| Standard fare mexican place with fresh ingredients and the infamous orange sauce. |
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1040
Reviewed: 7/26/2004
Rating: 7.5
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La Victoria Taqueria is situated in downtown San Jose rolling burritos out of an old Victorian House. Dont let San Jose parking scare you, it wasnt too bad peak lunchtime. They have metered parking across the street and around the block. The prices at La Victoria will make your wallet happy, a regular burrito for $3.50!! Hmm...if my memory serves me right, this might be the cheapest burrito we've reviewed?
Things are looking positive right now...to give these guys the test, I had to order my champion testing meat....carnitas!! Carnitas regular burrito on the way. The burrito was smaller than the normal burritos Im used to but this one managed to fill me up.
Meat - very lean, not crunchy, fat was cut out of the meat. I know this is an oxymoron, but for carnitas this tasted healthy?
Rice - ok
Beans - whole pinto..ahh..ok, you know my obsession with refried beans.
The burrito said it came with salsa but dont know where they put it? The only thing that saved this burrito from a average rating was the secret orange sauce. Its a mixture of sour cream and mexican hot sauce...quite good but very mild on the tonque. I used it in every bite.
La Victoria Taqueria is quite the bargain. A moderate size burrito and drink will run you about $5. Service is quick and friendly. The burritos taste and look healthier than your normal taqueria shacks. Although good, La Victoria cant compete with the powerhouse taqueria shops like La Bamba, Taqueria Los Charros, or Pancho Villa Taqueria.
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RETURN VISIT for Jason! 11/8/2005 - 8.5 Rating: Todays visit was much better than the last one. All this talk about the orange sauce on jatboard was just begging for a visit. We hit the downtown location on Santa Clara street and were greeted with the lunch rush. It took about 10 minutes to place an order and another 5 minutes to receive.
I went with the carne asada and very surprised that the meat was kinda crunchy and cut into small pieces. I couldnt tell if it was cooked over an open flame but it was damm good. Beans were so so and rice was a tad better than the beans. Salsa was slightly mild and tortilla moist. About right now, Id say the score is hovering around a 8, you add the orange sauce and it bumps another half point. With every bite I had to smother the addicting orange sauce that La Victoria is famous for.
Probably my fault I had a stomach ache 2 hours later, too much orange sauce. Thats ok though it was worth it. |
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Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 739
Reviewed: 7/26/2004
Rating: 8.5
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We went to Taqueria La Victoria based on a submitted wishlist request. Situated in downtown San Jose not far from the Tech Museum and San Jose State University, it has a great location. It is very well taken care of, located in a victorian house that has been well preserved. Its in electric mix of mexicana and victoriana. The place is clean and homey. The prices are very attractive with most burritos only setting you back about $3.50. The burritos are on the small side compared to ones like La Bamba. The ingredients are fresh and the selection good.
I ordered a regular veggie burrito (hmm, maybe I should have gone with a super veggie?). Anyway it arrived and I took a few bites. It was OK. Nothing really blew me away. Then I added the Orange Sauce (which we requested from the counter, and was provided free). The Orange Sauce is what this burrito is about. Without the Orange Sauce I would be deducted a full point. Let me mention this again in no uncertain terms: Be sure to ask for the Orange Sauce.
No, the orange sauce is not made with oranges. The orange refers to the coloring of the sauce. Its a nice mixture of sour cream and hot sauce. In fact the employees here will probably refer to it as hot sauce. In any case, its REAL good. It vastly improved the taste of the burrito and made the whole trip worthwhile.
Parking was a little difficult (that parking lot next door is for Jack in the Box only! :( ) so I had to feed a nearby meter. Yet I would still go again for the nice ambiance and the ORANGE SAUCE.
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RETURN VISIT for Terry! 11/9/2005 - 8.5 Rating: Return visit, but this time to the downtown San Jose location. The place is definitely busier and the long lines move fast thankfully. There is a lady trolling around the place cleaning up and making sure no one takes off with the bottles of orange sauce.
The whole reason I wanted to return was because of the recent discussions on the jatboard about their orange sauce. I've been to a lot of mexican restaurants in the bay area since my first visit to La Vic. I have experienced a lot of burritos- its safe to say.
I went with the Super Veggie Burrito. My first bite was completely satisfying. I was thinking 'man this is a 9' - I got lots of guac and sour cream mixture. After the third bite however it was hurting. The sour cream and guac ran out and it was the tasteless over-abundance of beans. If that was the end of the story, I would rate this burrito a 7.5. It was decent, but nothing was mind blowing about it.
Then I dug into the orange sauce. This is what saved the burrito for me. The orange sauce is a little chilled and a tad spicy but also a bit rich. You can fill up easily if you abuse the orange sauce. The sauce needs to go with every bite of this rather unenthusiastic burrito. It keeps the burrito interesting.
I notice they sell the sauce by itself for $6 (for 12 oz). Maybe your best bet is to get some orange sauce and take it to your favorite burrito place or even use it at home in your own cooking. |
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Reviewer: Grace
Total Reviews: 42
Reviewed: 11/3/2005
Rating: 8
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Oh yes. My archenemy La Victoria, or La Vic's as it's commonly referred to by SJSU students. I honestly believe about 10-15 pounds of the 30 pounds I put on since college came from this place. At one point I was eating a burrito a day for a month.
Anyways, if we rated La Vic's by their burritos, I would give it a 6.5-7, as the burritos aren't special. The orange sauce is what seals the deal. I've been trying futilely to copy the recipe as I am a somewhat starving student and I refuse to pay $6 for a bottle of sauce, and I refuse to steal a bottle like many of the students who stop by. The sauce tastes mayonnaise based not sour cream as the dairy would neutralize the spice, some kind of popular hot sauce, and chili flakes. I've seen them walk around with a huge tub of them, so it's possible it's just some kind of dried crushed chili pepper mixed with mayo. If you buy a bottle of sauce, or receive a bottle as a present as I often do, it goes really good with almost anything in the house. Rice, mac and cheese, pringles, pretzels, your finger, etc.
I wish they would use refried beans in the burritos, I ask but they have the same beans, so I think their mushy beans are the equivalent of refried. Also I'm not fond of how they seasoned their rice. The carne asada is so-so, sometimes it's tender, and sometimes it's very tough.
I really enjoy the super nachos (with carne asada). They give you a big portion, you can put lots of orange sauce on it, and no beans (yay!). I tried the super quesadilla, but I rather spend the same amount of money on a super burrito, it's bigger and less messy. The plates are okay, nothing special there. They also have flan sometimes, but it's not on the menu.
The downsides are how crowded it can get during peak hours, no tables to sit at, a long wait in line, long wait for food, the homeless people that hit you up outside, and how greasy the food is. Honestly grease is good with food, but there's a certain extent that one can handle. I was gaining weight and I couldn't figure out what was causing it as I would eat half a burrito for lunch, and finish the other half for dinner, and I wouldn't eat much else for the rest of the day. I was walking around campus with half a burrito in my bag and for some reason I was on campus for a really long time. When I got home, I pulled the paper bag with the remaining half of my burrito out of my bag, and I noticed that the grease from the burrito had soaked completely through the paper bag. It was now a wax bag. Also my text books, notebooks, and day planner were all covered with grease. I was amazed at how much grease came out of that half of a burrito, as my books were soaked and everything. I have made a vow not to eat there more than once every 2 months in respect for my health, and hopefully I can shed some of those pounds too.
To sum it up, the orange sauce is heavenly, and addicting. Yum! |
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Reviewer: ne00
Total Reviews: 187
Reviewed: 5/11/2006
Rating: 7
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I have been to La Victoria a few times in the past when my friend used to live near E. San Carlos Street. First time I tried this place I did not like it too much as my friend suggested I go for the regular burrito. The sauce was interesting and seemed to be a hit among those that ate there. I can imagine you could pour it on everything as once you have tried some you cannot stop eating it. Anyways, the first time I went I did not like it. The burrito tasted dry and not eatable without the orange sauce.
Tonight a couple my co-workers stopped by La Victoria on E. Santa Clara Street after a few pints of beer at Cuccinis who has a happy hour special from 5pm to 8pm where pints of beers are only a dollar each. They have all the good stuff like Guiness, Pilsner, Kona, Hefeweizen, etc. We drank around 15 beers among three people and spent a total of $15 just on beer. Cannot get a better deal than that. We stopped by La Victoria around 9pm and I went with a Chicken super burrito (5.00) and a carnitas regular taco (2.25). They provided us with free chips and salsa. The chips were the round kinds but very salty. The salsa had plenty of jalapeņo peppers so a bit spicy for me.
My number was called shortly and I went up to pick up my food. The taco had plenty of carnitas and the same salsa served with the chips. The carnitas were plentiful and moist but was not crunchy; it was more like the stewed type. The salsa was a bit on the salty side but adding some orange sauce to the taco kicked up the flavors a lot more. The orange sauce enhanced my taco to new heights.
The super burrito tasted a lot better than the regular burrito I had in the past. The rice was moist, the tortilla was steamed, and there were plenty of rice, pinto beans, melted cheese, grilled peppers. The grilled chicken was not all that as I have had some very good roasted chicken. This was the standard slices grilled chicken breast type of meat. The burrito was able to stand on its own but the orange sauce just made it taste so much better.
Pros: Great orange sauce.
Cons: Expensive tacos and 0.60 for soda refills.
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Reviewer: pyunnyhana
Total Reviews: 47
Reviewed: 3/5/2006
Rating: 8.5
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I was in downtown SJ for a high school perfomance in the the Civic Center and my friends and I decided to get some burritos (We wanted to get some take out from Sushi Coast but they were CLOSED! I called before hand and the lady said they would open at 5pm. Got there, no one was there!)
La Victoria was close enough to the Civic Center. I bought a carnita regular burrito for 3.95. I rarely eat pork at all so the taste was a little funny, but still very moist and good (I had to try carnitas since Jason seems to like them so much.)
Beans: the pinto beans really wore my mouth out. It still had its um.. beany texture. Standard. It made the burrito taste heavy.
Carnitas: Yum. Except for when I bit into a piece of fat. Spat that baby out.
Salsa: It had a kick to it although you could hardly see it in the burrito.
Rice: MMM! Moist. Just how I like my rice
What I liked about the burrito was that it wasn't dripping wet! I ate about half of it and I was clean. No spillage or runniness. The orange sauce was pretty spicy too. One lick and WHAM! My face twinged in spicy goodness.
Bottomline: I would come back here again and again! It was a joy to eat their burritos, so next time I'll try something different. The prices are pretty cheap also.
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Reviewer: Stevetacular
Total Reviews: 25
Reviewed: 8/21/2006
Rating: 8
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After some consideration...La Vic's kinda deserves an 8 more than an 8.5.
I was first introduced to La Vic's last year when my friend told me I had to try this burrito place. My first experience was one filled with confusion, not knowing what I would get. The original La Vic's near the SJSU campus is pretty cramped, and be warned people will be ignoramuses and steal your chair if you're not looking. Anyways I went with good old a Carne Asada Super Burrito. When I first bit into it I thought to myself, 'Boy this tortilla smells kinda funny.', but whatever I didn't get sick so what's the matter? My second bite involved this mystical 'orange sauce' that sells for $6 a bottle. The orange sauce is where it's at. This sauce is like bacon, it can make ANY food taste great. So after a disappointing and confused first bite, the orange sauce made everything taste great.
One of my more interesting adventures was at the OTHER La Victoria (near Sonoma Chicken Coop, and other restaurants). I ordered Lengua (beef tongue) and boy did that orange sauce save me. I was fine with the taste, but the texture and the appearance of the lengua? Not for me. It tasted like beef that's been boiled until it's well done, like with well-done pho beef. However, the texture is slimy and each bite was like frenching a cow. The orange sauce saved my butt once again.
As for other items such as tortas and nachos...nachos were very large, but I found that if you're going to eat the nachos you'd better do it quick or else everything gets soaked in cheese and grease. The torta, oh man the torta...I absolutely loved the flavor, but in some bites I got a whole piece of flavorless avacado. However, it's pretty small, so if I had to pick torta or super burrito, burrito always wins. Also the horchata was pretty flavorless. Then again it could have been because the woman behind the counter forgot she poured a horchata (with extra ice) and allowed it to become diluted by the ice.
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