Zocalo

An appealing food concept.
The flavoring of the food was executed nicely.
Unfortunate that they don’t pay attention to keeping the tables clean.

I’m updating my Zocalo ratings because the food and service has gotten much better since last year and I thought is was about time I did! =) I always choose to «make my own» burrito when I come here and I have been consistently happy with the results the past few months.
(incase your wondering about my favorite burrito… ask for: beans, corn salsa, cheese, chicken, guac, rice and coriander cream! It’s a winner!) The service has improved and the cashiers are much more helpful and friendly lately. One even recommended that the «coriander cream» was «better than just getting crème fraiche» a while back and I’m super glad he did!
I think that the corporate people upstairs have addressed a lot of my initial complaints about this place. I haven’t received a sad little cup of coleslaw on the side of my food in a while, Yay to that! There has been no mistaking uncooked cabbage for lettuce in my burrito lately, another win! I’m also guessing that they have begun to standardize their food measurements a bit better – I can now taste the cheese when I order it in something! Still winning!
I still have a few recommendations for this place that I think would make it better. #1– Write out and post an ingredient list for the «make your own» option on a sign. It’s a pain to look through all the other recipes to pick out what you want. #2– I still don’t like that you can’t see them assemble your food like at chipotle. They should really have fresh ingredients out for you to see. Having a closed kitchen feels currently more like Taco Bell than Chipotle at the moment (not exactly a good thing). I’m always wondering whats happening to my food behind the scenes when i’m at a fast food place. It just doesn’t feel as «fresh» and trustworthy. =P #3 — I think they should make everything a «choose your own» option like chipotle … Tex-​mex is supposed to be unpretentious and uncomplicated food. Assuming you know more about what the customer likes is too pretentious for a fast casual restaurant of this genre. If you were a specialty or sit-​down restaurant with a chef… that would be ok. However, I still like the convenience of choice better than anything. People opt for fast casual dining because it’s convenient, right? Plus, who doesn’t like getting exactly what they want?! #4 — refried beans… just and idea! Think about it? #5 — churros… I haven’t seen many sweet things on the menu and this would be totally YUM!
Just a few thoughts! ;) lol.
Overall, I hope they keep improving the quality of the ingredients, recipes, offerings and customer service. I can’t ignore that they have made some great strides to do so recently and should applaud the effort though. So here it is… Yay Zocalo! =)