Nancy's Serves Up Unique Combo Burrito

At the south end of Spring Street, just past the intersection of the 125 and 94 interchange, there sits a large strip mall with a variety of tenants: a bar, a market, a salon, and a couple restaurants.

It sits in relative obscurity, despite its busyness, a landmark at the confluence of three local communities: Spring Valley to the east, Lemon Grove to the west, and La Mesa to the north.

I decided to take The Burrito Blotter there this week, and try one of the hidden restaurants in the shopping center: Nancy's Taco Shop (and American Food), as the sign so proudly boasts. True to its name, Nancy's is an authentic Mexican taco shop at its core, with a wide variety of burritos, tortas, sopas, quesadillas, and combo plates. But the menu also has serves traditional breakfast favorites, omelets, sandwiches, hamburgers and other "American classics."

Checking out the menu, one burrito offering instantly caught my eye, simply because of its uniqueness: the pollo asado and shrimp burrito. Maybe this is a popular selection in many taco shops across the Southwest, but I had never seen it anywhere, and had to dive in.

Here's the breakdown of the pollo asado and shrimp ($5.99):

Tortilla
The tortilla was good, but not great. It had a soft, chewy consistency, but it seemed a touch too thin. Though the contents never came busting out of it, they always seemed like they were about too, and added a little bit of unwanted anxiety to my dining experience.

Chicken & Shrimp
Amazing flavor in both of these. I'm not sure what the variety of spices used, but they played perfectly off of one another. There was a peppery zest to the seasoning that really sustained in almost every bite. The chicken was well cooked, as was the shrimp.

Two points of deduction, however. While the shrimp was good, I could have used a little more of it. The chicken to shrimp ratio was no 50-50, and may not have even been 60-40. Secondly, as I neared the last few bites of the burrito, I  found two small bones in the chicken. I'm willing to chalk it up to a shoddy inspection process from the factory that distributed the chicken, but as a matter of full disclosure, the info has to be included.

Guacamole
It was a pretty standard offering. Nothing really special about the flavor, amount, or consistency. In my opinion, guacamole should only really be a factor in the quality of a burrito if it's bad, so Nancy's passes the test.

Salsa
The salsa on the other hand did bring something to the table. It wad a very punchy, pronounced spice to it that meshed well with the peppery flavor of the shrimp and chicken. A surprisingly nice touch.

Overall
I have to dock points for the small bones, and the lack of shrimp, but those points are more than made up for in sheer creativity and flavor. From the very first bite, I was hooked, so much so that I had inhaled about half of it before I realized why I was there, and finally remembered to start taking photos and jotting down notes. Maybe that's the best praise I can give it. It made me forget where I was for a short time.

Rating: (4.3 out of 5)