Burrito Week Reviews: Tres Hermanas, Rubio's, Ernesto's

The rest of the Burrito Week reviews are a little condensed.

Next up was Tres Hermanas. I have never been to Tres Hermanas but my knowledge of the Spanish language acquired from Arrested Development allowed me to know the translaton. The recent Sacramento News & Review "Best of" edition had listed Tres Hermanas as the best Mexican restaurant in the city. As a stauch lover of Mexican food, it was an outrage that I had not sampled their wares.

I was surprised that the prices on the menu didn't quite match the humble interior of the place. The decor is actually perfect for what I like in a Mexican restaurant. It seemed hole-in-wallish enough to serve up excellent grub. But it is plenty nice inside.

Starting with warm, fresh chips and a cold, strong margarita, the lunch got off to an impressive start. Mrs. Sexy got an enchilada that looked like it should be in a magazine or hanging in a museum. My burrito choice for today was their Chile Colorado burrito with pork. The burrito plate was delivered with a modest sized burrito and excellent rice and beans. Perhaps the best mexican rice I have ever had. What the burrito lacked in size it made up for in flavor. The meat was very flavorful. The only ingredients in the burrito were ample amounts of pork with a spicy pico de gallo.

High marks for Tres Hermanas. 4 chilies out of 5 for the burrito. Very flavorful but its lack of complexity keeps it from taking a perfect score. If the prices were lower, I could see making the trek down there on the regular.


Rubio's was a surprise entrant in Burrito Week. I fondly remember getting the Beer Battered Fish Burrito when moms brought me one when I was convalesing after surgery. It was tasty enough to chase another soon after. I'm typically a Pescado Especial guy from Rubio's. Yummy and consistent. I was thinking of mixing a variety of meats during this week, so it was a good opportunity to stick in the fish. The capper was when Rubio's sent me an e-mail offering to buy me lunch. That's more than can be said for any of my friends. It's kinda sad to think that Rubio's might be my best friend. (It's not too late to offer, btw.)

The Fish Burrito is a generous enough portion of fried fish with cabbage, guacamole and a pretty tasty white sauce. It is tasty and gets the job done, but it isn't mind altering. I read during my entire lunch and never had to put my bookmark in and same a few thankful words to the burrito gods for providing the feast and allowing it's bounty to travel the Big Sexy digestive highway. It was good. I'm giving it 2 pescados out of 5.

My actual birthday coincided with the birthday of one of my favorite restaurants, Ernesto's. The wait staff had a big celebration planned for Ernesto's and me, complete with balloons and a giant cake lit with tall sparklers. Very nice touch! I love that Ernesto's complements their tasty chips, not only with a very good chunky salsa, but with a bean dip. That always sets my mood high.

I went for the Carnitas Burrito, expecting a sopping wet burrito filled with generous portions of Ernesto's delicious carnitas. Unfortunately, the cook has been watching too much Top Chef and wanted to get all cute. The enchilada sauce was artistically splashed on the ends of the burrito, keeping the creation rather dry. The first third of the burrito was very heavy on the rice. I excavated enough of the rice out to get to the carnitas and guacamole that was hiding inside. Once my burrito archaelogy was complete, I was able to savor the tasty burrito. It had a chance to be the winner of the week. The carnita meat was succulent, the guacamole was fresh and flavorful. However, the whole creation was not put together as well as I had hoped. It may be the unfulfilled potential that make me give this burrito 3 birthday sparklers out of 5.

There are plenty more burritos to be explored but not many days to do it. Will I sneak in a breakfast burrito? Will I go to my favorite chain restaurant of all time, Chipotle, and give them a chance to hit it big? Will I go to my current work hot spot for a huge super burrito? Will chicken ever make an appearance? Will I sneak in a dinner burrito? Stay tuned for the answers to all of those pressing burrito questions and more.

Burrito Week: Taco de Oro

Every year around the end of the Big Sexy fiscal year, I treat myself to a burrito each workday from my favorite burrito haunts. I’ve long believed that a burrito is always the right answer for lunch. Feeling sad? A burrito picks me up. Feeling happy? Celebrate with a burrito. Low self-esteem? A burrito always has my back. Feeling sleepy? A burrito will tuck me in for an afternoon nap.

This year I will provide a review of each of these holy-rolled concoctions sampled during Burrito Week as a public service. I don’t know anyone else, aside from Adam Richman, who I would trust with burrito knowledge more than the Big Sexy. My burrito palette is as refined and respected as my well-heeled beer palette. Here are my findings…

Taco de Oro, aka The Burrito Wagon. When I first starting working a Panattoni nearly 5 years ago, I walked down, to the local taco truck, against the advice of my new co-workers. I didn’t have a car that day and the truck was just around the corner from our offices. I figured if anyone can make a tasty burrito, it would be authentic Mexicans who’s only overhead is gas and an oil change every 6 months. I noticed there were good sized lines of landscapers every day. Worst case scenario, I get to catch up on some reading I’ve be meaning to get to in the afternoon. Thankfully, I couldn’t have been happier with my results! I had been blind to taco trucks for so long. I don’t even remember seeing one before. Now I recognize them everywhere and check to see if I have time to stop for a quick bite.

Sadly, one day the truck was gone. They had been always parked in a tire shop parking lot on Folsom Boulevard every day from 11-3. Maybe they were on vacation. Next week… still gone. I hadn’t even gotten a chance to say goodbye! If only someone could give me a sign that everything would be alright. When I was finally cried out over my loss, there was a sandwich board in the vacant lot. The sign I had been longing for. It gave the new address to Taco de Oro’s truck! They had moved a couple of miles down Florin-Perkins, just south of Fruitridge, in front of some deserted building. The Man had made them move over some permit thing. So maybe it wouldn’t be as quick as before, but I knew we could make it work. It’s now a 20-30 minute round trip to get my beloved burrito wagon burrito, but it is worth it.

Monday’s burrito came back to my desk with a couple of it’s taco friends. The more the merrier! The asada tacos are simply asada on corn torillas with a spicy homemade sauce and cilantro. They never fail to satisfy. After my appetizer, I was geared up to get this party started right. Unfortunately, the burrito was a bit of a let down. It is a good example of the problems with the truck. Today, there was not enough of that special red sauce on the burrito, making it dry and without the same dome-moistening heat that I am accustomed to. The asada in the burrito also seemed to have more of the tough/fatty pieces that I don’t eat. The only other ingredients, pinto beans and Mexican rice, were perfect. But I really needed more sauce. The consistency of the burritos at Taco de Oro is the only flaw. About 85% of the time, they are extremely good. That other 15%, makes me take my burrito eating talents away from South Watt.

Tough start to burrito week… Taco de Oro starts the week with 2 ½ dancing burritos out of 5.

CD Review: Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown

Based on the album cover and the level of rocking on this album, the title could be Jack Johnson's Blue Ridge Mountain Vacation. I get it. KOL has matured, not sold out. I'm not going down the path that many fans do with bands they have loved from the first or second album start to have commercial success. However, you cannot listen to this album next to Aha Shake Heartbreak or Young and Young Manhood and not tell a significant difference.

There was a lot of complaining coming from the Followill boys 6 months after their last release, Only By the Night. They were offended by Soccer Moms throwing their spanks on stage and frat boys who only stood up for Sex on Fire during their concerts. I personally like hot moms, but I get it. They are 25 year olds and date models while eating oysters in New York meatpacking district. Because of their discontentment with their growing fan base, I thought their next album would be a little more "garage" sounding and Caleb's vocals would be a little more raw. Maybe they don't mind their current scene as much as they protest.

I don't want this review to spin out of control. I do like Come Around Sundown. I like it the more I listen to it and I keep wanting to listen to it. I may have listened to it every day for the last couple of weeks. There are several of songs that standout and overall, the album is very listenable and enjoyable. No Money even rocks a bit. The lead single, Radioactive and Pyro are very good mid-tempo rockers. Mi Amigo even tips its hat at the down south naughtiness of Soft and Trani from the aforementioned "early" KOL albums. There just isn't anything there that makes me have a passion for it.

I have noodled about this dilema for quite a bit. I don't think my lack of enthusism for this record has to do with the toned down sound or the polished vocals. I finally figured out that I don't feel the passion from the songs that were so evident on their earlier efforts. I thought about what I really like in a song. Why do I consider songs like Everlong by Foo Fighters or Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day among my favorite songs or all time? Is it the style? Not specificially. Is it how cute the singer is? Rarely. (But Dave Grohl - rowwl!) I have concluded that these are my top five reasons for liking a song:

5. Song makes my feel sexy

4. It has a beat that makes my body move involuntarily

3. Clever lyrics that either make me smile or think

2. Being able to feel the artists' passion

1. Touches my soul (hard to quantify)

I think many of those tend to blend together, but that would the Big Sexy Institute of Music and Harmony Orientation. BS, IMHO for you internet nerds.

I've never seen a KOL concert and they have painted an unsavory picture as described above. But I have seen them perform live through the miracles of modern technology and they look boorrring. I very much like their music. Maybe that vision of seeing them singing every song while standing at their microphones without a change in facial expression has influenced my opinion of not feeling their passion in their music. I think that is what I am missing in Come Around Sundown. It is a very good album all the way through, that I will enjoy now. But will I be passionate about for the years to come?

I'll give Come Around Sundown 4 flip flops out of five.