83359 Thu Aug 24 01:49:44 -0700 2000 7 3 California 0 463390 I ate at this great taqueria twice on my trip to Santa Barbara a couple of weeks ago. It is just as good as I had remembered it from my last trip, 3 years ago, and the trip before that (etc.). The thing that every visitor needs to know about El Taco Super Rico is that everyone knows how good this place is, so the lines at peak lunch and dinner times are very long. When I arrived at 12:30 for lunch I had to wait on line 30 minutes before getting my food. Sure, it was worth it, but I noticed that when I left the restaurant around 1:45, the lines were a lot shorter. This was also true when I showed up for a late dinner around 8:20 P.M. or so (if I remember the time correctly). So think about showing up late for lunch or dinner if you want to spend less time on line. Incidentally, I had better meals at Super Rico than at the taquerias I went to in the Mission District of San Francisco on this trip - not that there was anything wrong with those places, mind you. Michael (glad to be safely back in NYC after going through airline Hell on Monday, but looking forward to the next California trip) Thu Aug 24 01:49:44 -0700 2000 0 Michael 1 463391 Having just eaten at La Super-Rica last Sunday night, I totally agree. The only thing that didn't thrill me was the bean filled gordita. Everything else was wonderful! I stood in line for 30 minutes or so, but the wait was well worth it. Thu Aug 24 12:22:06 -0700 2000 463390 0 Tom Armitage 2 463393 I loved the bean-filled gordita. Chacun a son gout. I also loved the thing that was filled with pieces of those really large dark green hot peppers (their name slips my mind at the moment). Thu Aug 24 20:09:27 -0700 2000 463391 0 Michael 3 463399 The chilies that are charring on La Super-Rica's grill are poblanos. The roasted poblanos stuffed with cheese are especially yummy. Fri Aug 25 16:53:11 -0700 2000 463393 0 Tom Armitage 1 463394 At the risk of starting a war or sounding like an idiot, I've long thought that San Francisco is a burrito town and L.A. (and by extension Santa Barbara) is a taco town. Thu Aug 24 22:19:11 -0700 2000 463390 0 Leslie Brenner 2 463396 What do you mean, Los Angeles isn't a burrito town? The burrito in its original Lunchpail Joe meat 'n bean form was practically invented there, and is still served with great aplomb at places like El Tepeyac, Lupe's, Burrito King, etc. Frisco's black-bean-ridden, guacamole-packin', rice-drippin', fat-free-chicken-breast-infested organic-seven-grain-tortilla monstrosities are to honest Los Angeles burritos what a Thai shrimp pizza from California Pizza Kitchen is to a slice from Di Faro's. Fri Aug 25 11:29:06 -0700 2000 463394 0 Pepper 3 463397 Yes, yes, I know most of those burrito places and have had great burritos in many. But having lived in both northern and southern cal, I always felt that great burritos were more ubiquitous in no cal, while great tacos were more ubiquitous in so cal. At the same time, I do realize of course that there are some great burritos in L.A. and great tacos in S.F. Fri Aug 25 14:55:10 -0700 2000 463396 0 Leslie Brenner 1 463395 I'm a San Franciscan, and the general quality of our taquerias doesn't compare to the ones I grew up with in Salinas or what Sonoma County has to offer. Or maybe the taste of Michoacan and Guadalajara where our ag workers come from is more familiar to me. Unlike other areas of Calif., the majority of Latinos in SF's Mission District are not of Mexican heritage. There are more Central Americans here. Fri Aug 25 02:53:10 -0700 2000 463390 0 Melanie Wong