Pancho Villas Taqueria:

My friend Joe picked me up the other day on the way to his apartment in Berkeley. He goes to school there and had to move out of his locker before the state imposed furlough locked the all doors. Joe is probably my favorite person to talk about food and restaurants with. He is incredibly knowledgeable and worked in the kitchen at Nopa before going back to his studies.

Joe took me by the Gourmet Ghetto in Berkeley which was exciting because I just read about this area in, The United States of Arugala. We were going to get some fried chicken sandwiches at a bakery in Oakland but we got there too late. The next logical move was tacos in San Francisco. It seems every time I see Joe in the Bay Area we get to catch up over tacos. I really enjoy the tradition.

We went to Pancho Villas Taqueria in the Mission. I ordered a carnitas taco especial, carne asada taco especial, and a pineapple agua del dia. Both tacos were really good but I think the carnitas was my favorite. The slathering of guacamole on top added a nice texture and taste to the tacos and made them especial. Joe ordered a burrito which you can see the remnants of in the fifth photo.

Joe made a great call in Pancho Villas Taqueria. It doesn’t have the legendary cheese taco like La Taqueria but it does an excellent job with all the taqueria standards. I will recommend this place to people who are looking for good Mexican food in San Francisco. Also their salsa bar was top notch. Joe and I had scorched our mouths by the end of the meal but I think it was worth it.