Pancho's Salsa Bar and Grill: Delicious Ingredients Wrapped in a Dishtowel
Written: Jun 17 '01
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Pros: Fine fresh salsas and high quality meat
Cons: Consistently appalling, stale tortillas.
The Bottom Line: Fine place to stop in if you're in the neighborhood, but avoid anything in a flour tortilla.
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| Mr.Eyore's Full Review: Pancho's Salsa Bar & Grill |
Pancho's Salsa Bar and Grill, located on Polk Street just north of California in San Francisco has much to recommend it, but almost nothing to recommend it over the myriad wonderful taquerias in the Mission District and elsewhere in San Francisco.
I spend a lot of time in this area of town, where there are a dazzling array of adequate, though mediocre, restaurant choices, but only about two very good ones (Acquarrello and Swan Oyster Depo). Since I'm partial to Mexican food, I go to Pancho's from time to time when I'm in the neighborhood.
Pancho's is a standard taco and burrito joint, which uses fresh, good quality ingredients and grills their meats over an open flame. They use a nice beef for their carne asada, but it does not seem to be the standard skirt steak used in most taquerias. I can't place it for certain, but my guess is it's a somewhat more expensive flank steak. The better meat doesn't necessarily make for a better burrito, but I can't fault them for trying.
That meat is best featured in Pancho's' nachos, which are expensive, at around $8.00, but are so meaty and dense that they could be a meal for two. The downside to the nachos, if you get them to go, is that they're piled high in a rather small paper container, which means that there are a boatload of fixin's heaped on top, and a paltry couple of too-white pinto beans strewn about the otherwise dry chips underneath.
Their vegetable burrito has vegetables in it. Actual vegetables, not just lack of meat. There's broccoli and cauliflower and carrots and whatnot thrown in with the rice and beans and lettuce and guacamole and tomatoes. But they seem to boil the veggies, which makes them not very flavorful. Plus, they can't be trusted not to put meat in it on accident, which is fine if you're a carnivore just wanting a veggie burrito. If you're a strict vegetarian or vegan, it may be better to skip this place.
Their carne asada burrito is mediocre, but they have a nice variety of salsas, including: a spicy red salsa, a cool tomatillo, an orange colored tomato salsa that's not quite lemony enough, and a fine rough chopped salsa. All are served at a chilled salsa bar, along with fresh cilantro, chopped onions and pickled carrots and peppers.
The weak link in the Pancho's experience is the tortillas, which frequently have an old taste to them. They are too floury, if that makes sense, and a little tough. It's a thing you rarely come across at taquerias, but when you do, you don't forget the taste. It's like a dirty dish towel that's been hanging over the kitchen faucet until it becomes stiff.
Typically, I would address parking and decor, but this isn't the sort of place to which you would make a special trip unless you were already parked in the neighborhood. The decor is colorful, clean and utilitarian, but not worth any extended discussion.
The service is pretty much what you would expect from a neighborhood taqueria. The cashier and "waiters" are not overly friendly or helpful. They'll take your order. They can be relied upon to get your order right. They'll drop it off at your table. Big deal.
Pancho's is a fine place to eat if you're in the neighborhood, and they have a nice selection of basic taqueria offerings. But in a city with at least a dozen truly top notch burrito joints, Pancho's does not stand out.
Recommended:
No
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Best Suited For: Kids and Families
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Mr.Eyore
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