John S.
Yelp
I'll tell you that I wasn't impressed the first time I visited Taqueria La Cumbre for last year's TotMW. Everything seemed rushed, and I couldn't tell why. It seemed weird inside.
When I returned for this year's TotMW, I had a totally different feeling. Everything looked, smelled, and tasted the same. But something was different. Had I changed? Probably. It started with the cashier claiming to remember me. From that one visit almost a year prior? I highly doubted it, but he seemed sure, and he had a big smile on his face, so that could only portend burrito goodness for me, right?
My burrito was good. Not Pancho Villa good, but good nonetheless. I also really liked the atmosphere this time. Maybe it's because I had come on a hot day the first time, but this second time, it was a cool night. I watched other burrito eaters arrive, order their burritos, and enjoy themselves; and I enjoyed myself even more.
I returned another time for a takeout order. The same guy seemed to recognize me, but he didn't say anything about it this time. He was all business, but then this other lady arrived, and he started flirting with her while I was still in the middle of ordering, and then he smiled at me and apologized and told me my order would be right up.
They need to fix their sign. Yes, it's an old original, but having a broken sign makes your business look cheap, even if the flashing light in the sign still works. If it were farther south on Valencia, I'd visit it way more often, but if I'm walking all the way up here, I'll just go ahead with Pancho Villa or even El Toro, because they're both better. They are. Sorry.