As luck would have it, two of the city’s best Mexican eateries are within spitting distance of each other. Not that anyone would want to be spitting things — but Los Guachos can be found just off of Bethel Road, while Cuco’s Taqueria is just one exit south, on Henderson Road.
It makes the perfect set up for the Battle of Burrito. Burritos are ubiquitous, they’re a perfect meal, and Chipotle has made a killing off of them. We can do better than fast food burritos: between Los Guachos and Cuco’s, who’s got the best burrito?
Of course, it’s never as easy to execute comparisons as it’s supposed to be. A burrito is a burrito, right? Nope. Complicating issues is the fact that both establishments have several types of burritos. So, the comparison is between the versions that looked to be the most basic: El Favorito (Los Guachos) and Burrito Tapatio (Cuco’s).
The Favorito is a heavy bundle packaged inside a neatly folded flour tortilla. It holds a thousand chunks of chicken, flavored with fresh cilantro and just a little bit of beans and cheese work to hold all that chicken together.
The Tapatio is smaller and smothered in a delicious sauce with cheese. Inside are bigger strips of chicken and refried beans. There’s also lots of fun little things on the side — delivering more total food than the Favorito: guacamole, rice, lettuce tomato.
So, we have one burrito that’s finger food, and one burrito that’s meant for a fork and knife. This complicates DeathMatch Matters significantly.
In burrito fantasy land, the teeny chunks of chicken at Los Guachos get soaked in the sauce and cheese at Cuco’s. That would be the best of both worlds.
But, if that’s not possible, the victory today can go to Los Guachos: it does provide some good sauce options to spike it, and the freshness of he cilantro and generous supply of chicken chunks is a winning combination.
(Off topic note: the visit was a nice introduction to Cuco’s breakfast menu. It looks like a contender for a big victory in an entirely different category.)
For more information, visit www.cucostaqueria.com and www.los-guachos.com.