North Of The Border - Visit #3

Here's the third burrito reviewed by M.O.A.B. from:

"North of the Border Mexican Restaurant" in Bartlett, Illinois.

A new establishment was M.O.A.B.'s original destination, but the area Barnes & Nobles isn't located near where M.O.A.B. originally wanted to go.

So...North of the Border won. M.O.A.B. caught it on Taco Tuesdays.

Apparently this is the place to be on Tuesday nights. Every table was occupado. Tacos were flying everywhere! But M.O.A.B. was there for burritos. Not tacos. (Although one was ordered just for bottom burps and giggles. :)

My third selection from their menu was:
North of the Border - Chorizo Burrito and friend.

Purchased January 25th, 2005 - Mrs. M.O.A.B. was probably out stalking Rick Springfield and had to dine alone. ;)

Wrap / Presentation * *
Taco Tuesday seems to be a busy night for (probably) the only person in the kitchen. This was not as well wrapped as their previous burritos.

Fillings * * * 1/2
Chorizo (Mexican sausage), beans, cheese, tomato, cilantro, onion and sour cream. A nice combination!

Flavor * * * *
A VERY nice combination. This burrito was quite tasty. Snappy and had some zing.

Staff * * -1/2
Taco Tuesday is the night for the dudes. Not exactly as polite or caring as the dudettes. They lost points for that. Busy though it may have been is no excuse for being short with customers, dude.

Condiments * * * *
Only two tubs of red hot sauce this time. But they're so tasty, who cares. Good schtuff.

OVERALL AVERAGE SCORE: 3.2 stars for the Chorizo Burrito.

Taco Tuesdays are probably not the nights to visit. But still an overall decent burrito.

As U2 once sang... Tuesday Taco Tuesday!!!! (Rare B-side. Check it out.)

P.S. The chicken taco was so-so. This is, afterall, The Mother of All Burritos, NOT The Mother of All Tacos. Otherwise the blog would be named M.O.A.T. and that would be silly.

El Burrito Fantastico - Visit #2

Here is the second burrito reviewed by M.O.A.B. fom:

El Burrito Fantastico
Roselle, IL

CORRECTION AND APOLOGY TO THE FOLKS AT EL BURRITO FANTASTICO:Tomatoes are indeed part of every burrito. I probably just didn't notice them the first time I orderd from their menu. My original review incorrectly stated that tomatoes were not part of the fillings. M.O.A.B. felt it only right to correct this.

My second selection from their menu was:
El Burrito Fantastico - Pastor Burrito


Purchased January 15th 2005

Wrap / Presentation * *
All I can say is that once again it was wrapped adequately... at first. LIke the chicken burrito before it... the burrito began to fall apart at the tail end of things. The remaining filling had to be eaten with a fork as the guy totally disintegrated at the end. I had to drop the rating on this one.

Fillings * * *
Pastor (pork), beans, cheese and tomato. I ordered extra cheese, sour cream and avocado this time around. They were once again very frugal with the avocado. It was buried in a corner. I only saw the avocado once the thing had unraveled.

Flavor * * * 1/2
What it lost in the wrap, it made up for in the flavor. The pastor was quite good. The adding of extra cheese, as M.O.A.B. had mentioned in the other review, was exactly what the burrito doctor ordered.

Staff * * * *
The same nice and pleasant person who waited on me during my initial visit. Couldn't have been nicer. :)

Condiments * *
I'm readjusting the review for their sauces. The hot wasn't anything but. The mild was downright bland... again. I regrettably have to score this category low once again.

OVERALL AVERAGE SCORE: 2.9 stars for the Pastor Burrito.

That's a little down from the first visit, but more for asthetic reasons rather than flavor. It just got extremely messy at the end.

M.O.A.B. presently stands with its review of El Burrito Adequate-o. There may be a follow-up visit in the future. Time will tell.

El Burrito Fantastico - Visit #1

The next burrito reviewed by M.O.A.B. comes from:

El Burrito Fantastico
Roselle, IL

El Burrito Fantastico probably deserves a 1/2 star for their name alone. If not for that, then for the hours that they keep. This place is open Sunday thru Thursday from 9AM to 2AM!!! On weekends they're open till 5AM!!!!! This is apparently THE place to assuage your Mexican food fix extremely early in the morning!

There's a breakfast menu, soups, tacos, tortas and some house specialties. El Burrito Fantastico is fairly spacious with 7 nice sit-in booths and 8 square tables. Some of which can be pulled together for larger parties.

Their burrito menu features seven styles:
Grilled Steak
Ground Beef
Chicken
Pastor
Veggie
Lengua
Chorizo (Comes with tomato, which the other meat filled ones do not.)

My first selection from their menu was:
El Burrito Fantastico - Chicken Burrito


Purchased January 8th 2005 - to celebrate the 70'th birthday of Elvis Presley. We here at M.O.A.B. aren't sure if Elvis was a burrito fiend, but we sure like to think he was.

"TCB, baby. TCB! Thank-you. Thank-you very much."
(TCB = Takin' Care of Burritos.)

Wrap / Presentation * * *
Considering the size, it was wrapped adequately. Texture-wise, the tortilla was extremely soft, to the point of mushy due to contents. It did begin to fall apart at the tail end of things. But held up overall.

Fillings * * *
Chicken, beans, lettuce and cheese. Sour Cream, Avocado and cheese can all be ordered as extras. I was not aware that you could order extra cheese. These burritos need extra cheese. There was plenty of sour cream, and they were a little frugal with the avocado.

Flavor * * *
Again with the lettuce as a viable filling!! Seems to be a trend here in suburbia. To their credit, it wasn't shredded like most places, but rather, cut into larger pieces. (Used primarily as filler it seems.) But, now that I know, this is easily rectified on the next order. The chicken was nice and lightly seasoned, but could have used a dash of salt. (PERSONAL OPINION considering all the lettuce.) By cheap on the avocados, I mean that there was only one thinly sliced half-moon piece that I could see/taste in the entire burrito.

Staff * * * *
El Burrito Fantastico appears to be family run. Very nice and pleasant people. I was the only person in the place at the time of ordering and they couldn't have been nicer.

Condiments * * - 1/2
They offer a hot (green-ish) and a mild sauce (red) at El Burrito Fantastico. The hot wasn't anything of the sort. The mild was downright bland. I have to score this category low, but they get a 1/2 star for having a Homies vending machine. (See photo of burrito being watched over by Yolanda the Hoochie Mama Homie.)

OVERALL AVERAGE SCORE: 3.1 stars for the Chicken Burrito.

Next visit - ditch the lettuce, make sure there's extra cheese, maybe ask them to go a little lighter on the sour cream as it did become a little mushy/slippery at the end.

Not a bad visit. Certainly not a fantastico visit. At present I'd say that they are merely El Burrito Adequate-o.

North Of The Border - Visit #2

This is the second burrito reviewed by M.O.A.B. from:

"North of the Border Mexican Restaurant" in Bartlett, Illinois.

My second selection from their menu was:
North of the Border - Picadillo (Ground Beef) Burrito

Purchased January 2nd, 2005 - to celebrate the end (FINALLY!)of a shitty Bears season.

Wrap / Presentation * * * * *
The kids here are good. There's no doubt about that. They're 2 for 2 in the Wrap/Presentation category. Way to go!

Fillings * * * 1/2
Ground beef, beans, cheese, tomato and sour cream. I was indeed able to sub out the lettuce for some cilantro and onion. This made a BIG difference in the filling.

Flavor * * *
Being able to leave out the lettuce and substitute cilantro and onion really was nice. I would definitely do it again. My only complaint is that the ground beef was extremely cold. Granted, they'd only been open an hour. It's possible that if they have it simmering throughout the day that it just might not have been up to temperature. I'm barely five minutes away (by car) and I find it hard to believe it could get that cold on the drive back. This burrito lost a 1/2 star for the meat temp.

Staff * * * *
The same friendly suburban highschool kids. Polite and again asked if I wanted to expand the order to the burrito dinner option. I chose not to.

Condiments * * * *
The same two tubs of green and red hot sauce. I had a bottle of Valentia in the fridge and tried that out, as they highlight it on their tables. Also a nice touch.

OVERALL AVERAGE SCORE: 3.9 stars for the Picadillo (Ground Beef)Burrito.

North of the Border is 2 for 2 so far. I'm interested in trying their fish burrito and one more from the regular menu in the future. I may wait till Spring for the fish one, though.

In comparison to Green Bay trouncing the Bears on their final game of the year, 31-14... North of the Border's burrito was the only decent thing this afternoon.

LOL.

Chipotle - Visit #1

The next burrito to be reviewed by M.O.A.B. comes from the franchise chain:

"Chipotle"

This particular visit was at their branch in St. Charles, Illinois.

I'd been meaning to try their burritos for some time, yet there isn't one that's actually conveniently located to me. I was off the week of Christmas and made a special trip to St. Charles and there was one in the outer-perimeter of a mall parking lot. I decided that it was time to sample Chipotle's offering.

Chipotle is a dine-in and carryout place. I went at lunch time and there was a fairly spacious dining area attached. Single bottles of beer were also available at check-out. I took my burrito as a carry out, so at present I cannot comment on whether or not there are condiments on the tables.

Their menu is fairly simplistic. Any Chipotle Burrito comes with the following:
A giant flour tortilla, cilantro-lime rice, a choice of pinto or vegetarian black beans, choice of meat, choice of salsa, cheese or sour cream. Their vegetarian burrito comes with guacamole.

You have them build the combination that you want. It is done assembly-line-style in front of you. Each ingredient is laid out in its own line along the tortilla.

Your meat choices are limited to the following four:
Carnitas - (Pork)
Barbacoa - (Spicy shredded beef.)
Chicken
Steak
and their vegetarian to round out the number to 5.

Your salsa choices are:
Roasted Chili-Corn (medium)
Tomatillo-Green Chili (medium)
Tomatillo-Red Chili (hot)
Fresh Tomato (mild)

My first selection from the Chipotle menu was the Barbacoa (Shredded Beef)Burrito.

Chipotle Barbacoa Burrito. Doesn't quite look like its counterpart on the bag, does it?

Purchased December 22nd, 2004

Wrap / Presentation *
Look at the photo. They're kidding, right?! It looks NOTHING like the one their website would lead you to believe is the norm. This guy utterly collapsed the moment I started eating it.

Fillings * * 1/2
Barbacoa shredded beef, cilantro-lime rice, pinto beans, cheese, tomatatilo red chili and sour cream. They appear to go heavy on the rice and beans, filling the burrito with only the minutest amount of requested meat.

Flavor * * 1/2
I don't think I am going to be a fan of the assmebly-line burrito production approach. When biting into this poorly wrapped mess, you were eating through each individual ingredient, rather than a combination of them all. One bite would be rice, the next beans, the next the meager amount of meat they actually inserted. Their tomatillo red chili sauce was pedestrian, at best. Bad combination choices all around.

Staff * *
With assembly lines you get automatons. They asked what I wanted, and off they went, rarely making eye contact or any other form of conversation. They seemed rushed. Granted it was lunchtime, but there were less than three people in line, including myself. Why so haggard, guys?

Condiments *
No additonal hot sauce is offered with your order. Again - if it's at the dine-in tables, I will have to wait for the second return trip to see if there are any, but to not include anything additional with your order seemed cheap.

OVERALL AVERAGE SCORE: 1.8 stars for Chipotle's Barbacoa Burrito.

YEOWCH!! Not a very good first impression. I am wondering if this is merely that particuar location. For the required M.O.A.B. second visit, I am leaning towards finding a completely different area Chipotle for comparison. This may have been a fluke. We shall see what we shall see.

I wasn't impressed.

North Of The Border - Visit #1

The first burrito to be reviewed by M.O.A.B. comes from a corner establishment:

"North of the Border Mexican Restaurant" in Bartlett, Illinois.

I'd seen their little store front while driving past and thought for whatever reason that it was a 'Chipotle' franchise. (Ah, but that will be another review.)

North of the Border is a small dine-in, carryout, pickup, delivery place. There's only eight places to sit. Five bench-like booths, two circular tables and one small square table by the door.

Each table is adorned with two bottles of Mexican Salsa Picante. Valentia and Tamazula. (Usually sell for about a buck a bottle in most ethnic aisles of the grocery store and are spicier than most table sauces.)

Their menu is pretty extensive and varied considering their size. Bonus points to them for serving Mexican breakfast dishes all day long.

Their burrito menu features 11 (!!!) count 'em, 11 different selections:
Breakfast Burrito
Grilled Steak (Carne Asada)
Shredded Chicken (Pollo)
Marinated Pork (El Pastor)
Mexican Sausage (Chorizo)
Shredded Beef (Barbacoa)
Ground Beef (Picadillo)
Tongue (Lengua)
Vegetarian (Avocado)
AND...
You can substitute Fish or Shrimp for $1.00 more

ADDITIONAL: Technically there are 12 burritos available as the Breakfast Burrito can be ordered without chorizo
and filled with 3 eggs rather than 2, making for yet another vegetarian option.

M.O.A.B. will be trying a number of these as the blog expands. Hopefully I will not expand too much, either.

My first selection from their menu was the Grilled Steak Burrito/Carne Asada

Purchased December 21st, 2004

Wrap / Presentation * * * * *
Couldn't ask for a better wrapped burrito. Good job!

Fillings * * *
Steak, beans, cheese, lettuce, tomato and sour cream. I am not a huge fan of lettuce in burritos. The next order, I will see if they can omit them.

Flavor * * *
Again - I'm blaming the lettuce for the middle-of-the-road flavor review. Lettuce tends to wilt terribly next to the heat of the meat. Texture-wise it took away from the general enjoyment and made the overall flavors bland. Their hot sauces helped in this area.

Staff * * * *
Friendly suburban kids. Polite and also asked if I wanted to expand the order to the burrito dinner option which includes a side of rice and beans.

Condiments * * * *
North of the Border offered two small tubs of hot sauce. A milder green sauce and a spicier red sauce. Both were equally tasty.

OVERALL AVERAGE SCORE: 3.8 stars for the Carne Asada Burrito.

Not a bad showing their first time out. I see on their menu there are some slight tweaks you can make to their tacos. I will ask if that can be done with their burritos as well. If so, they have the potential for some higher marks.

Soda pop wishes and Burrito filled dreams till next time.