Tag Archives: Hole-in-the-wall

by | August 18, 2009 · 8:03 pm

Burrito Loco

by Mikey

Yeah, I know I’ve been posting alot of burrito and Mexican food places.  A while back, I asked people to give me some good places and I’ve been working off my list.  This is actually the last small, hole in the wall, Mexican food place I had on the list and I gotta say it was a horrible way to finish it off.  I’m going to have to find some more hole in the walls just to remove this one. But I’m not bitter…..

Burrito Loco – Arroyo Grande

I used to live up in Arroyo Grande, and when someone told me that this place was some of the best Mexican food in SLO, I had to check it out.  Those lying bastards will pay for their betrayal.

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I had my boy with me, so between the both of us I knew we would get a great sampling.  When you got T with you, anywhere you go you got nachos, burgers, and pizza covered.  He does not stray very far from his staples.

I ordered up some enchiladas and tacos and T went with the nacho plate.  The place did have a lot of people inside, so that was a good sign.  The help is not unfriendly, but they aren’t friendly either.  They are kinda lifeless.  If I had a place called burrito loco, my employees would at least seem moderately happy and maybe even a bit crazy.  The good kinda crazy, not the “I’m going to take you out to the alley, cut off your head and drink chocolate milk from it” kinda crazy, but maybe like “I have all these TV’s and my prices are insane” kinda crazy.

We got our food within 15 minutes and I already saw a problem with T-money’s nachos: they use a cheese sauce and not real cheese.  Cheese sauce is ok if you’re at the ball game or movies, where they need to get stuff out quick and the food isn’t supposed to be great.  In a place like this it should be the real thing.  T kinda looked at it the way you look when you think your favorite show is about to come on but instead its extended coverage of the state of the union address and they are analyzing every use of the word “the”.

T, being the great foody that he is, still tried them out for me and confirmed that, yes, they are indeed horrible.  I went ahead and tried them too and confirmed the confirmation that, yes indeed, they were, in fact, downright uninspiring.  Cheese sauce spread all over chips kills any and all crunchiness they might have had, and if it’s a sloppy sauce it’s on every damn chip.  T was a trooper and hung with it as best he could.

I wish I could say my meal was better, but it just wasn’t.  The enchilada was as bland as the help.  The sauce was made to look like sauce, but was really just a wet covering.  I almost thought the beans had flavor, but it turned out it was just a piece of my breakfast that had gotten stuck in my teeth.  The beef in the taco could have been beef at one time, but now was just a shadow of its former self.

I guess one good thing about the place was that at least it didn’t taste bad.  It really didn’t taste like anything at all.

They need to inject some loco in Burrito Loco. The food, the help, and the joint itself could all use a heaping spoonful of loco. Ramsey, if you’re out there, get to Burrito Loco and crank up the loco stat!

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by | July 8, 2009 · 8:31 pm

Father’s Office – Epic Burgers and Brews

by Brian

This is a place I’ve been wanting to try for quite a while.  Lucky for me, we had a few readers who wanted to try it too.  So last week, after a long day of work, I hopped in my car and cruised down PCH to Santa Monica toward an evening that can only be described as epic.  Out of the three people I was meeting for dinner, I had only met one.  My buddy Chris, who actually shot the pictures for this post, was in town from NYC and wanted to find out if the burgers were as good as everyone said.  The other members of our group were Liisa, who is an awesome and frequent commenter on the site and Courtney, a NYC transplant who is just starting to figure out how awesome L.A. is.  I was glad that EatMeCalifornia could help with that.

Father’s Office – On Montana Ave., between 10th and 11th Streets, Santa Monica

FO Sign

Father’s Office was very similar to another one of my favorite burger joints: The Apple Pan.  They’re both tiny, hole-in-the-wall places, they’re both famous for their burgers and they both strive to keep things simple.  Father’s Office is a little more “upscale” than The Apple Pan, but has a similar attitude when it comes to dining in their fine establishment.  The Apple Pan makes you wait your turn, standing around the lone counter, but FO, once filled to capacity, forms a line outside so you can patiently wait your turn to go inside.  Both places also frown on substitutions, with the Apple Pan being the more lenient.  If you want something changed at Father’s Office, they’ll just turn you down.

So this place is not for the picky.  What else?  It’s not for big groups either.  In fact, the four of us lucked out with getting our table.  Courtney and I got their early and shared half of a table with two random dudes.  When Liisa and Chris met us inside, the guys were just leaving so we got to snag their seats.  I don’t think that’s the norm, as I spied a ton of people just hovering around waiting to slip into an open seat.  If the worst thing I can say about a place is that it’s hard to get a seat, you know it must be good.

Once we were settled into our table we went to the bar and placed our orders.  At FO, there are no waiters, just busboys who bring out your food and take away your empty beer glasses.  Speaking of beer, FO has one of the most impressive selections of beer that you’ll find anywhere.  They have about 30 beers on draft and plenty more in bottles, with their specialties being California microbrews and Belgian ales.  They also have a good wine selection, which hopefully Liisa will comment on because I stuck to the beer.  With so many amazing choices on tap, how could I not?

I could write a whole post on the beers I tried, but this is a food website, so I’ll give you what you want: just the facts food.

FO Burger

I quickly realized that nearly every single person in this place was gettin’ down on the burger.  Not that I was shocked, mind you, just aware.  I had heard about the unique Father’s Office burger, but until I actually took my first bite, I just figured it was all hype.  It was not. Continue reading →

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