Contreras Market, Taqueria, Tortilleria - Livermore

 

Ed’s Rating: Go Back Again

This week’s burrito Safari took us to Contreras Market in Livermore. Inside this little grocery store is a taqueria. We are not sure what’s on the menu because there isn’t one. Our burrito maker gave us a quick rundown of the meats then we made our orders. They didn’t have my usual Chili Verde, so I went with a Carne Asada burrito. Ordering at this store is a little different than other taquerias. You don’t pay at the counter, get a number, and wait. Instead it is much more active, you order at the counter, go pay at check out, and then take your receipt back to the counter. The nice part is you can see the burrito being made once you make it back to the counter. Warning, Contreras burritos are very large. Mine was excellent with fresh ingredients, large pieces of meat, and it just the right temperature.  Our usual Safari has us stalking the Chips and Salsa bar, but this isn’t possible here because it is only a myth like Big Foot.

Miquel's Rating:  Go Back Again
The Establishment…
The First thing you’ll notice as you enter this Market/Taqueria is the street vendor selling DVDs. Hmm, I see now why Blockbuster went out of Business, it was clearly this guy who sent them to their grave. Once inside, you’ll have to find your way to the far right of the store…there you’ll find a friendly, busy counter man eager to take your order.
The Burrito…
Having had this Burrito before, I knew what I was expecting…A Fresh, Tasty Burrito and got nothing less. One thing I did forget was the size of this monster, these Burritos are HUGE! As delicious as they are, I could only eat half. I hurt me to waste such a tasty Burrito, but I just had to, I don’t believe in making it to go for later.

Conclusion…

Don’t let the entrance to this place scare you, give it a try and you’ll be fortunate enough to enjoy a HUGE, delicious burrito.
Last Comment…
Ed’s driving was phenomenal today!...Thank You Ed!

Dean’s Rating: Go Back Again

This was a disaster in the making; it began with searching for the menu board that we never found, moved on to placing an order then taking your ticket to the front of the store to pay for it and getting our ticket stamped “PAID”.  We handed our ticket back to the chef (I use the term loosely) and sit and wait for our cylindrical treat. No chips and no salsa!!!  Finally we were called up to the counter to retrieve our food. It was big, bigger than most and only $5.50. I defoiled it in the usual manner and took a bite. It was fabulous, if I could rate this place higher I would just on the burrito! It was loaded with great pico and fresh green chillies. I couldn’t finish it again, but felt like I left nothing behind because it was so good!

I have nothing to add about the behavior of the others due to the bliss that came with the first bite. Nothing else matters.

Taqueria Los Pericos - Dublin

Ed’s Rating: Go Back Again
After a small detour, we made it to Taqueria Los Pericos.  Our navigator lost the trail and we went to Taqueria Azteca by accident.  With Google’s help, we got back on the trail and found our taqueria. It’s a classic taqueria with Beer piñatas for decoration.  We ordered our food and received the classic style number card for our food delivery.  As usual, we picked up chips and salsa while waiting for our burritos.  The chips were fresh, but broken into small pieces. We tried two different salsas and both were good and with a little

spiciness. I especially liked the red salsa with fresh tomatoes and onions.   We got our food as usual, and tried to unwrap the aluminum foil wrap. The burritos were well wrapped and warm, so the foil didn’t come off easily. It was well worth the drive to Dublin because my Chili Verde Burrito was very good. Along with the standard meat, rice, and beans it contain fresh Pico De Gallo. Every bite of the burrito was good.  Unfortunately for me, the contents were more than what the tortilla could hold, so I ended up using a knife and fork to finish.  The only complaint I have was the napkins are too small. These are messy burritos, so big napkins are a must.

Miquel's Rating: Avoid

He will post later as usual.

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Dean’s Rating: Go Back Again

After getting blamed (wrongly) for going to the wrong place Ed managed to get it together long enough to find Taqueria Los Pericos. Located in yet another run down strip mall anchored by Jack in the Box we sought out the meaty creations wrapped in foil. Three different salsas and of two I tried the chipotle was good and the tomato salsa was great.  The Super Burrito Carne Asada Extra Spicy I ordered was enormous! So big that is had drawbacks.

1. I couldn’t finish it so I will never know what lie at the bottom of that tubular tortilla. (As any good burrito eater knows that is the best part where the yummy juices wait for you)

2. It was stratified usually with only 2 or 3 ingredients per bite due to the layering when this monster was assembled.

3. It made Ed’s regular burrito look humiliated to the point where it just gave up and collapsed.

The flavors were good and it had a little kick but not the extra spicy I was looking for. It is a good place to go after the game.

If anyone wants to replace Miquel as Burrito Hunter please leave a comment. I think he is just looking for cheese to go with his whine!!!!

Fiesta Taco - Pleasanton

Ed's Rating: It's OK
After visiting Rio Viejo Taqueria and discovering it was close we had to make a quick decision and find a place to eat. We found Fiesta Taco by driving through a small strip mall near Rio Viejo.  Fiesta looks like it took over an old pizzeria and made it into taqueria. It does its best to make the places look Mexican by putting up hats and hot sauces on the tables instead of crushed red pepper.

On the upside, the food was delivered fast and hot. It had all you can eat chips and salsa, with posting that it was not ok to “Waste the chips”.

On the downside, both the salsa and food were bland. Each of us got different burritos and felt that it they really lacked flavor.

A big negative for us, was it took only cash. Luckly between  the three of us we had enough cash.
In general Fiesta was ok, but we don’t have plans to go back.

Miquel's Rating: Avoid
The Establishment…
Arrived to the Pizzeria (Fiesta Taco) with a strange sign that Read “ Cash Only” at the order counter. I wasn’t sure what that sign actually meant…”Cash Only” ? What is Cash?...Luckily, my Burrito Compadres knew exactly what that meant and offered to pay for my order.
The ordering process was quick, smooth and friendly.
The Burrito…
Being the Mighty Burrito Hunter I am, I took the Burrito by the Horns because I fear No Burrito. Took One bite and right away something was missing, flavor! Took a couple more bites and did what I felt was very easy to do, FOLDED!...This Pizzeria converted into Taco/Burrito  Place wasn’t for me.
Closing Comment…
One more thing,  the ride back to the office was awful, but that was expected!.

Dean's Rating: It's OK
After listening to Miquel's rant about the closure of the Rio Viejo and how he was starving, we drove down Valley Avenue and decided to cruise the worst strip mall in Pleasanton. Across from the Sunshine Saloon there it was, a dive pizza joint converted to Fiesta Taco!!! Perfect!
We all ordered the standard fare and I got the Carne Asada Super Burrito extra spicy. We sat down with mini cups of salsa and some chips. I tried the hot salsa and the green tomatillo salsa and thought this place is going to rock. Unfortunately the burrito was very bland and not spicy at all. Too much sour cream took away all the flavor. The salsa saved it from being an AVOID.
The ride back to the office was about geography and race. Needless to say it was in poor taste and Miquel wanted to surrender his burrito back to nature and kick me out of the country.

Rio Viejo Taqueria - Pleasanton

Out of Business! Avoid!