Mobissimo

If you're not familiar with the Mission style burrito, let me give you the run down. Start with a tortilla the size of a small dog, grill or steam it, fill it with meat (pork, beef, tongue, chicken, animal part of your choice, etc. ), rice, beans, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, etc. then get two strong burley men to help you lift and eat it, because these things are huge. Gigantic. Bigger than Dolly' Parton's hair on a Friday at the Honkey Tonk (where do I get this stuff?). They've been known to roll down hills and take out entire city blocks when left unattended. In my opinion, there is no better weight to price to taste ratio in the world when it comes to the Mission burrito. I'm willing to bet on that. Now, I'm not sure if they were actually invented in the Mission, the oh-so-trendy used-to-be-hispanic -now-gentrifying-with-culture-stomping-yuppies San Francisco neighborhood., But if they weren't, they should have been. I my not have eaten at as many Taquerias as the Burritoeater, but I've had my fair share. Enough to form opinions on the best places to eat these gastronomic mammoths. Keep in mind, there is no one "best" burrito place in The City. It depends on your price point and individual burrito preferences. For example, if you're vegetarian and like your tortilla heated on the grill rather than steamed, then Taqueria Cancun is the place you want. Excellent guacamole, fresh ingredients, and at $3.25 a pop last time I checked, the best taste/value anywhere. Read the reviews on Tribe.net. If you don't mind paying a little more and like mouth watering pieces of steak or chicken, fresh avocado, and salsa from God, La Taqueria (read reviews on Yelp.com) is your place. The burritos are tops, but they also serve one of the most amazing chicken quesadillas you'll have in your life. Ask for avocado and believe me, your life will be complete. So there you have it. Yet another front-line review, from the world's favorite's food reviewer. Well, maybe not the world's, but my mom says I'm the best writer she's ever read. Thanks mom.

Taqueria Cancun
2288 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94110-1812
(415) 252-9560
Cross Street: 19th Street

La Taqueria
2889 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94110-3907
(415) 285-7117
Cross Street: 25th Street

Holy jumping curries folks. I've been hankering for South Indian since I came back from India and unfortunately San Francisco despite all its fine cuisine has always been light on south Indian. That is until Dosa powered on to the scene in January. Occupying a location on Valencia street that has seen more faces than Paris Hilton's bed, Dosa landed with a bang in January and hasn't looked back since. The place is full every night of the week and is as busy as a Bombay samosa stand.

We had the Tamil lamb curry and a Masala Dosa, take out, so I can't comment on the service, but the people who helped us were amazingly friendly, so we expect service will be top notch. The curry was piquant without burning the roof of your mouth off, with just the right amount of spices. I tasted a bit of almond that reminded me of the Punjabi dish I wrote about last week. But what do I know? The dish is described as having "Niman Ranch Lamb steeped in a sauce of fennel, tomatoes, poppy seeds, caramelized onions and a blend of other spices." It was delicious, take my word for it. Because, as my faithful readers know, my word is GOLD.

Now the Dosa. That reminded me of breakfast in Bombay. But it was dinner and I was sitting home with my boy running circles around the table, yelling something about airplanes and coconuts. If you're never had a Dosa, think of it as the Indian version of a pancake or crepe. Or think of the crepe and pancake as American and French versions of the Dosa. Either way, it's a crispy thin flour (I think) "crepe" fried with a filling like potato, vegetable, mineral. Most anything I guess, as long as it's Indian. It comes with coconut and tomato chutney which you layer on top like edible massage oil on ... Wait, right this is a food review, sorry. The chutneys had just the right amount of spice to give the Dosa a nice kick. If you want to get authentic, dip the Dosa in your Sambor, the spicy soup that comes with the chutneys. The Sambor could have used a bit more umpfh, but it did the job fine.

So there you have it, another culinary review masterpiece by Mobissimo's resident food critic. Another reason to go is you'll find yourself in one of the hottest neighborhoods in the country, as voted by a publication that will remain nameless so as to not promote this fact too much. You can hit Amnesia or MakeOutRoom, or Lone Palm or Elbo Room or any of the dozen or so more bars that are scattered within a short walking distance. But, shh, don't tell anyone. It's our little secret.

Address:
995 Valencia (@ 21st Street)
San Francisco, CA 94110
Website

Hours of Operation Starting June 6, 2006
Tuesday to Thursday & Sunday 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm
Friday & Saturday 5:30 pm to 11:00 pm

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