www.elguapostaqueria.com
The Order: Guapo Burger, medium rare. With jack cheese, guacamole, pico (chopped tomato 'salad'), shredded lettuce, and a drizzle of hot sauce.
Side Order: At time of order - comes with chips. Current - Add fries ($1.75)
$7.99 (at time of order) - now $8.95
Drink Order: Coke
Burger Menu Rating: 8.5/15
El Guapo's Taqueria is a little Mexican restaurant over on Underpass Road in Brewster, Massachusetts. I happen to be up in that area of Cape Cod once or twice a year for work, and I'm, of course, always looking for a burger to try. I'd been woefully disappointed on previous occasions, but was recently introduced to El Guapo's, a definite game-changer.
Tucked out of the way, and definitely pushing the Mexican theme, El Guapo's is probably one of the last places you'd expect to find a burger that was worth trying. They've got a small list of burgers to try, three basic run-of-the-mill burgers, but one stands out because it's the only one they have that goes along with their Mexican theme; the Guapo Burger.
The to-go container from Guapo's
The Guapo Burger comes with guacamole, hot sauce and pico. So they basically took the toppings from one of their tacos and put it onto a burger. I'm down. I'm imagining a chef one day was just a little clumsy when transporting the taco ingredients on his spatula across the kitchen and over the grill ("Why do we keep these toppings all the way over there?!") and whoops, the toppings are all on top of a burger ("I'm a genius!"), and thus the Guapo Burger was born. In truth, it probably wasn't like that at all, but let me believe what I want to believe.
The Burger is revealed, with a nice lightly toasted bun.
Because I was busy at work, I had to order my burger to go. I got back to work to scarf down this burger. The burger came in a nice little biodegradable box, which was a perfect size for their burger. Not crushed, the guacamole was just beginning to creep out of the confines of the burger. When I cut the burger in half, I was presently surprised. The thin patty was cooked surprisingly close to medium rare. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, it is very difficult to cook thin patties correctly, and those few establishments that can do it, or even get close, deserve a tip of the hat (go ahead, put on your hat and tip it). The burger is only slightly spicy, the hot sauce adding a nice little kick to each bite, but not so much that you have to breathe any harder, or drink any more of your drink to cool off. The bun has a nice texture, and adds a grainy flavor. On this particular burger, some of the cheese was a bit charred, which was awesome. The pico was fresh and crisp, adding the usual tomato flavor. Unfortunately where the burger fell short was the guacamole. It was a bit plain and bland, a great textural element, but didn't really add a distinctive flavor to the burger that I expected, especially since the burger shares its name with the establishment itself! This kind of burger isn't anything new, but if they really wanted to impress, they should up the ante with their guacamole and make it amazing. And wait! My order was supposed to come with chips! There. Were. No. Chips.
The burger, cooked almost medium rare.
Guapo's Shore Shack has recently gone through some rebranding with the opening of their new location in Orleans, MA. Their new website is up, although it's still under construction, and their menu has changed, with slightly higher prices (which affected this rating a bit after the fact). The next time that I am up in the area, I'll check out the new establishment and see how things are going.
Another view, more flattering, but deceiving!
Cooked correctly: 4.5/5
Plating: 1 (Branded Takeout)
Design: 1.5
Value: 1.5
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