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"SOOOO good! I love this place. The food is great and the staff is friendly. Their burritos are reasonably priced and they are HUGE! I…" read more »
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Thank you Adam Richmond for helping me rediscover my inner fat guy.
La Cumbre was featured on his Man v Food show, and claims to be the inventor of the Mission style super burrito. As this was a dull Sunday afternoon in which I hadn't eaten, I drove down to the Mission to give La Cumbre a try.
Overall, the burrito met expectations. The pollo asada was very fresh, but a little too lightly seasoned for my tastes. There was a generous heap of rice, which I tend to count as a negative as it's clearly cheap filler. Finally the prices aren't super--a buck or two more than most other taquerias.
The absolute best part about La Cumbre for me is that Arinell pizza is right next door. The inner fat guy is proud to admit that he grabbed a fantastic NY-style slice for dessert.
3.4999999 stars.
Oh, myyyyy love
My darling
I hunger for your...
Well, actually, I just hunger for you, La Cumbre. I had my inagural La Cumbre burrito last saturday, and today, exactly a week later, not a day has gone by when I havent thought about it. I have the hunger of a large fat man, and this means that I daydream about amazing food (don't judge).
The food was absolutely the freshest, and I noticed that they cut the meat in front of you (a sentance usually reserved for other times, but is applicable here). Just walking in, it smells like the best food. I got the small burrito which was more than enough with the fresh chicken and some of the best salsa around. While I'm harboring the thoughts of a 300 lb dirty fat man, I'm a small 5'4'' girl who was barely able to put down the gargantuous burrito.
Oh, just thinking about it now makes me want to run off to the mission and harbor myself inside La Cumbre...
They are very proud of the fact that Maxim named them the best burrito (I'm proud of you too, La Cumbre!) but I'm more fascinated by the fact that my darling Adam Richman from Man v. Food swung by. There's no mention of his visit in La Cumbre, but that's ok. We all know what's up. Absolutely hands down the best burrito EVER.
My darling La Cumbre, you're beautiful. You're beautiful, it's true.
Had the deluxe burrito ($6.95) with "chile Colorado=choice meat w/red sauce", spicy salsa and pinto beans. This thing was decent-sized and quite good, though I could only eat half of the darn thing (it was either too much food, or the spiciness did me in). Even a medium-sized=24oz horchata ($2.25) was not enough to save the taste buds. FAIL.
Feel that it's a tad above the average taqueria and got the fourth star due to the friendliness, them being "the first taqueria in SF" in 1967, plus being repped in Maxim magazine's August '09 issue as one of "72 places to try before you die" (http://static.px.yelp....). The ceiling is very high, which helped to air out the place a bit. Great wall decor as well. Lots of seatings (http://static.px.yelp....), and saw hipsters, yuppies as well as families eating here.
Although we had a bit of a falling out from our early years, we are reunited and it feels so good! As I sat there on Friday night trying to sober up from the Valencia Bar scene I realized that 10 years later, nothing has changed from my enormous Carne Asada Super Burrito and no one has taken over the SF Mexican Food title. So now at the age of 25 and not a picky little kid, I have tried a bit of everything they have to offer. Pollo Asado, Carner Asada, Ceviche, Lengua, Chile Colorado, etc. And it is ALL GOOD! Don't get lost in the Mission District crowd going to the other places because this is where its at. And remember Yelpers... Always judge a Mexican Restaurant by their Rice.
Best Burritos your ever going to find !
I went here for lunch and got the Deluxe Chicken Burrito. The thing weighs at least 2 lbs. So just holding it lets you know that your in for some serious burrito.
They cook everything right in front of you at Taqueria La Cumbre. They have a big grill where they grill fresh vegetables and meats. The decor inside the place feels sincerely Mexican from the chandeliers to the archway above the door. You can tell that there is a lot of history here.
The line cooks make the burrito to your taste adding ingredients at your command.
This also feels like a real local favorite in the neighborhood. You can get a good sampling of the people that live here just by observing the customers of this place.
+ Best Burritos I've ever had
+ Great prices
Taqueria La Cumbre claims to have invented the "Mission-style burrito," which most of the rest of us would recognize as "every burrito you have eaten north of New Mexico since 1995." I.e., the kind with rice and beans in it, usually the size of a baby's head. I don't know anything about the veracity of the claim, but given that I live crawling distance from here (although I'm not sure I'd crawl on these particular streets), I figured I ought to come check it out.
The verdict: The Super Burrito I got here was not the biggest I've ever had, nor the best, but it was plenty big and plenty good. And less than 10 bucks. Even at 6:00, I was the only customer in the place, and they were friendly, helpful, and lightning-fast. Definitely good enough to go back with Wifey (who was, once again, "on a business trip," which I figure means "stashing money in a foreign bank account for use when she leaves me."). Thankfully, you're never lonely when you have a burrito. Which explains why I didn't eat it...right away. (BTW, any suggestions on how to get guac stains out of fitted sheets???)
P.S.: Every time I see that some a-hole has posted a picture of their food, I flag it as "not helpful." Pictures of, say, the front of the restaurant are helpful. Pictures of the inside of the restaurant, also helpful. Pictures of your food = self-indulgent.
For my full post with pictures please visit http://www.biteandbooz...
San Francisco Part I: Taqueria La Cumbre
This past weekend Eusebio and I took to the friendly skies courtesy of our dear friend Amanda who happens to work for Southwest Airlines. We headed West to the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival in San Francisco, CA. Immediately upon arriving in Oakland, Eusebio and I took the BART across the bay to San Fran and walked a couple blocks, past Union Square, to our hotel. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt which was an interesting place to be for the weekend because all of their housekeeping and food service staff were on strike! Good old California labor union strikes. We walked up to a hotel that was being picketed by its own employees right outside of the front door with rhythmic drum beating and constant chanting of "Don't check in, just check out!" Having already made reservations and paid for the room, and thinking that the fact that we just walked up on a real-life labor strike was hilarious, we proceeded to check in, throw our stuff down, and go grab some lunch before our festival activities started at 5:00 p.m.
Our San Francisco culinary journey got started with a ride on a classic street car trolley and a trip to the Mission district. The Mission neighborhood exists as an incredibly impressive international melting pot of residents and restaurants. From sushi to Salvadoran, pizza to Pakistani, eating well should be easy to do in Mission for everyone who walks its streets. We had heard of Taqueria La Cumbre as the innovator of the authentic overstuffed mission-style Mexican burrito. For those of you who know about Freebird's or Izzo's, that is what I'm talking about... but way better!
Taqueria La Cumbre, Mission District, San Francisco
The Taqueria has a lot more to enjoy than just the burritos. They offer many different Platos Mexicanos for the frequenters to consume, but it is pretty obvious that their mission-style burritos are what they are famous for. Meat filling for the burritos comes in the form of carne asada (steak beef), pulled pork, chicken, several flavored versions of beef, pork, and chicken, and beef tongue. I didn't look over the menu long before ordering my "super" burrito.
Menu Board at Taqueria La Cumbre
I ordered the carne asada super burrito which came with grilled steak meat that was chopped right in front of me, Mexican rice, black beans, fresh guacamole, sour cream, cheese, pico de gallo, and hot sauce which was all stuffed inside a giant flour tortilla. The meal came with corn tortilla chips and a selection of salsas. I added a Mexican beer, Negra Modelo, to the feast just to top it off properly and help wash all of the spicy goodness that I was about to consume down.
Super Burrito, Chips, Salsa, and a Negro Modelo at Taqueria La Cumbre
The completely stuffed burrito fillings exploded both figuratively with flavor and literally out of the thinly pressed tortilla. Rice and black beans created the bulk of the subsistence but the seasoned beef and guacamole were still the flavor highlights. Fresh ingredients all around gave the burrito the taste that made it famous.
The Stuffing of My Super Burrito
While there might be rival burritos out there in other parts of the country and world, I certainly can not get anything this good in Baton Rouge. I love how the restaurant has maintained its original, classic, casual atmosphere with friendly service. The Mission district as a whole was an area of San Francisco that I could spend a lot more time in. There were unique restaurants and shops at every corner, each with its own culture that it contributed to the overall diverse cultural center that is San Francisco.
In San Francisco Part II, I will write about the adventures that we had on Friday night at the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival Street Vendor Fair! Stay tuned!
I completely forgot that La Cumbre was featured on MAN vs. FOOD. La Cumbre supposed to have been the birthplace of Super Mission-Style Burritos in San Francisco.
Here's Man vs. Food at La Cumbre on You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com...
Well, I didn't go to La Cumbre for the burritos but to get some TORTAS.
And La Cumbre can proudly claim the honor of popping my torta cherry. Never had torta before ("hiding in shame" ) considering my guy's Latino. (But what am I saying--I know more Spanish words than he does.)
Anyway, I had the CHICKEN TORTA http://www.yelp.com/bi... and got BF the PORK TORTA. http://www.yelp.com/bi... I know I'm a torta newbie but my chicken torta was delicious. (BF enjoyed his pork torta, too.) The chicken between the bun was tender with the charbroiled smokey taste to it.
The friendly Latina server gave me a thumbs up for ordering everything on it--sour cream, refried beans, etc. Well, as Carlos Mencia says--"Filipinos are beaners of the Asian culture." True, at least in my case.
We watched the episode of Man vs. Food again while savoring our tortas with a side of Deluxe Nachos! http://www.yelp.com/bi... Yey, I was there today!! (I'm such a sucker for places to eat featured on TV!)
Torta=$5.50 each. SUPER-CHEAP, BIG A**, LOADED MEXICAN SANDWICHES!
Taqueria La Cumbre has the best pollo asado I've ever had. The thing is they keep the whole breast marinating and don't chop it up until it's time to make your burrito/taco/whatever. That keeps it very juicy and flavorful, I'm definitely a fan.
The only things I would have liked to be different would be using avocado instead of guacamole and melting the cheese on the tortilla or at least putting it on the hotter ingredients (beans/meat/rice) so that it would melt instead of on top of the lettuce and sour cream. Still, this was a very tasty burrito.
Also, the chips are very good. There are too many places where either the burrito or the chips are kinda weak; Taqueria La Cumbre is not one of them.
Yes, I did watch the Man v Food episode, so my expectations were high. So, I decided to check out this so called place that first created the Mission Style Burrito.
Unfortunately, it was all hype. The husband ordered the Super Burrito al pastor. I ordered the taco al pastor. Meh...I definitely had better, even down the street. The staff was sorta friendly, but disorganized. The probably asked me what I wanted on my taco at least 4 times! The al pastor was under seasoned. The beans were under seasoned. The lettuce made the burrito bland. Overall, I was not impressed. The only upside is that it is open late. But then again, I could go one or two blocks that is also open late and get a better burrito.
Delicious! Deluxe everything!
Saw this place on Man vs Food and decided to check it out.
We ordered super steak burritos. The place was empty, but it took super long to get our food. I was disappointed to see that the burrito was so small. Couple bites into the burrito, and I noticed that the steak was super hard. It was also chopped up, but the pieces that were too big for one bite. We all agreed that the burrito sucked! On top of that, the place was all smokey because they were grilling something.
SUPER BURRITO IS SUPER SMALL.
STALE PRE-COOKED MEAT.
DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE!!!
I came here after the episode of Man v Food and I was very curious to see how great this place would be. I have come to realize that most if not all of the restaurants that are on TV are generally not that good.
This restaurant is like any other Taqueria in the mission. Nothing spectacular, nothing amazing. I hate to say this but I even think Gordo's is better than this place. I was very disappointed. I had the carne asada burrito and the meat was lukewarm and chewy, the ingredients were fresh but the place is not all that clean. I've been to dive taquerias and even been to local restaurants in Mexico.........this place should not be this dirty to have been on TV. The price for their burritos are higher than other establishments. 8 dollars for a burrito in the Mission..............is a little too much for below par food.
Pancho Villa is clean, Gordo's is a hole in a wall........but it's clean. El Farolita feels grimy but it's clean. This place..............I just can't put my finger on it. It's just feels dirty.
I will not be coming back here because there are far better restaurants out there.
Other reviews here seem to be for the al pastor burrito hyped up in Man v. Food. NOT A GOOD CHOICE.
The burritos here are mediocre at best, and many of the meats are bland and unappealing. The pollo asada, however, is where La Cumbre really shines.
Their chicken is flavorful, tender, smoky, and has a wonderful char.
Order the pollo asada quesadilla. It's a lot of food for around 7 bucks and is tasty and filling. I've tried their burritos and taco and was as unimpressed as everyone else who has reviewed this place... but the pollo asada quesadilla keeps me coming back to La Cumbra again and again (despite abrupt service and an unexciting atmosphere) and earns La Cumbre 3.5 stars. I'll round up to 4 stars for being open late.
First of all I wanna say that I am not one of those band wagoners who jumped on it after Man vs. Food.
To be completely honest my review is solely based on going four times and each time getting the same combo; Deluxe Carne Asada Burrito with an Horchata on the side
My homeboy Gilberto Depiento told me about this place and mentioned it to be authentic mission st. food on gentrified Valencia St.
I keep coming back and will definitely drop by again soon enough
There are many taquerias in this neighborhood who do al pastor better...
I should've went with the chicken...
i don't know why i let my roommate order for me when I damn well know that we do not have the same tastes in food. So he got us a burrito to share (no beans)... and it was okay. Since we had Taqueria Zorro the night before (after some drinks at a lounge) we were both leaning towards Zorro as the better burrito maker.
But as we watched these people make other food we didn't order, it looked like it had potential to be better than a 3 star. There was nothing wrong with their service: get in line, you order, they make right in front of you, then you pay. Simple and fast. I bet their quesadillas are delicious... might try that next time.
Burritos rock in this cantina! Get the meat burritos! yes, they are very f*&^%$ good! NO! I am not the owner or any way affiliated with this place. Yes, there is booze. parking suck!!!!
La Cumbre--home of the worst chicken burrito I've ever had in the Mission District. I took the leftovers for work the next day, but ended up trashing it and going to Taco Bell instead.
After over 30 years of this being one of my favorite places, I give up. Meals used to be made with care and pride; last night was such a crap experience (tough, gristley carne asada; I'd ordered carnitas) that I will not be back. $7 for an inedible burrito, and not even what I'd ordered, accompanied by an attitude at the counter while ordering that I can't put a name to but was certainly less than welcoming or positive. They've lost a good customer. For $7 I expect to be able to eat my burrito. Bummer.
I have been eating La Cumbre burritos since I had teeth, over 30 years. This was the burrito of my youth, my first love in the world of taquerias. I am happy to say that my love has not wavered.
What must be said however is that I don't go here for anything but the carne asada burrito. The steak here is second to none. I see a lot of bad reviews on La Cumbre, and they are from people eating chicken tortas and other nonsense mistake orders. They should just call this place Carne Asada's, because that's the only thing you should order here. Everything else is mediocre. But the carne asada burrito is so damn good, I just can't get enough. The reason is this is the only place I've ever seen that flame barbecues their steak, in true carne asada fashion. All other taquerias use their big flat grills, and they can't capture the flame-cooked deliciousness of La Cumbre steak. I highly recommend ordering just steak, cheese, and maybe a little rice and beans, but I often just go meat and cheese or meat and rice. Don't even drown it out with salsa or pico de gallo. Just enjoy the asada in all its glory.
Saw on Man vs Food too.
Overall pretty good. Still think Guererro's in Pacifica rules.
I got the carne asada, meat was a little chewy. And they forgot the hot sauce.
The price is a little high at $7.75 for a regular (inc tax).
I will go back and try again.
As I was watching them cut up the carne asada for my burrito, I thought, "That carne asada doesn't look particularly tender or flavorful." Sure enough, it was dry, bland, and chewy. I was not impressed. There are so many other burritos in the Mission that deserve your love than this place.
This is a favorite for late night eaters and drunk people, alike. La Cumbre is open until 2 AM!
Personally, I like the cheese quesadillas. The carne asada burritos are okay, as well.
The chips here are good, as they are served warm. However, the salsa is average.
Churros are served, which is always a plus.
This place is pretty awesome!! Great food, good service and clean bathrooms. I am a major burrito critic but this place uses lean beef and the salsa is very tasty!
For desert, try the churros, they are even better when they are hot and fresh!
Watching La Cumbre tonight on Man vs. Food reminds me of the good old days. I remember coming here and enjoying the carne asada burrito. It was juicy but also seared just right. I thought it was a good burrito.
Nowadays I'm a El Farolito man, but watching the episode on TV makes me want to pop in for a visit.
I was ravenous and the chicken burrito was a perfect answer to my hunger. However! I just want to say that the "super" burrito is a waste of those extra few dollars. The "extra" guacamole was the watery kind and there was seriously three shreds of lettuce.
What I did like was the crispy tortilla wrapper and the fresh, flavorful chicken.
Good solid Mexican food. Saw the Man vs food and had to try.... But it wasn't anything special....... Big let down coming all the way from Outer Richmond.
Great place if you are close.
P.S. Beware of the Mexican trio band lurking around. Looking for tips
The atmosphere inside the place was bad. It was really dirty and disgusting. I noticed you had to pay for the bathroom. But other then that the burrito was delicious. The price didnt seem fair to me. I like Pancho Villa better, I believe they make better burritos there. This place is alright though.
I think you REALLY cant fu(*&^% up a veggie burrito too much
esp. when I have been drinking all day
the food was very fresh the nachos were good too
the service was fast
but then at most taquerias it is
it was clean too (which is always a plus)
I give this place 3.5 stars only because I think the prices are a bit high. A veggie burrito will run about $5.00, which I guess may be standard, but c'mon, beans, cheese, and rice should not cost $5.
I only ever get their veggie burrito or veggie tacos, so I can't speak to the meat dishes, but their veggie burritos and tacos are fantastic. My roomates rave about beef (not sure what kind) enchiladas here.
They're open late which is a plus, and the staff is nice.
Very bland, do not believe the HYPE! There are other places that have BIGGER AND BETTER BURRITOS!
RATING: GARBAGE!
This place is overpriced and bullshit! 12 dollars for 3 tacos and a mandarina jarritos is insane! Paying so much money for mediocre as mexican slop is a travesty! The service was terrible and the bitch that rang us up- honey you have the personality of a wet mop! I am never going there again! I am sticking to the mexican mission dogs that they sell on the streets...now that is amazing!!
You gotta try the pollo asado...it has an excellent smoky flavor. I started ordering this instead of the al pastor because the guy behind the grill gave me a piece of chicken for free once - it was some of the best chicken I ever tasted. Try it out - I promise you'll thank me.
This is my favorite burrito in the city. Their al pastor pork super burrito is the best to me. I… Read more »
Hadn't been here in a couple of years, so I decided to stop back in. I ordered a chili verde chicken burrito, but I think the woman making it misunderstood me, because I ended up with the grilled chicken. Eh, no matter. Grilled is good too.
This burrito had a few excellent qualities. First, the rice, which was excellent, and the refried beans, which were very tasty as well. Also, the grilled chicken had a really nice grill-flavor. However, the meat was a bit on the dry side, even for grilled chicken, and a little more fatty than I generally like. More curious than ever what the chili verde is like & will probably have to try it here at some point.
The other reason for the dry-ness was the lack of tasty salse. There were three different salsas in the salsa bar when I was there (plus lots of other sides, like jalapenos, corn, radishes, and ranch dressing), so I got some of each. Sadly, none of them made the cut, which means I ate most of my burrito salsa-less. This is part of what contributed to the dry-ness. There was a bright-red tomato-based one that was just bland, a darker, brown-colored one that looked promising but was so hot I couldn't anything for a few minutes after tasting it (which is saying something, given my predilection for teh spicy), and a green avocado-based one that was okay, but sort of bland, and too onion-y for my taste. So the salsa situation made me sad.
Still, not too many complaints about the burrito itself. I'll be curious to see whether the chili verde version takes care of the dry-ness issue.
Definately FAIL.
I recently moved to SF from the east bay and have been trying to find a good taqueria...so...
I too decided to try this place out after seeing it on man vs. food... only to be greatly dissapointed. My husband ordered the super burrito.. but their was nothing super about it, and we've definately had bigger at other taquerias.
I ordered the taco salad, which super sucked. The grilled chicken they used tasted like it was slathered in bbq sauce which made it taste not mexican at all.
This place pretty much just sucked, and i will definately not be back.
The search for a great sf taqueria continues. .*sigh*
I've been on a review hiatus and what better way to come back than to write a review about a taqueria. Not to mention, i'm waiting for my Yelp twin to catch up to me with his reviews. But, why a taqueria? Because i love em! Tacos, burrito, flautas, enchiladas and all that Mexican goodness!
Anyway, I came here with Greydon U. to have dinner before an elite event. I ordered a lengua super burrito. Yes, i like lengua. Not many people like it or are willing to try it but y'all are missing out. Usually lengua is done just one way, but here, they have regular lengua and spicy lengua. I couldn't pass up the chance to try it spicy. i asked if it was really spicy because you know how it is sometimes. They say its spicy but really its mildly spicy. So when i asked both the cook and the cashier immediately said YES! It sure didn't disappoint.
The lengua was spicy. The burrito was fulfilling and it had everything i wanted in a good burrito. I couldn't complain. The place is actually pretty big, but then again no one was in there when i was there so maybe thats why it looked so spacious. I will definitely be going back to try their other items. Om Nom Nom!
i saw this place on Man vs. Food, and i came with great expectations... but seriously, no matter where you go, super burritos will always taste the same unless put crack cocaine inside. The super burrito here is no different than the place near my house, it was even a little watery.
My Friend and I also gave La Cumbre a try after seeing it on Man vs. Food . He was pretty impressed by how it looked on the t.v. screen and I'm always up for trying new restaurants when I don't have to pay for it so we went the next day . I really don't see why almost everyone gets the grilled beef burrito(carne asada) because the veggie burrito really hit the spot . I'm sure our burrito was better and it was mad cow disease free . The burrito was really fresh , tasty and healthy . The steamed tortilla sets it apart from all other burritos that I've had . The horchata was adequate and the strawberry juice was fresh not too sweet . I'll pass on the chips and salsa whatever . I would definitely go back .
The best in the world for this type of food.
Let the hipsters, carpetbaggers, gourmands, and others stand in line at Pancho Villa or El Toro, good for them.
Highest recommendation for San Franciscans.
We got so much free stuff!
Neighborhood: SOMA
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