I've frequented this east Pasadena dive for a few years but isn't a place to recommend despite the numerous 4 star rating you find on this site. There has been a consistent problem with the "cooked" meat on their menu. An inordinate number of times whether it's the carne asada, chicken, birria, & (especially) carnitas; it's like chewing on lukewarm inedible rubber. A number of taco & burrito meals have been ruined by this poor quality fare. I've gone there early mornings to lunch rush to late afternoon/ evening time spans to/from my nearby workplace on Foothill Blvd. and like the convenience of its close proximity (a necessity in between jobs 1 & 2) but this poor quality cuisine has permeated the wares of El Super Burrito since I first went there in 2007. The quest for yummy Mexican food has been solved, but that'll be the final paragraph.
Carnitas is my #1 fave and there have been some times (especially mid to late 2008) the pork would be soft, juicy, hot & delicious within the soft tacos or combination burritos but FAR too often you're pullin n' tuggin' n' playin' with your food trying to extract any edible bits of love you can muster. During a noon time visit late last summer 2010 on a weekday a dude sitting next to me at another bench table expressed loud enough his displeasure with his food complaining about the carnitas in his burrito to his buddy, and he threw his heavy reusable plate into the trash! Shocked he didn't go the the window for a refund. I felt his pain as I got the carnitas tacos and was similarly forlorn, but I only spent about 3 bucks but he spent more like 10 with his soda bottle. The carne asada in my considerable experience is less prone to poor "cookification" but has its good days & bad days. Also the trend there is that when business is booming late morning/early afternoon the quality is better, though still very much inconsistent. They seem to phone it in. Several 5-8 P.M. visits have been regretful excursions. For other folk I know who have gone here and deviate from the norm (they order tacos with NO onions, for example) the orders are frequently wrong even though said individual heard the cashier ask the cook for their meal a particular way. I like everything & the kitchen sink but for those slightly finicky "A Sus Ordenes!" is anything but.
My final many months of frequenting El Super Burrito have resulted in purchasing non-meat items like taquitos, enchiladas, bean or veggie burritos, & the relatively new potato tacos (a deep fried delight for the senses). Those are okay in a pinch but sometimes in life you gotta ditch the 93 Ford Taurus for a new Toyota Camry.
A fellow worker bee with me on Foothill a few months back told me of good Mexican fast food just west of the El Super Burrito called Chiquita Bonita, blends in like a chameleon with the old buildings on that section of Colorado west of Rosemead. A short several dozen feet west from the popular Gin Sushi, Chiquita Bonita is easy to miss (limited parking in back, sometimes some on north Colorado) but an ABSOLUTE REVELATION for lovers of Mexican food done right. A sit down restaurant (get the to-go menu at the counter, you can thank me later) the tacos, burritos, tostadas, enchiladas, taquitos, quesadillas, & nachos (NOTE: On December 7, 2010 El Super Burrito changed their long time delicious tortilla chips to an ABSOLUTELY HORRID corny, stale abomination to the palate that detracts from "enjoying" tacos & burritos & nachos even further) are miles away superior in quality. The carnitas & eggs breakfast with beans and rice (not the too salty type at El Super Burrito) and choice of corn or flour tortillas is the bomb, I have them separate the carnitas from my favored scrambled egg, they normally combine them. You can get it for lunch or dinner also, it's in the 8 dollar range, but what price to enter the gates of heaven, and spend just a bit of your time in His presence? I like to avoid the heavy lunchtime and Sunday morning crowds. In my time frequenting Chiquita Bonita the past 12 months I only have 3 minor gripes: the fish tacos have lettuce instead of cabbage, the salsa is watery with big chunks of tomato (prefer a more uniform size of small tomato, onion and chile bits in a thicker consistency), and the carne asada to me isn't as good as El Super Burrito's (when ESB brings their "A" game, not often like that brief time 3 years ago). The shredded beef at Chiquita Bonita is an absolute azz kicker though so the carne asada disappointment is cancelled out.
P.S. Folk have made positive comments regarding the breakfast burritos at El Super Burrito, they are serviceable though unspectacular. The beans, cheese, onions & cilantro are great but points off for the overly cooked scrambled eggs and semi-tough potatoes contained within. Out of time, but better B.B's can be found at nearby TOPS & of course LUCKY BOY on Arroyo Pkwy, a 7 mile jaunt southwest that's worth it. read more