Good Burritos!

They're here, my friends. Good burritos in BsAs.

I found word of this place on the webanets somewhere and decided to drop in one night. They are not yet open for evenings so I made a mental note to revisit for lunch sometime. Like most of my mental notes that one seemed to get shuffled into oblivion. Coming back from a meeting today I found myself hungry and a little jaded as to the normal fare on offer. It was then that I remembered the little joint at Lavalle 441. You know you're close when you hit that stretch of Lavalle between San Martin and Reconquista that's been under construction for God knows how long.

It would be a great place to watch some Copa if they had a TV. As of yet they are not open on weekends either...due to the continuing construction in the street.

It's a narrow and deep place decked out in pastels and blond wood with repros of old Pan-Am travel posters and some informative graphics intended no doubt to allay any trepidation among the locals as to these strange new vittles.

1:30pm is primetime lunchtime here, of course, and the place had a good crowd of locals and norteamericanos. I can't say that there was any actual confusion in the serving line, mostly because the taqueros behind the steam table were confident and knowledgeable. What's more the menu walks you through in 3 steps to your to your yummy destiny.

There's burritos and tacos and salads. I was disapointed that there were no corn tortillas but I must say that the flour tortillas were tender and tasty and huge. I went with the Fajita Burrito instead of the flagship California Burrito which is the same price, 10 pesos, because it boasted onions and sauted red and green sweet peppers. But I quickly discovered that it's a build your own situation with you being asked every ingredient you want. Lots of options for vegetarians.

Like I said, the tortilla is truly huge giving you the opportunity to have them build you one "as big as your head" in the true yanqui tradition with about every ingredient you've ever encountered before. I opted for some discretion this being my first time through and selected the roast pork, onions, sweet peppers, a slash of guacamole, a schmear of sour cream, and some kind of creamy meat sauce that is too new for the menu. All nicely generous and balanced. Zip zap zam, my little donkeycito got folded and wrapped in foil and dropped into a red plastic basket just like back home. Tack on a cold Negro Modelo and I'm only 16 pesos lighter. That's McDonalds territory...and with a cold one to boot.

I may have done an end-run around the drill in that I was expecting some salsa picante for the exterior of the shebang (is that a Chicago thing?) It might have been due to the fact that I had my eye on the Fuego sauce that they make on the premises and is displayed behind the counter in hot sauce bottles and is touted as the hottest on the list.

I think you're supposed to ask for it as part of the construction process and they'll put in on the inside for you. No matter, in a laid back friendliness that evokes Sunny Cal, they just handed me a bottle that I hauled back to my seat among the happy laptoppers enjoying the free Wi-Fi (there may be some Live Bloggin' in my future!)

Bueno. I built a good one. I was a little afraid that with the giant tortilla and not too many ingredients that my concoction might be overpowered by the flour. Not to worry. Although flour tortillas are always my second choice...probably 'cause I've had so many that reminded me of toasted wet newsprint...this tortilla was good enough to eat by itself. Somebody knows what they're doin', fans.

Great flavors, everything tremendously fresh, cold black Mexican ale with a wedge of lime, and a fine homemade hot sauce. The Fuego salsa looks like a Belizean habanera but is slightly less firery than Tabasco. Really flavorful, though, and just as fresh tasting as everything else.

A course, you gotta consider your faithful source here: a very hungry yanqui, bored with the usual-usual, whose hot sauce chops have withered a bit over the 3 years in La Reina de la Plata, and who tells people that the only things he misses about the EEUU is snow and Mexican food.

But I don't think it was terribly subjective experience. It really was good, I'm looking forward to going back, and I'll be sure to have them make my burrito even bigger next time!