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Mario's La Fiesta Mexican Restaurant

2444 Telegraph Ave
Berkeley, CA
(510) 540-9123
Cuisine:

January 29, 2007

  • 5.0 star rating
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+6 1
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+6
6 Votes
 

Best burritos in Berkeley

Every time I go back to Berkeley, I have to eat at Mario’s. It’s family owned, and you always see the same wait staff.

The food is always top notch, and the salsa really is spicy. They don’t hold back the heat for the gringos at all.

I agree with Spam_i_am, the menu item to hit up is definitely the Super Burrito Carne Asada.

Dishes I tried:

Super Burrito - Carne Asada (Steak)

  • 5.0 star rating
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This is a really delicious and filling burrito. Part of it is because Marios’s makes really top notch, chunky guacamole (none of that overly smooth stuff you pick up in the deli section of the neighborhood supermarket). They use a lot of cheese, and even the rice in the burrito is flavorful. (I usually find it to be a bit bland at other places.) Did I mention that the burrito is pretty darn big? It’s big enough to fill almost any appetite. It’s been a long time since I’ve last been able to finish a burrito, and I’m not a wimpy eater.

One tip, you can order it “wet” if you prefer. They’ll throw some of the red enchilada sauce on top of it. No matter which way you order it, it’s fantastic!

Cheese flautas

  • 5.0 star rating
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Also an excellent pick. My husband loves this because they fill a corn tortilla with cheese, fry it up fresh, and top of it with a generous topping of the best guacamole in Berkeley. He usually orders this a la carte and adds a grilled bean, cheese and rice burrito for a meal.

Grilled Burrito - Bean, Rice & Cheese

  • 5.0 star rating
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One of the cheapest items of the menu (it’s about $3), the grilled bean, rice & cheese burrito is absolute amazing. They grill the burrito until it’s triangular, which really brings out the rich bean and cheese flavor. Try it, it’s even better than it sounds.

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Brent's Deli

19565 Parthenia St
Northridge, CA
(818) 886-5679
Cuisine:

March 5, 2007

  • 4.0 star rating
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+3 0
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3 Votes
 

We'll visit again

We checked out Brent’s based upon Elspie’s review and decided to go since we were going to visit the city anyway for REI. The outside isn’t beautiful…it’s in a strip mall kind of locale, but there were people everywhere waiting for a table. My hubby and I waited about twenty minutes for a weekend lunch table, which was ok, since we got to see the Zagat ratings and the clientele. We had the pastrami sandwich, the onion rings, and the matzo ball soup, all of which was very satisfying.

The service was brisk but friendly. The wait staff seems like they’ve all worked there for years. And we really thought it was cool that they gave us a little dish of assorted pickles. Those were tasty.

Dishes I tried:

Pastrami Sandwich

  • 4.0 star rating
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As Elspie said, the pastrami is very lean, and is just a large pile of meat between two slices of bread. But I was actually more impressed by the fact that the rye bread was freshly baked. That bread was really good. I almost wanted to take out my meat so that I could eat the bread alone.

Matzo Ball Soup

  • 4.0 star rating
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Our first time with matzo ball soup, so I’m no expert. The chicken broth was ok. It was pretty much what you expect, pretty lean and with some noodles. But the matzo ball was huge, about the size of a softball, and it was really good getting a piece of soup-soaked matzo ball. You can’t get the soup in a cup, it has to come in a bowl based upon the size of the matzo. But you can definitely make a meal out of it!

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