So nice to have a place in Sebastopol where I can get a filling amount of food for a good price. Everywhere else you get half the food or less for the money.

Coming back from Valley Ford, where we released a breeding pair of badgers out there in the rolling hills and grasslands to help control the prairie dog population that old Lady Peta started when she released the vermin back in 2016. …And boy, I’ll tell you we’re beat! It’s tough walking those rolling hills carrying a steal cage that has a 25-pound angry badger in it, and all it can think about is biting you!
Well, we took the long way back through Sebastopol just so we could stop at the Taqueria El Favorito for one of their bigger than life burritos, and they were Amazing!
5 stars all day long! ☆☆☆☆☆

My job takes me all around the Bay area and I eat at a lot of taquerias. I’m writing this mostly as a record for myself but hopefully it’ll also help you.

The non-edible parts:
Located right along a main street with substantial free parking. Favorito had an unassuming external facade with a dated and with decor. The inside doesn’t fare much better and reminds me of a repurposed 70’s burger joint. All the tables still have scraps of meals past on them. If cleanliness is important to you, knock off a star. Personally, I don’t care so off we go to the important things, the food!

Chips:
They’re not free but .75 is reasonable and they give you a fair amount. The chips appear store bought and cold. However, they are thicker than average, lightly salted, and not greasy. I’d buy them again.

Salsa:
I have a soft spot for salsa bars and this place had some pretty solid options. I grabbed all 4 because why make a decision when you can have them all? Thank you salsa bar!

Habanero salsa: spicy and smooth-tasting with a distinct lack of that fruity quality when biting into a habanero. It was good but somewhat flat and like it could use some more salt or tang? Tiny bubbles were forming in the salsa. Leads me to believe that it was in an early stage of fermentation. Not sure if intentional but feels novel and totally a plus in my book. I went back for more.

Salsa roja: VERY spicy and I think that I have a decent tolerance for spice. The flavors were bright and rich with chunks of chopped chilies present. One of the best red salsas I’ve had although I may be giving it more credit because any salsa that makes me sweat gets extra points. I went back twice more, a real winner.

Salsa verde: not sure why it didn’t have the semi-translucent liquidy-texture I’m typically use to seeing and is instead opaque, somewhat white and creamy. Strong earthy flavor with grassy notes. Actually “grassy” was all I could think of to describe this salsa. Enjoyable but not my jam. I would put it in The middle of the pack of verdes I’ve had but I’m not crazy about them in general. Very very mild.

Salsa fresca: Good. The tomatoes didn’t strike me as very fresh but it is November which may play a role. I can taste the onion and herbs but they didn’t stand out. Mild.

Al pastor super burrito:
I always start with the super pastor. Why? I dunno, gotta have a baseline I suppose and I like pork. Slightly above average in size but crazy cheap, at least from my Bay area lens. Overall an excellent value.

See my cross-section for visuals on the ingredient ratio. Plenty of meat and beans with less rice than I typically see; no complaints there. They didn’t ask what type of beans I wanted and gave me pintos. I would describe them as uninspired. Nothing stood out to me about them, they are beans and fulfill that role admirably. The pastor meat was finely chopped pork. I didn’t notice any charring from the grill. The meat was quite fatty and reminded me a bit of bacon. When I are the meat separately, I was unable to notice anything that really stood out about it’s flavors. About half an avocado was present along with a healthy portion of chopped tomatoes.

The only aqua frescas were strawberry and horchata. No further comment.

It was a good burrito overall, largely saved by the excellent salsa. I will definitely be back but will try a different meat and beans, if available.