2003's town-wide taqueria tour was only a ramp-up. After spending that entire year winding our way through most every taqueria in San Francisco - and having a super carne asada (or available equivalent) at each pit stop - we embarked upon a three-round, eight-taqueria playoff in the winter of 2004. The cavalcade of heroics, flops, and chewing/mulling got underway on January 14; a champion was crowned on Leap Day, February 29.
That champion was Papalote, who knocked off vaunted overdog Taq. San Francisco and floored every professional wagerer from Las Vegas to Atlantic City along the way. When the tortilla dust cleared, the list of 2004 playoff medal winners looked like this:
- Gold: Papalote
- Silver: Taq. San Francisco
- Bronze: Taq. El Castillito
- Copper: Aguila De Oro
- Consolation: Luna Azul, Tonayense Taq., Taq. Fiesta Taco, Chavo's
Detailed reports on the 2004 playoffs were filed regularly in the Intestinal Apocalypse Weekly, and remain archived on the Newsletters page of Burritoeater.com. Without sounding hyperbolic, it really was quite a dramatic tournament - the ending in particular. Sort of like the 2002 World Series, only with a more digestible result.
Note: Burritoeater moved from its original Five-Mustache Scale to its current 10-Mustache Scale™ in February 2005, a full year after the 2004 playoffs. Although the mustache ratings for all pre-February 2005 burritos have since been converted for the sake of consistency throughout the site, this change is not reflected in the Intestinal Apocalypse Weeklys in which the 2004 playoffs were originally covered. We hope this explanation allays any head-scratching that may have otherwise occurred.
