The Burrito Blog

January 2007

McDonald's Is Lovin' Chipotle

McDonald's recently announced some incredible earnings: $1.00 per share. Stockholders are really excited about this, as they should be. Chipotle, a subsidiary of McDonalds, was responsible for a killer $0.39 of every share's earnings.

Read the official press release here.

Back in January of 2006, Chipotle was spun off in their IPO, and McDonalds made a killing. Now the two companies are traded independently, so you can invest in that cilantro lime rice without the Big Mac guilt. If you bought CMG (Chipotle Mexican Grill) stock 12 months ago, well you are wiser, and probably more wealthy, than I am.

Chart from Yahoo.

This entry is filed in Chipotle.

Friday, January 26, 2007 by Jonah. Permalink for McDonald's Is Lovin' Chipotle

The Need For Beans

I was all set to make some mac and cheese when Sean demanded we go find some refried beans.

You don't have to tell me twice.

We drove to TaQueria La Mexicana for some low viscosity refried beans, Sean's first time. He got a beefsteak dinner plate that came with refried beans, rice, salsa, lettuce, and tortillas. Of course he loved it - his craving for refried beans was more than satisfied. TaQueria La Mexicana has been dominating the non-burrito market for a while now.

While weighing and photographing the food, another patron asked if we were doing a restaurant review. "We? Oh no, just that kid," said Sean. Embarrassed to be seen in a restaurant with a digital scale, or embarrassed to be associated with Burrito Blog? You decide.

Plate weight: 21.9 oz | Price: $8.00 | FDR: 2.74

This entry is filed in TaQueria La Mexicana.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 by Jonah. Permalink for The Need For Beans

Surprise: Ham Hock Soup

By the time John Liu and I went to Tacos El Charro, I'd been talking up the place for a while. It's not that close to where we work, so we went on a Sunday.

Having praised their goat taco and caldo de mariscos (no longer available, perhaps), I encourage everyone to try the unconventional.

Well, let me revise that a bit here.

John tried the pork stew, which is made with pig's feet. He'd had pigs feet before, but remarked, "It just wasn't what I was expecting," with tones of deep disappointment. Yeah, well I had a bite and that was more than enough for me.

I suppose pigs feet are an acquired taste, and that caught me by surprise. Bad surprise. Like, surprise attack, you just got kicked in the mouth by a pig's foot. Along with sesos, this goes in the category of foods that are too authentic for me to handle. Can't hide the gringo all the time.

This entry is filed in Tacos El Charro.

Sunday, January 21, 2007 by Jonah. Permalink for Surprise: Ham Hock Soup

Deliverance Of The Queso Burrito

A little background commentary from Jonah: Qdoba fans Anthony and Mike have always taken issues with John's review of the Queso Burrito in Furnari Claims Misnomer. Mike hit Qdoba to open the debate with a review of his own:

While watching Return of the Jedi Sunday night in my apartment with my roommates Jesse and Mike and Mike's girlfriend Lisa, we worked up a Chewbacca sized appetite for Qdoba burritos.

Not wanting to miss a minute of action, we had our burritos delivered. Jesse and I got our usual chicken queso burritos. Mike got a chicken burrito and Lisa a peppers and onions burrito.

A little rain and a speedy delivery man had no ill effects on the structure of these burritos.

Beware entrants of the next burrito speed eating contest, this burrito did not last very long on my plate!

This Qdoba meal was rated: 8.0.

Thursday, January 18, 2007 by Big Mike. Permalink for Deliverance Of The Queso Burrito

Jicama Slaw on Tacos, Good Memory

This past weekend I saw Anthony and Abby for Rich's birthday. That was nice. I mentioned that our experience at The Bad Bean Taqueria was shared with the world.

Abby reminded me that she enjoyed her meal, and wanted everyone to know. "The tacos came with jicama slaw," she said.

A little background on Jicama from Wikipedia:

The jícama (pronounced "hickama") is a legume native to tropical and subtropical Central America. It is cultivated for its edible taproot. The root's exterior is yellow and papery, while its inside is creamy white with a crisp texture that resembles that of a raw potato or pear. The flavor is sweet and starchy. It is usually eaten raw, sometimes with salt, lemon juice, and powdered chile.

Well, if you can just throw out that detail six months later, then the tacos must have been memorable.

World, now you know.

This entry is filed in Bad Bean Taqueria.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007 by Jonah. Permalink for Jicama Slaw on Tacos, Good Memory

Globalization, Agriculture, Trade, Tortillas

Here at Burrito Blog we pick up on mainstream news stories that, while typically very stupid, have something to do with burritos. This story has to do with tortillas and is fascinating for dorks like me.

Here's my bulleted interpretation:

• Many people depend on tortillas for sustenance, like half of Mexico's 107 million residents that live in poverty...and me. Fortunately I do not live in poverty; I just love tortillas.
• Tortillas come from corn, which is grown and traded internationally.
• The cost of tortillas in Mexico grew 14% last year, far outpacing the country's 4% inflation.
• Trade agreements limit the amount of corn that can be imported into Mexico.
• Industrial sized Mexican growers are accused of price fixing and blocking competition to limit the corn supply.
• Mexico has penalized corn growers for anticompetitive practices six times since 2004.
• The company that owns the Mission brand of tortillas you see in the US controls 70% of the market in Mexico.
• Ethanol production from corn adds to the strain on the tortilla supply.
• Mexico authorized duty free imports of corn from around the world to boost supply.

Read the full story here. It's really interesting.

Thanks again to the #1 tipster of burrito news, Greg Danilowski.

This entry is filed in {News}.

Friday, January 12, 2007 by Jonah. Permalink for Globalization, Agriculture, Trade, Tortillas

Boca Introduces Creamed Corn Tamale

I've written about their other tamale's in the past. There's the tomatillo chicken, which I love, and then the pork tamale, which my roommate's cat loves.

Boca Grande has launched a new tamale: the creamed corn chicken tomatillo. This one, John Liu, winner of Burrito Blog's first speed eating content, loves.

Personally I still prefer the original chicken tomatillo tamale. I don't think the corn chunks really add anything - you can see them in the photo. Also the tamale seemed as if it were a little richer, as if it were made with more butter or oil. Who am I kidding, I don't know how to cook.

Hey, to each man or cat, his own.

Tamale weight: 17.9 oz | Price: $4.25 | FDR: 4.21

This entry is filed in Boca Grande Taqueria.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007 by Jonah. Permalink for Boca Introduces Creamed Corn Tamale

A Tale Of Three Tacos

Before you sit three tacos al pastor from Boca Grande Taqueria. Al pastor is marinated pork that gets cooked on a vertical spit, and is often made with a hint of pineapple. It's pretty excellent. Just ask Nikhiel. It was his favorite.

Tacos al pastor usually come with that green sauce that I have yet to identify. It's not quite spicy, and should not be mistaken for guacamole. However, when al pastor appears in menu items other than tacos, the green sauce does not come standard.

See also: getting sued for guacamole misrepresentation.

Boca Grande has a menu option where you can get three tacos al pastor. Al pastor tacos can also be purchases a la carte.

See also: A Tale of Two Tacos.

This entry is filed in Boca Grande Taqueria.

Sunday, January 07, 2007 by Jonah. Permalink for A Tale Of Three Tacos

I Have Been Eating Burritos In Secret

It's been a full two weeks since the last post. That's longer than Burrito Blog has ever gone without an update.

Two weeks would be the longest I've gone without eating a burrito in the last 5 years. The truth is, I've been gluttonous. I've been eating and not sharing. Not sharing tales of my beans and rice with you.

Please forgive me.

Meals from the last couple weeks have all been weighed and recorded as part of the FDR project, and reviews of those meals will get posted eventually.

The chicken burrito pictured will remain unidentified. Let it pay tribute to all burritos that have passed without documentation.

Like the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, this is the post of the unknown burrito.

This entry is filed in {Other}.

Thursday, January 04, 2007 by Jonah. Permalink for I Have Been Eating Burritos In Secret