EL PARIENTE
24375 Main Street, Newhall, CA 91321

There was already a queue when I arrived at El Pariente.

A promising start.

It’s a small restaurant with tables and chairs for anyone eating in. I ordered at the counter behind the screen, went with the usual carne asada burrito with everything on it, and grabbed a seat.

People kept coming through while I waited.

Maybe I had caught them at a busy time.

Maybe Newhall knew something I didn’t.

Either way, a place keeping that many people fed gets your hopes up.

Back at SCV Sauce HQ, it was time for the photos and the all-important taste test.

This was a generously packed burrito.

El Pariente had not been shy with the filling.

Keeping all of it inside the tortilla, however, proved more difficult.

When I cut it open, one section immediately started struggling to hold together.

Plenty in the tank.

But the wrapping needed to go the distance.

The filling distribution wasn’t particularly even either.

Some sections had a good balance.

Others allowed one ingredient to take control of the entire bite.

Everything was in there.

It just didn’t always arrive together.

Time for the scores.

The tortilla had a big job.

This was a substantial burrito with plenty packed inside, but one section started giving up as soon as it was cut open.

Not a complete collapse.

But not the structure required for a championship run either.

The filling was ready to compete.

The tortilla struggled with the weight.

6/10.

The carne asada tasted good, and there was a generous portion of it.

But it never completely became the star.

In a carne asada burrito, the beef needs to lead from the first bite to the last.

Here, it occasionally disappeared among the other fillings.

Then, towards the end, came a piece of gristle.

These things happen.

But an unexpected chewy finish is difficult to ignore.

Good-tasting carne.

Not quite enough control.

6/10.

The biggest issue was balance.

Some bites worked.

Others were dominated by one part of the filling because everything hadn’t been spread evenly through the burrito.

Nothing completely ruined it.

But at this stage of the competition, every bite needs to feel like it came from the same contender.

This one kept changing.

6/10.

The sauce earned one of El Pariente’s stronger scores.

It did enough to lift the overall burrito, even if it couldn’t completely bring the uneven filling together.

A respectable showing.

7/10.

The final test also earned a 7.

A stronger finish than the opening rounds, but not enough to erase the structural and distribution problems from the fresh burrito.

Still standing.

Still respectable.

7/10.

El Pariente delivered a substantial burrito with plenty inside it.

The carne asada tasted good.

The portion was generous.

And there was enough here to make a strong first impression.

But generosity alone doesn’t win the Burrito Belt.

The tortilla struggled to contain everything, the filling needed better distribution, and the carne asada didn’t consistently lead the way.

Then came the gristle.

At 32/50, El Pariente lands in respectable territory without threatening the championship leaders.

A generously filled burrito with good-tasting carne, but not enough structure or balance to go the distance.

El Pariente brought the weight.

The Burrito Belt demands balance.