San Diego Taco Company

(NOTE: I just learned in late February 2013 that both San Diego Taco Company locations have closed.)

(Also check out Part 2 from July 2012!)

San Diego Taco Company has two locations in Oregon: on SW Barnes Road in Beaverton, and on Liberty St. NE in Salem. I ventured to Liberty location, since it was closer to my apartment. Check out their website, which also has their full menu.

Hours on Yelp say SD Taco Company opens around 8 a.m., but they could delay and open at 9 a.m. Happened to overhear one of the workers on that one.

Red and green hot salsa!

I admit, I have a burrito addiction. Whenever I see the word "burrito" on a menu, I generally just take that option. There must be some ESP going on somewhere, I swear.

I ordered the pulled pork burrito ($6.49), one of the top sellers at this location. Pulled pork, guacamole, and pico de gallo encased inside a heated tortilla.

Pulled Pork Burrito
Red and green spicy salsa on the side
(San Diego Taco Company)

Cross-section shot!

The cook browned the pulled pork on the flattop while retaining the pork's juiciness. The slight smoky essence on the pork reminded me of kalua pork I would eat back in Hawaii. The fresh pico de gallo and guacamole worked well against the meat. A deft touch on slightly browning the outside of the flour tortilla.

I enjoyed the spicier red and green salsas (the green one uses tomatillos, I believe). A great pairing with my burrito.

The California burrito ($6.99) is another popular burrito choice that I may consider in the future.
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Two days later, I returned for their breakfast burrito. The "Super Massive" breakfast burrito ($6.69) caught my eye. On the website, it's advertised with golden brown hash browns, egg, cheese, crema fresca, and bacon. Yum indeed. I opted for no crema on mine (never really was into that stuff).

The "Super Massive" breakfast burrito I received
(San Diego Taco Company)
It *could* be lengthier than the pulled pork burrito I had, but still not very imposing

In this cross-section, it's pork link sausage in there, not bacon

Unfortunately, I'm all but certain there was a breakdown in communication on this order. Instead of bacon, I got pork link sausage -- and that's it for meat. Right animal, wrong cut of meat. The burrito was nowhere near what I'd call "super massive." It was probably close to seven inches in length, with the same thickness as my pulled pork burrito two days prior. I don't know what the other breakfast burritos look like, but I would have at least expected this "super massive" burrito to live up to the billing: be noticeably larger and/or thicker.

For the record, the breakfast burrito was delicious. Stringy and gooey cheese, juicy flavorful (likely store-bought) link sausage, and nicely scrambled eggs. The hash browns, which I felt could have been browned a tad more, looked all diced up, almost like a rice consistency.

Did you know this place has a spicy habanero burrito challenge? A 30-minute, 2-pound habanero burrito. Yes, I defeated it in 12:21. Check the video out!

I received awesome burritos from the San Diego Taco Company. But I've seen better deals in Salem, and the apparent snafu on my breakfast burrito order (fairly harmless error in the long run) must also be taken into account.