La Corneta Taqueria
2834 Diamond Street
(between Kern St & Wilder St)
“Where the he– is Glen Park?” Sarah asked. “I dunno,” I shrugged. “Somewhere with lots of families, I think.” Everyone who lives near Glen Park of San Francisco knows this place but we sure didn’t…it’s way out there in the outskirts of SF. You know, off Monterey Avenue…where people that work in high tech in San Jose try to live so they hop onto 280 in minutes.
Well, plan your public transportation route to the Glen Park BART station, or bring a lot of spare change if you drive over to this neighborhood’s 1-2 blocks of activity, ‘cuz the parking’s tight and the mayor’s taking advantage of you havin’ 4 wheels. But if you time it right to get there on a weekend, plan for parking, and get to La Corneta all before the lunchtime rush, you’re gonna thank me for it.
What’s the big deal? Great value, big portions, quality ingredients, clean atmosphere. Wow, this is what the suburbs are like, I guess! Plus, the burrito I had (try the junior chicken mole) had a lot of meat in it…it wasn’t overstuffed with rice, as is typical with most Northern California burrito concoctions. You order at the cafeteria line (step back if you’re trying to figure out all the options), and get whisked on through to burrito goodness. In addition to the chicken mole, I managed to stuff in an order of fish tacos…cabbage was fresh, corn tortillas weren’t soggy, and the fish was done just right.
Areas for improvement? Yelp reviews also mentioned this — they did forget my fish taco order, despite my hovering around the cash register for a while. They don’t seem to write the orders down on an order form, at the beginning of the line. By the time my 2 orders moved down the assembly line, workers have no idea what actually comprised your under unless you’re somehow able to follow all the people making your orders. In my situation, my burrito was being made by a queue, but the fish taco had to be grilled, which took it off the main critical path. Fortunately for me, they popped open the basic electronic cash register, and saw a fish taco price near a mole burrito price, and accepted that I had indeed ordered what I did. Not very efficient of them when the hordes of families have descended, but at least they didn’t cheap out on me.
Also, we managed to beat the onslaught of the eclectic lunch crowd: construction workers, and tons and tons of parents with kids. Who knew so many children lived in San Francisco?! And those little rugrats seriously bump up the “chairs per table” quotient, so get there early. If you live close enough to walk by for dinner, I’m quite jealous.
Thanks TL for the scoop! I’m forever in your debt.