today in Thursday Restaurant Review Haikus:

LAS TAQUERÍAS DE SAN FRANCISCO

People think there are good Mexican restaurants all over the country. That is not true. For if like me you have been weaned on San Francisco's taquerías then you will not be able to mask your disdain for Mexican fare in other towns. Why? Quite simply because some of the best cheap Mexican food is from San Francisco. Tacos, burritos, quesadillas- they just do it really well here. 

To be sure, there are some fine taquerías in other locales, but for my money, I'd say SF packs the strongest taquería wallop per capita. But beware- some of the most well-known ones are actually not good. Ergo I have haiku'd some of those too. Now, there are hundreds of taquerías in SF and people are fiercely loyal to their favorites. I will probably offend people with this list but then again if you get offended by haikus about tacos then you probably need to work on your offense-o-meter because that's just silly.

If these haikus give you a hankering for more info I advise you to check out Burrito Eater, a site akin to a wondrously curated online museum of all things taquería, with useful information and artful photos.

Finally and unrelatedly (and this needs to be addressed if I'm ever going to self-actualize) I have been on a self-imposed haiku hiatus for about 2 months, and people, I am not proud of that. Chalk it up to a summer-induced seventeen syllable slump. No matter, because me and my haikus are back with a vengeance and out for blood! Oh, wait, no actually just back. Forget the vengeance/blood part.

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LA TAQUERÍA
2889 Mission St. (@ 25th St.)

killer fruit drinks and
scrumptions fresh meat means long lines.
then, dessert next door.

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LA CORNETA
2731 Mission St. (btw 23rd & 24th Sts.)
2834 Diamond St. (@ Glen Park BART station)

a little fancy
(not really, just when compared.)
saucy meats are good!

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TAQUERÍA VALLARTA
3033 24th St. (btw. Balmy & Treat)

yummy, open late.
not the cleanest place around.
I do love their sign!

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TAQUERÍA CANCUN
2288 Mission St. (btw 18th & 19th Sts.)
3211 Mission St. (@29th St.)
1003 Market St. (@ 6th St.)

ugh. why? well, it's bad,
it's dirty, and it's not nice.
I don't get it. blech.

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TLALOC
525 Commercial St. (btw. Sansome & Leidesdorff Sts.)

large spot with fab food-
outdoor seats, great carnitas.
only lunch is served.

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GORDO TAQUERÍA
1239 9th Ave. (btw Irving and Lincoln)
5450 Geary Blvd. (btw 18th & 19th Aves.)
2252 Clement St. (btw 23rd & 24th Aves.)

in the avenues,
this place will do, and it's clean.
food is only "meh."

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PAPALOTE MEXICAN GRILL
3409 24th St. (@ Valencia)

NICK'S CRISPY TACOS
1500 Broadway (@ Polk)

fish tacos RULE here.
get it "Nick's way" - just trust me.
open weird hours, though.

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EL FAROLITO
2779 Mission St. (@ 24th St.)
4817 Mission St. (btw. Onondaga & Russia)

good, cheap, open late!
an old standby loved by most.
on the dirty side.

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LA CUMBRE TAQUERÍA
515 Valencia (@16th St.)

I'd say good, not great.
a standard taquería.
used to be better.

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TAQUERÍA PANCHO VILLA
3071 16th St. (btw Mission & Valencia)

just read what I wrote
about La Cumbre above-
pretty much the same.

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ZONA ROSA
1797 Haight St. (@ Shrader)

perfectly OK
it will do if you're on Haight-
but it won't amaze.

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Here's why I do them in haikus.


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