Restaurant Review - La Corneta

BARGAIN BITE - La Corneta (San Francisco Chronicle)

Things have been hopping at the Burlingame branch of this popular San Francisco taqueria ever since it opened last month. Bright and attractive, with a boldly colored sculpture of the Virgin of Guadalupe and a mural of a trumpeting angel, the look is several steps above the typical burrito joint. Much of the food is, too. There's the standard selection of meats and fillings, along with items not often found outside of Latino neighborhoods, such as silken lengua (tongue) soft taco ($2.25) served open faced and topped with a slice of fresh tomato.

Some combination plates include the usual suspects, but the portions are generous, and other combos -- carne asada and prawns ($9.95) or corn quesadilla, prawns and taco ($9.55) -- go well beyond standard fare. The chile relleno ($2.95 solo, $8.95 in a combination plate with enchilada and flauta, or $6.55 wrapped up in a super burrito) is plump and properly squishy, with just the right balance of chile to egg to cheese. Grilled salmon shows up in various forms, including a fish quesadilla or burrito (either, $6.95). So do prawns, which are especially good grilled to order with quartered fresh mushrooms, green onions and a fistful of dried arbol chiles in the prawn special with rice, beans and guacamole-topped salad ($9.75). Burritos are the usual hefty size, topping out at $8.95 for super steak and prawn. But they're scaled down, too, with several choices of "baby'' burritos ($3.50-$6.75).

The place is run as most taquerias are, with customers ordering at the counter, then moving on down the line to the cashier. Tables are polished wood, though, and a couple are set on the front patio. Those are the ones to grab if you want a little conversation -- the interior can be pretty noisy when it's full, which is often.

Vitals: 1123 Burlingame Ave. (near Lorton), Burlingame; (650) 340-1300

- Written by Fiona

Comments

Great article. Our family has worked it's way through the menu, including everything in this review, except the legua!

The food is fresh and delicious, and as customers get more comfortable with the ordering/paying scenario, along with the fantastic prices, this is clearly becoming the go-to place in Burlingame.

[Linda Hall]

Love it! I used to frequent one of their two restaurants in SF-the one in Glenn Park- near Diamond Heights. That taqueria caught my attention when I saw a line around the block every single day. That was a good sign. I could not wait for this one to open. Fresh products and friendly staff- could not be happier! Welcome to Burlingame- a much needed change of the usual Italian restaurants and great place to take the whole family.
Linda

[Steve_K]

In another thread I mentioned that I finally got around to talking to the owner about the lukewarm temperature of the food. The owner went over to the food counter, took a sample in a cup and stuck his food in it and agreed with me. That was two weeks ago and I've eaten there twice since then and the food is still lukewarm. Absolutely nothing changed.

I'll continue eating there because I like the taste of the food, it's conveniently located and it's good thing to support local business. But my wife will not - only Pancho Villa for her, so we drive to San Mateo. What a shame.

Can somebody else also tell the owner - he's a trim guy, short, probably in his forties, looks south american but not indian mexican looking, well-dressed - that they have a problem. Maybe if he hears it again (and again and again) he'll comprehend that the food isn't hot (temperature - not spicy) enough.

[Susie]

Just took my kids in there for lunch - once I figured out what we wanted and the procedure it went pretty quick - the kids loved it and I was happy to get a good Tamale...prices were great - I feel like we could go there on a regular basis - not sure about the 'food temp' issue - it was perfect for the kids which probably means it wasn't hot enough!! I'll take my husband in for his opinion...

[wayne]

I agree with Steve about the temperature. For food safety, the holding pans are supposed to be held at a higher temperature to inhibit bacteria growth. Unfortunately, at the higher temperatures, food keeps cooking and gets overcooked so there's a time component to it as well. I'm assuming the owner is trying not to keep his temperature too high so his hot pan fillings don't get overcooked. If his turnover with those fillings isn't quick, he might do that to save his ingredients. I think he needs to better gauge his customer volume with the time of day to keep his food fresher. I've eaten there 4 times now. Yes, I'm a fan of Pancho Villa locally and La Taqueria in the City. I want Corneta to do well so I've continued to go back eventhough I've only had mediocre experiences so far. I've finally realized that the specialty plates are the way to go. It takes a little longer as they're cooked/grilled up when you order it, but it beats the low temp over cooked fillings you get when you order a burrito. What boggles me is this. Corneta is their 3rd or 4th restaurant. I'd assume, any kinks would be worked out fairly quickly due to experience and it continues to boggle me that the menu wall was designed so poorly which leads to a terrible flow of ordering and waiting. I wish them well as Burlingame needs a few casual places mixed in.

The owner told me that the layout is not what he originally intended. Late during the construction he found out that he had to build an emergency exit door and an exit hallway behind the west wall. That's why there was that long delay in opening as they had to rebuild things.

We didn't get into the details of how or why that happened and he was certainly not happy with the layout as it is now - but it appears too late to change it at this point.