El Farolito Plummets 9 Points

A popular taqueria that inexplicably had a 100 rating from the health department for many months has suddenly been downgraded to 91. El Farolito, which is especially a favorite late at night when the few other food options at 24th Street and Mission in San Francisco are closed, is a tiny, shabby taqueria with basic burritos, tacos, quesadillas and nachos. Service is fast and the space is as clean as can be expected, but customers were still suspicious of the 100 rating.

"I've never seen a hair in my food or a roach anywhere on the premises," said Carlos Villarreal, a weekly customer and Mission resident. "I just don't think it's possible for a restaurant that small, with that much business, to get a 100 rating. So I just always assumed the health inspector got free burritos for life or something."

With a nearby McDonalds closing by 10 or 11 and a combination Chinese Food/Donut place across the street closing even earlier, El Farolito is one of the few options for the mix of hipsters, yuppies and recent immigrants from Latin America searching for a filling snack or some sustinence to help them avoid a bad hangover after leaving nearby bars late in the evening. Despite its small size and rough around the edges ambience, the food is relatively well-liked. The nachos are a bargain with a hell of a lot of deep-fried tortilla chips, meat, cheese, sour cream, avocados and jalapenos for little money; while the burritos are filling though definitely not the most sought after in the Mission.

"Sometimes the burritos have too much rice," said Villarreal.