Fair warning: last week's competition may have taken a detour through some of your spam folders.

We've made a few changes, so we're giving this one another shot.

Think you've been paying attention?

Three restaurants. Three Secret Sauce Scores. Four $25 Dutch Bros gift cards up for grabs.

No random draw. The first four correct answers win.

The Secret Sauce Scores for Ayuthaya Thai, Wow Spaghetti, and Slice House are hiding inside past reviews on the Secret Sauce website.

Find all three and email your answers to [email protected].

Enter like this:

Name:
Ayuthaya Thai: X/10
Wow Spaghetti: X/10
Slice House: X/10

Entries are timestamped, so speed matters just as much as accuracy. Incorrect scores won't count, no matter how quickly they arrive.

Winners will be announced by first name in next week's newsletter, with $25 Dutch Bros gift cards sent shortly after.

One clue: the answers aren't in the summaries. They're hidden inside the reviews.

Good luck.

Brick & Flour Restaurant
25048 Valencia Blvd, Santa Clarita, CA

An odd spot for a burrito stop tucked right next to a gas station just off the 5 but odd locations have surprised the Burrito Belt before, so in I went.

Ordered the usual: carne asada burrito, plus their carne asada fries on the side, because when a menu leads with carne asada fries, you order the carne asada fries.

No negotiation there.

Inside, Brick and Flour has a more modern feel than most of the Burrito Belt field so far proper artwork on the walls, a little more design intention than your average taco counter.

Then it was back to HQ for the test.

I cut the burrito open and immediately spotted the first problem.

The tortilla was already starting to give up the fight before the fork had even got involved.

Not a disaster, but it wasn't holding its structure the way a championship burrito needs to.

Once opened up, things started loosening quickly. There was plenty inside worth holding onto — the tortilla just wasn't entirely up to the job.

This is where Brick and Flour fought back.

The carne asada had real flavor, was cooked well and ended up doing much of the heavy lifting.

No complaints here.

Good meat can rescue a lot of burrito sins.

A little too much rice in the mix.

Nothing particularly wrong with the rice itself there was just enough of it that it started crowding out the carne and the rest of the filling.

And around here, we notice these things.

Now we're talking.

The red and green salsa did serious work and genuinely elevated the whole burrito.

Good carne. Good salsa.

Brick and Flour clearly has the important bits figured out.

And here's the twist.

The air fryer saved it.

Left overnight in its original state, that already loosening tortilla probably wasn't heading anywhere good.

But after a few minutes in the air fryer, the outside firmed up, the structure came back and suddenly the leftovers were putting up a much better fight.

For once, reheating didn't expose the burrito.

It improved it.

There's a reason we ordered them.

We've had Brick and Flour's carne asada fries before, and they remain a favorite.

The chunky, beer battered fries came loaded with plenty of carne asada, guacamole and pico de gallo, with the box absolutely packed.

And they were delicious.

Crispy, loaded, messy in exactly the right way and easily my favorite part of the order.

If I were coming back tomorrow, I'm ordering the fries again without hesitation.

35/50.

Right on the edge of Very Good territory.

Brick and Flour gets the important things right: flavorful carne asada, excellent salsa and a burrito we'd happily eat again.

But the tortilla and slightly rice heavy construction keep it from climbing higher up the Burrito Belt leaderboard.

A good burrito that came frustratingly close to being a very good one.

The burrito gets 35/50. The carne asada fries? That's the real reason I'd come back.

Wow Spaghetti
28124 Newhall Ranch Rd, Santa Clarita.

Newhall's Wuso Korean BBQ has built a reputation as one of SCV's go to spots for all you can eat Korean barbecue.

And on a busy night, it's easy to see the appeal.

The place was full, the pace never really let up, and yet somehow the service never dropped off.

Genuinely impressive stuff from the floor staff.

My plus one and I went for the Premium All You Can Eat at $39.99 per person.

Alongside the meat came green tea and mango juice, steamed egg, two orders of white rice, tofu soup and, eventually, a green tea ice cream macaron to finish.

But before we get to the food...

Wuso has food delivery robots weaving their way between tables, bringing orders out as they're ready.

And yes, they're brilliant.

Watching one casually navigate a packed Korean BBQ restaurant carrying plates of meat shouldn't be as entertaining as it is.

But it is.

If I'm being completely truthful, the robots might have been the most memorable part of the night.

Which is both a compliment to the robots...

and perhaps a slight problem for the food.

Six banchan arrived to get things started.

There was kimchi, spicy cucumber, seasoned soybean sprouts, macaroni salad, japchae and stir-fried fish cake - eomuk bokkeum.

The fish cake was the one that threw us at first. Flat, slightly chewy pieces coated in sauce that neither of us could quite place at the table.

Mystery solved.

The banchan gave us plenty to pick at while we waited for the first round of meat to hit the grill, although none of the sides ended up stealing the show.

That job belonged to the main event.

Onto the meat.

We ordered ribeye, unmarinated short rib and beef brisket, with the brisket eventually making three separate appearances at the table.

That probably tells you which one won.

The meat quality across the board was solid. Everything cooked nicely on the grill, there was good flavor and we certainly weren't struggling to find things we wanted to eat.

But there wasn't that one cut that stopped the conversation.

Nothing bad.

Nothing disappointing.

Just consistently good Korean BBQ.

And in an all you can eat restaurant, there's certainly nothing wrong with that.

The tofu soup came with some heat, but actually less than I've experienced with other versions of the dish.

And for me, that worked.

There was still enough spice to give it a kick without overpowering everything else, which made it much easier to enjoy alongside the meat and rice.

Flavorful, warming and nicely balanced.

Sometimes dialing down the heat lets everything else come through.

We finished with a green tea ice cream macaron.

After an evening of meat, smoke and spicy tofu soup, something cold and sweet was exactly what was needed.

A very good way to call time on the grill.

Wuso Korean BBQ is a good night out.

The meat is solid, the all you can eat format gives you plenty to explore, the restaurant has a great atmosphere and the service was genuinely excellent, particularly impressive considering how busy the place was.

And then there are those robots.

Is this the best Korean BBQ I've ever eaten?

No.

But that's not really the question.

Would I recommend Wuso for a fun, reliable Korean BBQ night in SCV?

Absolutely.

Sometimes the experience is part of the meal.

At Wuso, it might just be the best part.

Parking: Plenty of spaces. No problems finding a spot

Openings, events and things worth knowing.

No flight required.

Santa Clarita's Celebrate series heads to Jamaica this Friday night, bringing food, music, dance and a little Caribbean flavor to Canyon Country.

Celebrate: Jamaica takes over the Canyon Country Community Center from 6-9pm, with live performances, cultural activities and importantly around here food and drinks.

Admission is free.

Not a bad way to start the weekend.

Lucky Luke has Friday night covered.

Live music returns to the Rye Canyon brewery this Friday from 6-9pm, with food trucks serving alongside the beer.

No elaborate plans required.

Beer.

Food truck.

Live music.

Sometimes Santa Clarita makes things easy.

Concerts in the Park rolls into another weekend and this one might get loud.

This Saturday, Paramore! At the Disco brings the music of Paramore and Panic! at the Disco to Central Park.

Food trucks start serving from 5pm, the music kicks off at 7pm, and admission is free.

Bring a chair.

Bring a blanket.

And prepare for several thousand people to suddenly remember every word to songs they haven't heard in years.

Double digits.

The championship rolls on as contender 10 steps into the Burrito Belt.

Can anyone shake up the leaderboard this late in the game?

We're swapping tacos for tikka and heading out for an Indian feast.

Curries, sides, naan and one simple question:

Is it worth the sauce?

We had to rerun it.

But this time, there will be winners.

Four readers. Four $25 Dutch Bros gift cards.

Did you get there first?

We teased it last week.

You're going to have to wait just a little longer.

No championship.

No scorecard.

Just an idea we've wanted to try for a while.

It's coming.