| Budget taqueria with large indoor seating and fresh ingredients |
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1040
Reviewed: 8/9/2004
Rating: 9
My photo gallery
|
Woohoo...another burrito player in the Bay Area. Garcias Taqueria hit a home run for my stomach. Sent to us as a wishlist item, we were happy to see Garcias was tasty and cheap.
I ordered the Carnitas burrito for $3.50!!! omg...what a steal. I think it was their monthly special.
Meat - I know if every review I bitch and moan about carnitas not being crunchy and tender. I have found the exception, todays Canitas wasnt anywhere near crunchy but it had a red sauce (odd for carnitas) that explodes with flavor. Left my mouth with lingering heat. Maybe they made my burrito wrong but all I know it was flippin good.
Tortilla - Reminds me of the San Diego style tortillas that mimic a pancake. I like it a lot.
Rice - Moist, lots of flavor.
Beans - I didnt know they had refriend but the pinto bean were soft enough to make me forget about refriend...good..good..good
Garcias Taqueria will make my burrito list for Sunnyvale. With cheap prices and spicey burritos, I thank them very much with a 9.
|
| |
Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 739
Reviewed: 8/9/2004
Rating: 9
My photo gallery
|
Wow, Garcia's Taqueria blew me away. We walked in and the place was packed with loyal customers, some eating in and some taking with. Mostly of Mexican descent. Good sign. I look up at the menu. $3.50 for a Veggie Burrito! AWESOME. Jason got the special Carnitas regular burrito for $3.50. Amazing prices. We were in a rush so had to take with. Next time I want to sit down as they offer free chips salsa. I grabbed some salsa to go.
The salsa was VERY spicy and quite tasty. Didn't get a chance to try the chips.
The burrito was a nice fried shell and the ingredients were all top notch. They threw in pinto beans although I saw that they had refried beans back there so maybe I'll request that next time.
All in all, this ranks neck and neck (in the Veggie burrito department) with Los Altos taqueria in Mountain View.
|
| |
|
|
Reviewer: Vikram
Total Reviews: 19
Reviewed: 10/23/2005
Rating: 8.5
My photo gallery |
Garcia's was one of my discoveries while driving around Fair Oaks after I moved there last year. Then I saw it reviewed here, but have just been lazy posting my review.
I have eaten here a few times. The most recent was this weekend.
I have eaten their burrito, tacos and most recently the torta. For the unintiated Torta is a Mexican sandwich. I got a Carnitas Torta with everything on it. I think that includes lettuce, tomato, jalapeno, sour cream, mayo and onions and gaucamole.
One bite of it and the flavors just exploded in my mouth. It was spicy but not the kind that lights a fire in your mouth, just so flavorful. The bread was nicely toasted. The Carnitas was awesome. Well marinated and tasty. I am going to try their Chorizo/Al Pastor the next time I am there.
I got a Coke with it. The one in a glass bottle, made in mexico. If you havent had one of those, you must. It tastes different from the one in the US. That's cause they still use real sugar for sweetening coke in mexico, unlike the corn syrup that's used in soft drinks in the US. Actually, if you get something spicy like what I got, you better keep a Coke handy.
The salsa with the chips was very tasty too.
The one complaint I have about this place was that it doesnt have a Salsa bar, which the other place on Fair Oaks (Tres Potrillos) does. I like to get a variety of salsas to go with each bite of my burrito/any dish.
The place has ample seating, though the parking outside is always quite full whenever I have gone here.
I am going here again to try more of their stuff. This one's a solid 8.5 |
| |
Reviewer: ne00
Total Reviews: 187
Reviewed: 3/14/2006
Rating: 7.5
My photo gallery |
Summary:
Giant super burritos, thick pasty salsa, unlimited chips, humongous nachos, value combo plates, and powdered soap.
Full Review:
My friend DS needed a ride to the Acura dealership in Sunnyvale to pick up his car. I was promised a free dinner, how could I pass up something like that? I was thinking of going back to Las Muchachas, but after seeing the north bound traffic on 101 I vetoed my original idea. I remembered reading on Jatbar about several taquerias on Fair Oaks as that's where we were headed, but wasn't sure if they were located North or South bound. As luck would have it we drove by Tres Portillos Taqueria and Chavez Supermarket (being right next to each other). We decided that after we picked up DS's car we would drive back and pick one of the two places to try out. Right before we hit El Camino, I saw Garcias Taqueria sitting empty on the corner of Fair Oaks and El Camino. Right there and then I told my friend that we would eat there after picking up the car.
We arrived around 6:30pm and the place was empty. We both explored the picture menu on the wall and I pointed out the 7.95 combo plate for what looked to be a slab of carne asada with rice, beans, sour cream, guacamole, and a small salad. DS decided to go with that while I went with a Carnitas Super Burrito (6.00) and a pollo taco (1.85) without cilantro. We also ordered two canned sodas (1.00 each). DS being a Jedi Master and all, offered to pay the lady in advance, or if she wanted to later on. I do not think DS was familiar that the payment is upfront. An awkward moment in time as there were some communication issues. We grabbed our own chips and salsa and had our pick of the litter on where we wanted to sit.
The salsa comes in these miniature styrofoam cups and is self serve. The salsa for the chips had a thick consistency. It looked very much like tomato paste. The salsa was too spicy for me to handle so I just ate the chips, which btw was cold and a bit stale, probably sitting under the heat lamp for way too long. Our food was brought out and I was impressed with DS's selection; two slabs of steak (thin, probably cooked medium) that included this huge steak knife and actual fork. Being a Jedi Master, DS initially used the plastic knife and fork that came with the meal. I do not think that worked too well. Included with the combo plate are several small tortillas to have the option to make tacos.
They served me what looked like 4 carnitas tacos. I had to take it back as that was not what I ordered. By the time our food was served the place was beginning to fill up slowly. Several customers ordered the nachos and tacos. One customer even went so far as to buy a coke from the liquor shop next door and bring it in to drink with his food. They finally brought my chicken taco and super burrito over. Man my burrito was huge! The taco had stringy chicken with some salsa and onions on top. I drenched it with a lemon wedge. Taco was not bad as the tortilla was better than the taco tortilla at Las Muchachas. The chicken was kind of bland but the salsa provided all the necessary flavor. An enjoyable snack and the salsa was not the spicy version they used for the chips. One bite into my burrito and I was a bit disappointed. First off I was eating what tasted like Carnea Asada and not Carnitas. I swore I ordered a Carnitas super burrtio but I may have been wrong, can't really remember. The steak was OK, kind of hard to chew. I'm not found of rubbery or over done steak as it's hard for me to swallow. They cut the steak up into smaller pieces so it was manageable. The rice and tortilla was not as moist as the ones at Las Muchachas. The burritos at Las Muchachas are burritopia where as this is more burritovilla.
I felt the rice was a little bland. I liked how the ingredients within the burrito were more balanced. There was no guacamole in my burrito. They used the runny version of the sour cream which was enjoyable for me. The steak and rice were blended together and the salsa in my burrito was the fresh home made kind with real chipped tomatoes, onions, cilantro, etc. Seems like they use different versions of salsa depending on what you order. What I liked about my burrito was that they melted the cheese and the steak to beans ratio was 2 to 1 but the rice ratio was even.
After the meal, Jedi Master DS decided to wash up and later commented on that fact that Garcias Taqueria uses the old school powdered soap. We weren't sure if we had to bust our own trays but we did it anyways as we were the first patrons finished with our dinner.
Burrito: 7/10
Taco: 8/10
Will come back to try their CARNITAS burrito. May bump up my rating with another try.
Pluses: Excepts Visa and MC. Music from the jukebox. Decent selection of meats.
Minuses: Small parking lot, powdered soap.
|
| |
Reviewer: jsatre
Total Reviews: 75
Reviewed: 6/26/2006
Rating: 8.5
My photo gallery |
Garcias was hoppin this Monday at 1:00 pm. I walk in and wonder if I should do to-go since there wasnt any tables open. They were having trouble keeping up with cleaning tables too. This is a good sign however! The restaurant was filled with authentic Mexican people and I know they know where the Authentic Mexican food is.
I see the menu and decide to order a single carnitas taco and a super carne asada burrito sans the guacamole. My order was taken and I asked for my number. The cashier said “you dont need a number”. I then moved aside to their small bar. Once a table opened up I sat down and helped myself to their chips and salsa.
Salsa - Whoa – This stuff is awesome! And THANK YOU Garcias Taqueria for putting out a nice 4 ounce sized cup. This is great salsa with plenty of fresh ingredients like onion, cilantro and pepper. Its very tasty with both saucy and chunky tomatoes with a nice tang of heat.
Chips – Probably store bought but fresh. Slightly warmed and definitely made from stone ground corn giving them a nice chunchy rough texture. I ate 1/2 on the way back to work.
And after 20 minutes – my food was lost for a moment, (the cashier asked me what I had ordered again. Maybe they DO need ordering numbers) but it found to be ready on the side bar.
I had enough time to munch down my taco. I open the bag and tear off the foil to a plate filled with FOUR tacos. Either their tacos are mucho cheap or I got 3 extra. Nice! I see a nice garnish of lime wedges, radishes and pickles jalapenos. I pick up one and meat is falling out. Interesting texture of the meat however; it wasnt shredded by rather cubed, yet tender. I then take another look and I see something odd… the cubes of meat have a thick spiked skin attached to each cube… huh? It didnt taste like pork either. I think this is beef stomach. I decided to take another bite and the skin on the meat just made me a little sick. The texture of the skin was unappetizing and chewy. The red sauce, onions and cilantro were tasty though. I didnt finish my free tacos. They were so busy I didnt want to be a pain in the butt and report my meat mix up. Plus, they might laugh at this gringo girl…. Ack!
I get back to work with my carne asada burrito and tear into it. Oh my GOODNESS, this is flavorful and so delicious!!! The meat was certainly marinated, and I can detect some garlic. The rice was very good and was obviously simmered with chopped tomatoes and spices. Instead of me complaining about rice in my burrito, Im actually enjoying it. The pintos were seasoned well and there was plenty pf cheese and sour cream. I even see salsa with chopped jalapenos and cilantro. No short-cuts at Garcias… just straight up good stuff.
Other than the meat mix-up, Im very happy I tried Garcias today. Top notch stuff! Although Tres Portillos is a closer drive from my work, I will be returning to Garcias… Especially the Carne Asada… super good!!
|
| |
Reviewer: Dan
Total Reviews: 84
Reviewed: 5/18/2007
Rating: 8.5
My photo gallery |
Prices at Garcias are pretty average for regular burritos ($5.50) but the specials are a real deal. Had the special on my first visit, a regular al pastor burrito, for $4. Quite the steal. Included free chips/salsa, a MUST in my opinion for a decent taqueria. My burrito was very good: chewy, fresh tortilla. Meat was a little fatty, but delicious. Plenty of seating in this place, though parking was limited.
On my next visit here I ordered the two taco plate, one carnitas and one carne asada. This came with rice and beans. Beans were hot, slightly thin and not super flavorful. Carne asada was a little too fatty, but very tasty. The carnitas was the shredded style and melted in my mouth, but lacked a bit of flavor IMHO. Most surprising of all, they only charged me $3.50 for the whole thing! I couldn't figure this out, because the one taco plate is $3.65 on the menu. Maybe the guy was giving me a break because it was crowded and soccer was blaring from the TV, but I didn't mind, and was able to find a table.
On my third visit I tried a regular chicken burrito. I asked about getting it wet style and they offered green tomatillo or mole sauce. I jumped on the latter. What I received was a humongous chicken burrito smothered in a delicious red mole sauce. This sauce had a kick to it and was enough to make me break into a sweat...yum. My only nit is that the chicken inside was a tad overcooked. Total cost with tax was $5.50, which means they didn't charge me for the sauce. What is it with these guys?! I guess I shouldn't complain.
Pros: Great food at reasonable prices; a tendency to undercharge; The special is a great deal
Cons: Parking can be tight. Cleanliness a bit below avg. |
| |
Reviewer: pyunnyhana
Total Reviews: 47
Reviewed: 5/18/2007
Rating: 7.5
My photo gallery |
I went with a friend for lunch today and the location was quite seedy. Very small parking lot with a liquor store next door. Walking in, I noticed that it was relatively clean. Then I noticed the prices... ouch 5.50 for a regular burrito? I'm more used to the 3.50-4.00 range. Instead I bought two tacos (1.85 each) and a large horchata. My friend bought a super quesadilla and ceviche.
Carnita taco: geez it was small. the meat was not crunchy. Seemed more stewed. Salsa was saucy (I prefer the diced tomatos, onions and cilantro better). It was still tasty, but so-so.
Carne Asada Taco: This one was much better. The meat had a lot of flavor and had some crunchy texture. The menu says that the beef is broiled but I'm not too sure... tasted like it was fried. Either way, this was my favorite taco
Horchata: I really needed this because the salsa was SPICY. Well, not too spicy, but enough make me rest in between bites to take a sip. It's only $1 for a sm. and 1.50 for large. The flavor was sweet and cinnamony. The other week I bought horchata at Unamas! and it was weeeak. Tasted diluted, so I can say Garcias Taq makes good horchata.
7.5: worth a return visit if I was in the area, but I'd still choose La Bamba. I was pretty disppointed in my carnitas. If you like carne asada, then stick with that. |
| |
|
|
| Disclaimer |
|
|
