Cocina Poblana: Great value for Mexican food

Cocina Poblana
1109 Fillmore Street
(between Golden Gate Ave & Turk Blvd)
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 447-8420

I could talk about how this little gem is nestled in a small strip of stores on Fillmore St. in Western Addition, across from the McDonald’s that about 10 years ago was reputed to have a bullet-proof order counter for the staff. Add in some words about re-re-gentrification; high rise apartments and a new condo being built around PJs (er, low-income housing). But I won’t dwell on that too much longer. Let’s talk about the food:

When I looked at the menu, I was a little concerned about the prices charged for things that are usually $1-2 cheaper at other places I’d written about.

I ordered Tacos a la Parrilla (2 soft tacos, one with grilled chicken, the other with grilled carne asada), for $5.95. Add in $1.75 for strawberry agua fresca because it was actually hot outside during lunch.

Rest assured, the portions are big, and the ingredients fresh! For my order, I got:

– a huge serving of chips…about 2-4 times what La Salsa or El Burrito Express provide

– the chips are needed for access to the 6 or more fresh salsas in their salsa bar: pumpkin seed salsa, cucumber salsa, strawberry, mango, and more traditional ones. Only the cucumber salsa is listed as “hot” but I think it could be spicier.

– a tall cup of agua fresca, with NO ice in it. That’s actually a good thing. The drink was cool. And NO ICE = MORE BEVERAGE.

– two very packed tacos. Each was made with larger corn tortillas than the taco truck variety. Instead of about a 3″ diameter, these were 5-6″ in diameter. And they were not skimpy. I was only able to eat 1.5 of the order, and about 1/2 of the chips.

– friendly service! It’s sad that this is such a rare thing at counter-service restaurants nowadays, but it just makes the nice staff that much more unique. The woman who took my order even let me take one of their regular menus (not the paper take-out kind) …so I get to plan out the next excursion.

If you get a chance to sample their burritos or vegetarian specials, let me know. Overall a great experience! I would hope they put out a more legit SPICY salsa but…I’m ok with what was out there.

This entry was posted in Budget, Meals under $5 per main course, Mexico, Western Addition. Bookmark the permalink.

1 Response to Cocina Poblana: Great value for Mexican food

  1. Pingback: Papalote: Bargain Burritos in NoPa | GrubGirl.

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