Top Soft Taco: Chicken Burrito – The Bite

Friends, it’s getting harder and harder to do The Bite each week. In my search for great food, I think I’ve hit everywhere in Sheepshead Bay that I can afford and some that I can’t. The Bite’s goal has always been to highlight an outstanding dish at our local eateries and not to retrace our steps. I don’t want to do the same joint twice. It may come to that. Help me avoid that. Send me some recommendations for your favorite Bites of Sheepshead Bay. – Robert

This week, the Bite takes on the Chicken Burrito ($5.75) from Top Soft Taco. Or is it Top China? Who knows. The restaurant sure doesn’t. Located at 1654 Sheepshead Bay Road, Top Soft Taco is another of those Chinese/Mexican restaurants that try to do everything, but seem to do nothing particularly well.

This burrito is stuffed with grilled chicken, black beans, a couple of chunks of tomatoes, shredded lettuce and a huge amount of white rice. Guacamole is usually included, but I prefer it left out. A container of a very strange “hot” sauce, that’s not very spicy, and a dollop of sour cream complete the meal. The hot sauce is a strange concoction of what may be a cheap version of Texas Pete’s Hot Sauce and oil with a few pepper seeds thrown in for appearance.

Now, I don’t know about you, but when I get a burrito, it’s contents are usually fully contained in the tortilla. Not at Top Soft Taco. Here they throw so much food into the tortilla, the edges don’t meet. The outer wrapping of tin foil is all that holds this waste of money together.

Rubber tasteless chicken, wilted shredded iceberg lettuce, flavorless rice and some cheap texture-less black beans. Ugh. Not even a visit to my spice rack could redeem this.

I should have known better. I’ve never had Mexican food I liked from one of these Chinese/Mexican joints.

Top Soft Taco, 1654 Sheepshead Bay Road, (718) 934-7751.

The Bite is Sheepshead Bites’ weekly column where we explore the foodstuffs of Sheepshead Bay. Each week we check out a different offering from one of the many restaurants, delis, food carts, bakeries, butchers, fish mongers, or grocers in our neighborhood. If it’s edible, we’ll take a bite.