Your F.
Yelp
It actually hurts my soul a little writing this review. Particularly because I wasn't even sure I wanted to give a second star. Guisado's is a local staple in LA, and so many people praise their tacos as some of the best around. After years and years of driving by their locations, hearing all the tales of their incredible food, I finally decided to visit the Burbank location tonight and experience this greatness for myself. Sadly, I was completely underwhelmed. :(
All of the menu options sounded so appealing, but I narrowed it down to three tacos (Cochinita, Chicken Tinga, and Chicken Mole) and a Tamal Puerco. I walked in starving, so I was incredibly excited to feast on my meal.
Before I even dive into the actual taste of anything, I'll mention that everything was ice cold. Not cool, not room temperature -- COLD. I was hungry, and didn't feel like sending it back, so I figured, I'll overlook that part. Certainly the flavors everyone raves about will make up for the temperature of the food.
First bite of the tamal, and I was wondering where the flavor was. Second bite, and I was wondering where the pork was! No joke, after two bites of it, the entirety of it was just corn masa... no more meat to be found after those two small bites. It was dry, bland, and most importantly, missing the key ingredient -- the pork! The presentation said "authentic", but the flavor did not match.
On to the tacos... I started with the Tinga. The chicken was tender, and there was a generous amount of sauce. It was slightly overpowered with heat, which left for a lack of balance in flavor... it was pretty much just spicy, with some black bean spread. Nothing memorable. The sauce on the Cochinita was also tasty, but I found the pork to be mediocre. Pork is pretty much my favorite meat in the realm of Hispanic and Mexican cuisines, and has SO much flavor potential when prepared correctly. This just fell flat. If it weren't for the pickled onions, I don't know that I would have even finished the meat. Finally, the mole. Now, this one had probably the most potential, with a decent mole sauce, but ultimately still lacked DEPTH of flavor that this type of cuisine can and should have... especially when people are touting you as the BEST tacos in LA!!
What I will give props for is, as many have mentioned, their corn tortillas hold up incredibly well, considering how saucy these tacos are. It's just a disappointment that for how much sauce is on each one, the tacos are not bursting with layers of incredible flavors. It's all pretty one-note. So much so that I didn't even want to waste the calories on the tacos in whole, so I only ate the meat and left the tortillas alone.
Was it the worst meal I've ever had? Certainly not. But when it comes to tacos, the goal is a flavor bomb in each one. After all, you're not eating a TON of food, so you want the taste to satisfy you more than anything, and I left this meal not only still hungry, but feeling totally robbed of my expectations.
Notable mention to the cashier, who was incredibly nice, but consider me a one-time-only customer. Sad to say it, because I was hoping that I'd walk away a regular. But there are plenty of better taco options elsewhere. I'd have to say, like many places in this city, a lot of what's keeping this place going is the hype. Give it a try if you don't mind gambling $20 on a few bites, but I wouldn't place any bets that this will be the best taco you've ever tasted.