Restaurants

The crouton makes it magic!

El Toreador in one sentence: Bright, cheery, always busy “sit down Mexican” place in West Portal, with bottomless bowls of chips, generous pitchers of Margaritas and big platters of comfort food.

Who you’ll see there: College students, families, couples before going to the movies.

Make sure to try: the sopa, the tasty tomato broth soup with one giant, yummy crouton floating in it. Also, the enchiladas will warm you up on the coldest, foggiest San Francisco night. Definitely go for the pitcher over the individual glasses of margaritas.

It’s okay to skip: the crispy taco plate. It’s a lot of fried, and they heat up the plate with the lettuce on it — not my favorite.

Service: The place is always busy, so they keep things moving. You’ll never have an empty plate sitting in front of you, and your water or soda will be refilled without you asking.

Average meal price:  Two people are in and out for $30 without booze, $45 if you get a pitcher.

Logistics:

• Be prepared for a line, you put your name on a list and wait
• No reservations
• It will be loud – it will not be romantic
• Kinda cramped, but in a friendly way
• Yes to credit cards

Parking:

On the street, can be tough to find, the smart move is to drop someone off to put your name on the list while you look for a spot

Location:

West Portal
50 W Portal Ave
(between Claremont Blvd & Portola Dr)
San Francisco, CA 94127
(415) 566-8104

Photos: Cat Lincoln

When my boyfriend David and I are on the Peninsula and craving a tasty burrito, but don’t want to spend a lot of dough, we always go to El Super Burrito in Millbrae.

Located in a converted Arby’s building, El Super Burrito (or ESB) is a well-known Mexican food fave of the locals. There is almost always a line to order at the counter, and for good reason. The ingredients are fresh, the service is friendly and the prices are affordable.

The No Meat Burrito from El Super Burrito in Millbrae.

After an afternoon of running errands, David and I decided that a trip to El Super Burrito was well deserved. When we walked in, we were pleased to discover the line was only two people deep and a mariachi version of Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me” by Gael Garcia Bernal from the movie “Rudo y Cursi” was playing over the speakers. Nothing wrong that!

One of the many things I love about El Super Burrito is there are a lot of options, including low calorie and vegetarian dishes. Every time I go in, I tell David that I’m going to order the California Burrito, which features steak or chicken, cheese, avocado, sour cream and, errrr, french fries. Yep, french fries! Of course, I never get it, but today, a teenager in line ahead of was ordering three of them. Apparently, fries on your burrito is more popular than I thought.

The two enchilada plate from El Super Burrito in Millbrae.

I ordered the No Meat burrito, which is pretty self explanatory: black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, rice, sour cream and guacamole. This is my favorite kind of burrito. It’s a perfectly delicious, and I can scoop out the inside with my chips if I’m feeling crazy. David got the two enchilada plate with one beef, one chicken enchilada, refried beans, spanish rice and extra tortillas.

There’s nothing fancy about El Super Burrito. It’s just a great place to get some tasty, well-made Mexican food at a affordable price.

El Super Burrito
780 El Camino Real
Millbrae, CA 94030
(650) 583-0487
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Do you ever find yourself in an unfamiliar part of town and suddenly your stomach starts growling? It happens to me more than I care to admit, but this time rather than suffering until I got home – or reluctantly eating fast food – I let my nose lead me to some of the best Mexican food ever in Daly City.

Finding myself on the outskirts of the Mission District in San Francisco with a hungry stomach, I took the first parking spot I found on a busy section of Mission Street. When I got out of the car, the first thing I noticed was this lovely smell of warm tortillas and roasting meats coming out this little doorway with a green metal gate.

I was technically in Daly City, not San Francisco which is not discernible unless you have a map in front of you. Our “accidental” find proceeded to bring all sorts of wonderful memories out for my husband – with the music, the authentic and rich smells coming from the kitchen and the colorful decorations on the wall. He kept saying how the room felt like he was in his grandmother’s house.

Delicious menu items

I loved the decor and the warm hospitality from the staff of Lisa’s Mexican Restaurant.

The sangria I had was delicious and not too sweet. We were very surprised at the number of empty tables but at the same time you could tell that the people who were coming in for lunch, felt very much at home and ready for a relaxing and unhurried meal.

On this occasion I had a combination of chicken enchilada and crispy flauta (a flauta is deep fried like a taquito but made with a flour tortilla rather than corn) – both were cooked and seasoned perfectly.

I will definitely put this down in my book under the category of “undiscovered finds” and return again. The prices were very reasonable and the portions were perfect.

Lisa’s Mexican Restaurant
6582 Mission St
Daly City, CA 94014
(650) 756-6289