the EXTREMES in reviews.  You guessed it, the Taco Temple reviews perfectly exhibited this love & hate by many. The hate-reviews seemed to be mainly about a let-down from the hype and the fact that it wasn’t authentic Mexican cuisine but rather fusion which the haters may not be open to or may not have experienced this style of cuisine in the past.

I have to say we were psyched to have found this California meets Mexico fusion restaurant because it was a little different variety than our usual CA taco truck and taqueria burritos and tacos.  We put our name in and were seated pretty quickly knowing that the wait was a good sign. The tacos were huge and were served with fresh, crispy-clean multi-colored veggies piled atop perfectly seasoned and cooked steak, carnitas, or fish.   Their portions were larger and one taco was perfect for me for lunch and I was glad that I didn’t order two.  A friend ordered the blackened Mahi Mahi burrito and said it was very good and even saved the other half for dinner.  Three different kinds of salsas are served on the side: fire sauce, chopped jalapeno salsa and a medium salsa. Click to continue »

Taqueria de Amigos: Off Hwy 1 in Pescadero

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

Once in a while when a couple of us here at BIOTF get some free time on a nice day during the week we like to head out to one of California’s many beautiful beaches.  Last week John and I headed up Hwy 1 to San Gregario beach just north of Pescadero.  A while back we had stopped at Duarte’s Tavern to check out the artichoke soup, which was decent but pricey, so on the way out we stopped at the gas station across the street to fill ‘er up with some tacos.  Pretty much what you would expect a gas station/taqueria to be.  If I recall correctly the tacos ran about $2 a piece and came with a decent amount of meat for small tacos.  The people behind the counter were friendly and the service was good.  The meat is always pretty tasty, but the salsa in the salsa bar is seriously lacking.  The Pico de Gallo seemed a little old as the vegetables in it were almost completely white from the juices having run out of them.  The chipotle salsa was just ok; nothing special.  All of the bottles of hot sauce also happened to be empty, which was kind of disappointing but not a deal breaker for me.

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Primavera Tamales of Sonoma

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

A friend turned me onto these quick eats for lunch, Primevera Tamales from Whole Foods, after I had told her about the Trader Joe’s frozen macaroni and cheese.  They are really tasty with hot sauce as they are pretty mild but with a great flavor.  I would strongly recommend them as I usually don’t love tamales because of their bland taste, but do love these.  I like the Roasted Green Chile & Jack Cheese Tamales and you can buy them at Whole Foods, Andronico’s, the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market in SF and other groceries in NorCal.  They are in a refrigerated case at the end of an aisle, usually near the salsas (try Casa Sanchez Mild Tomate Verde Salsa too, it is tasty: www.casasanchezfood.com/parent.htm).

www.primaveratamales.com
www.casasanchezfood.com