Taco Fanatic Victor's

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Review #5 brings the Taco Fanatic to a San Francisco neighborhood standby called Victor's.

Location:  Townsend St. between Third and Fourth, San Francisco, California.

Last visit:  June 2006.

Victor's does a thriving lunchtime business, both takeaway and dining in, with outdoor seating at a patio in the back.  The South Beach neighborhood is undergoing massive change, with new office buildings and residential condo towers recently completed and in progress.  This has meant a steady increase in the length of the lunchtime burrito line over the last several years at Victor's as word spreads among hungry construction workers and office drones.  The decor is dingy but colorful, dominated by a taco and burrito assembly line on one side, and a large drinks cooler with a good selection of Jarritos and Mexican Cokes and Squirts, among other beverage options.  There are a few tables and a passage to an outdoor dining area in back.

Taco fanactic works in the neighborhood, and has been lunching at Victor's regularly since 2000.  The lady who owns the place greets (male) customers with a hearty Hola Guapo! as they come through the door and take their places at the end of the line.  Chips along with 2 salsas are provided while waiting to order.  One of the salsas is a bland and forgettable salsa rojo, the other is an outstanding and very spicy red salsa based on a secret house recipe and made fresh every day.  The salsa utilizes habenero peppers, as well as some kind of slightly smoky roasted peppers, and may include garlic.  It is really good, in any case.

There are many things on the menu besides tacos, and the tacos themselves are fairly average.  The default offering is soft corn tortilla with american style toppings on the meat:  sour cream, cheese, guacamole.  You can request simply salsa, onion and ciliantro if you wish.  The tortas are a noteworthy taco alternative, the bread is excellent, warmed on the meats griddle, and the preparation includes pickled jalapenos and refried beans. 

The meats cover all the basics, in addition to nopales for the vegetarian hipsters currently infesting the neighborhood.  Among the meats, standouts are the carnitas, which are diced from large chunks and have the excellent crispyness and porky flavor you want in a carnita, chile verde, which consists of chunks of pork in a moderately spicy green sauce, and the recently added al pastor, which is not typical spit-roasted pork al pastor, but seems to be chunks of stewed beef in a red sauce that is hard to describe but delicious.  It ends up all over your fingers,  but it's damn tasty.  The carne asada is average at best, and can include heavy gristle content. 

Bottom line:  I would weigh 15 lbs less if this place didn't exist, there is enough variety on the menu to eat here two to three times a week for 6 years, and the owner and staff are really nice.  If you tip a dollar in the bowl at the register, she'll give you extra chips and salsa.  I highly recommend Victor's.