| Taqueria joint serving one of the tastiest burritos in the bay area |
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 998
Reviewed: 2/3/2004
Rating: 9.5
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Taqueria La Bamba is considered the Holy Grail of burritos! It is my favorite Carnitas or Pollo Asado burrito in my ENTIRE BURRITO experience. That is saying a lot considered I've lived in Ventura County 16 years, San Diego for 4 years, and Bay Area for almost 5 years. Never have I had a carnitas experience like Taqueria La Bamba.
Burrito Breakdown
Tortillas - awesome, almost from a pancake material. Definitely cant buy this in your local markets or mercados.
Beans - Well...I'll let the pinto beans slide, I love refried beans...this is the only improvement La Bamba could work on.
Rice - awesome, no changes needed. They serve it moist.
Meat - I'm obsessed with their carnitas; its cruchy on the outside and tender on the inside. Everybody else f*cks it UP!!! All the other taquerias serve you this chunk of pork surround by big globs of fat. My second favorite meat is a tossup between Pollo Asado or Al Pastor.
Service - Its a treat to watch the infamous burrito roller do his job. Hes my hero, he can make 3-4 burritos at a time, swinging his serving spoon unloading quac, sour, salsa, and other beautiful toppings. Its a mess...its great!!
Taqueria La Bamba serves BIG burritos. I usually have trouble finishing them. Although Taqueria La Bamba is the best burrito in the bay area, I still have to give them a 9.5 due to the beans. If they add refried to their menu, its a SOLID 10!!! Dont miss out on Taqueria La Bamba, one of jatbar favorite bay area restaurant!
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RETURN VISIT for Jason! 11/30/2004 - 10 Rating: holy crap....they added refried beans to their menu. It is now my undisputed carnitas burrito for the bay area if not the entire world.
ALL HAIL TAQUERIA LA BAMBA |
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RETURN VISIT for Jason! 8/1/2006 - 9 Rating: Although I may only show 2 reviews for Taqueria La Bamba, I've probably been 8 times in the last year with half of them in the 9.5 rated scale. My last 3 visits though have been somewhat disappointing. What happened to the meat filled burritos?
If you look at pictures #7 and #8, those pictures were taken in 2003 and 2004 and overflowing with meat. You look at pictures #11 and #12 taken today (8-2006), where the hell is the meat? The carnitas was still awesome but the rice overwhelmed the burrito. Tortilla was grilled way too long and it was flaking like a quesadilla. Portion size was huge and prices are still respectable at $6 for a super burrito.
Service kicks serious ass. I placed my order in line, got to the register, paid, and by the time I sat down, my burrito was already made! I ask for salsa and received a thimble sized container. I should have asked for 2.
The flavor of the burrito is still holds strong but definitely not in the 9.5-10 range that I'm used to. One of my all-time taquerias falling from grace? I wanted to cry. I consider Taqueria La Bamba a 9 rated burrito but with stiff competition, I ponder if it's in my top 3 anymore. |
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Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 730
Reviewed: 7/23/2004
Rating: 10
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WOW.
La Bamba is my pick for the best burrito on planet earth. Its not prepared the authentic mexican way I think. They tend to grill their meat a special way or something that makes it taste sooo good. When I used to eat meat I would order the Super Grilled Chicken burrito and it was just phenomenal. The mixture of the sour cream and and guac with the grilled chicken and soft rice and pinto beans was incredible. Who cares if they dont have refried beans, they got their beans right here. The cheese is top notch. Price is maybe a little steep for a burrito, but youre getting what you pay for here.
Now that I dont eat meat, I go with the Vegetarian burrito which like other places is the super burrito without the meat. Of course the grilled meat isnt there, but the rest of the burrito is every bit as good and even if I was still eating meat, I would go for it once in awhile as its got its own special flavor that is every bit as good but different.
Thank you La Bamba for making the #1 burrito in the world.
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RETURN VISIT for Terry! 10/26/2004 - 10 Rating: I haven't been to La Bamba in many months. In the mean time I have reviewed literally dozens of Mexican restaurants. How does La Bamba stack up? Its still the best burrito on planet earth.
The shell is soft and moist and extremely flavorful. The veggie burrito mixture of guac, sour cream, rice, beans, salsa is heavenly. La Pinata comes close, but La Bamba fends off the competition successfully. Way to go La Bamba! |
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RETURN VISIT for Terry! 8/1/2006 - 9.5 Rating: Went here with Jason yesterday, because my visit last week was a bit below-par. Did I just imagine a downgrade in quality of their veggie burrito? The burrito was still really good, but it wasn't all-time-hall-of-famer good. There are a few other shops biting at their heels now. The ingredients are still top-notch and delicious, but they are not mixed in the same way in the burrito. I think this is all preparation for me now. Don't get me wrong, still a great burrito, but somethings changed in the last few months with the preparation. I'll still return, as I hold out hope that they will get their stuff together. Lets hope so. |
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Reviewer: Brandon
Total Reviews: 16
Reviewed: 7/30/2004
Rating: 9.5
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O La Bamba, what words could describe thy goodness? Werent thou delivered here from some gracious, untouchable deity? Doth the flavor of thy burritos pale like the colors of summer into autumn, or doth it remain eternally steadfast like my love for thee? Methinks it must be as lasting as the stars in yonder heavens.
This is a good burrito, my friends. Flavor, freshness, size, cheapness, theyve got it all here, made by the legendary and mighty La Bamba Burrito Roller. The veggie tacos are very good, too. Youll need at least two and probably three to fill you up. The nachos are average. But why would you order nachos at La Bamba? Get a veggie burrito (which is by default super, with guac and sour cream and perhaps cocaine or something) and marvel at the satisfaction delivered from its purity and simplicity. They have hot sauce that they dont give you unless you ask for it. Its a pretty good addition to a burrito.
Yea, La Bamba, methinks this review might perchance be fancy enough to describe thy wonder and keep JaT from deleting it from the bleedin page. |
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Reviewer: Julie
Total Reviews: 46
Reviewed: 8/2/2004
Rating: 9.5
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I finally had my first La Bamba burrito. Jason is free to say he told me so, but it was the best burrito I’ve ever had. I ordered the grilled chicken. Also, I didn’t know that you don’t tell them the toppings you want on it as you go down the line, so I just ordered a regular (rice, beans and meat). If you want guac, sour cream and cheese, then you have to order the supreme. Let me break it down:
Tortilla – great! really moist I watched them and they heat it up by putting it on top of the meat on the grill so it soaks up some of the flavors.
Rice – I don’t know what they put in this rice, because it’s not quite the same as rice you get as a side in a Mexican restaurant, but there is definitely a good flavor to it.
Beans – good and not too many I don’t like burritos that have more beans than meat in it and this one followed that rule, and they didn’t have so much sauce on them that they made the whole thing soggy.
Meat – very good almost crunchy on the outside because it was grilled and not at all greasy.
The thing that surprised me most about this place is that they don’t use any cheap tricks – the food is just good. No extra flavorings or sauces or pounds of cheese on things to cover up the real taste. Unfortunately, the burrito roller guy wasn’t there, so I will definitely have to go back and see him in action another time. As for atmosphere, the restaurant was much nicer on the inside than I would have expected. There is limited seating and I realized why as we were leaving the line for this local favorite was out the door.
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Reviewer: Eddie
Total Reviews: 47
Reviewed: 8/4/2004
Rating: 9
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First time I had the La Bamba was more than 4.5 years ago. Just moved down here from Seattle and didnt have too much experience with Mexican food. I can still remember the first super grilled chicken.......hmm... Heaven!! It was the bomb. The size, the perfect grilled chicken, the fresh salsa, and the wrap everything about this burrito is just right. Ok, maybe the size is a bit too much for oridinary people but since the regular grilled chicken doesnt have the sour cream and guac, I would recommend to order the super even if you have to share with someone else.
Even after living here for a while and try other different burrito places, I would still give La Bamba my highest rating on burritos. You cant go wrong with the grilled chicken.
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Reviewer: Michael
Total Reviews: 40
Reviewed: 8/2/2004
Rating: 9.5
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La Bamba has been a favorite of mine for the past 3 years. I’ve eaten there a least 20 times and have ordered just about every burrito they have on the menu. I have to say my favorite is the Super Grilled Chicken. Everything about this burrito is perfect( size, value, taste). Let’s take size first, at least 2” in diameter and 8” to 9” long! , and for value at$5.50 you’re getting a real bargain. Now for taste, I can’t real explain the taste that I experience when devouring this burrito but it is highly addicting. The chicken is the freshest that you will find and the rice is the best that I have had anywhere.
You truly have not had a great burrito unless you go to Taqueria La Bamba. If there was a burrito Hall of Fame this place would make the top 5 easily. Make this place you next lunch treat. Get there early cuz the line goes out the door by 12:30. 9.5 !
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Reviewer: Jennie
Total Reviews: 6
Reviewed: 4/14/2005
Rating: 9.5
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Taqueria La Bamba has by far the best carnitas burrito that I have ever eaten! Their blissful marriage in the #1 Super of perfectly texturized, authentic carnitas (unsure about the validity of 'authentic', but if I were to put money on it, I would think that that's what carnitas should taste like!) with guacamole, sour cream, rice, and refr | | |
