While I’d like to pretend that the subject of this week’s food review is something I stumbled on through my own ingenuity, gumption and love of exploring random parts of Mountain View, this is actually the traditional haunt of John Danforth, my dad. In fact, my most cherished father-daughter moments happened over burritos at the El Salvadorian dive Taqueria La Bamba. While it’s conveniently located around the corner from Costco and Bed, Bath and Beyond, La Bamba is so much more than just the perfect fuel for a day of blissful suburban big-box retail shopping.

In the decade that I’ve loved La Bamba, it’s risen in popularity and correspondingly grown less dilapidated. Still, the ambiance is eclectic at best. The bright yellow exterior is festooned with colorful murals and painted cursive letters imploring passers-by to “Experience the La Bamba Difference!” Inside, another mural depicting a peasant-y El Salvadorian street scene shares the stage with a changing cast of truly atrocious art pieces. My personal favorite is a gaudily framed mirror emblazoned with a picture of a waterfall and softly lit from behind. Mariachi music and the cacophonous metallic-sounding theme songs of several pinball machines greet patrons. And while there used to be a few small tables scattered helter-skelter throughout the small space, the city of Mountain View recently declared this setup in violation of fire codes. So now you can only sit along plastic counters that line the taqueria’s periphery, which can make for a communal (and thus awkward) dining experience.

But you go to La Bamba for the food, not the ambiance. And the food is damn good. What La Bamba specifically makes best constitutes a fundamental point of contention in the Danforth family, but several items cannot be missed. In terms of the basics, La Bamba’s blissfully simple grilled chicken is perfectly tender and flavorful. I like to get the grilled chicken tacos, served on freshly made corn tortillas and topped with really good (but spicy!) salsa, chopped onions and cilantro; but my big brother swears by the grilled chicken burrito. La Bamba also makes incredible carnitas, slow-cooked pork whose wonderfully crispy outside gives way to the perfectly seasoned, succulent interior. Again, I like the carnitas in tacos, but it also works great as a burrito filling.

But La Bamba isn’t your typical taqueria. The food is actually El Salvadorian, which means they have certain uncommon regional specialties, the most notable of them being the pupusa. No one I’ve ever talked to frantically about the glory of La Bamba pupusas (and there have been many) understands that I’m not talking about papooses, the Algonquian word for an infant child. So as a primer, a pupusa is a deep-fried, extra thick corn tortilla stuffed with cheese and shredded pork and served on a bed of cabbage and carrot salad. The pupusas at La Bamba are piping hot, delicious and just plain addictive–only don’t think about how it’s all going straight to your hips.

In conclusion, La Bamba is the greatest (definitely the best thing Mountain View has going for it). It’s cheap, uses fresh ingredients and is just so tasty. When I think of happiness, I think of washing down their pupusas with cinnamon-laced horchata. Everyone should go, preferably for every meal–unless you’re on a diet or taking a snooty foreign dignitary on a high-stakes first date.