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.