Over the last month I've conducted a bit of an experiment. I have tried burritos (tacos for you hardcore Tex-Mexicans) from a few different places to discover maybe some new and awesome flavors or maybe something that I missed before. My recent endeavors into this breakfast burrito bombardment have taken me to some new places and some of my old favorites and let me say I've enjoyed the adventure sometimes even more than the food.
Right after I posted my last blog about The Hut I thought it would be fun to compare some places regarding specific burritos. My favorite burritos are filled with Chorizo and Eggs (Chorizo Con Huevo, and u didn't think I could speak Spanish ;-) or Barbacoa (for you gringos, half-breeds, and non-Spanish speaking population this is Beef cheek meat....NO NOT THOSE CHEEKS sickos!) In the old days you would get an entire beef head and season it, wrap it in wet burlap sacks and bury it in the ground with hot coals all around it and a few hours later zip bang boom a lovely cabeza de vaca complete with a beef tongue, cheek meat, eyes (not always) and lots of tasty little bits Andrew Zimmern from Bizzare Foods likes to call "mucilage". Sounds a lot like mucus but hey it sure does taste good in a burrito or taco.
So my quest was on to taste test the best places' burritos. And so it began, I had breakfast burritos at Julio's, Mendez Cafe, Cornerstop, The UC at Angelo State, Diego's Burritos on Ave. N and at Lorena's next to the Roxy.
Lets begin with The UC and work our way up the quality chain shall we? If there ever was a Taco Bell type breakfast burrito I'd have to say the UC is producing it. The tortillas taste like preservatives and the filling was lukewarm. One good thing is the Chile, Salsa, or Hot Sauce. They have a couple of choices in the familiar green and red that actually have some flavor but basically the hot sauce won't make up for bad tortillas and filling that has sat too long. 1 star for the awesome Salsas. There is no barbacoa option at the University. Go figure. With as many Mexicanos as they have on their management team and working behind the grills you'd think they might try to bring some authentic cuisine out. Lets face it it's not about quality food it's about quantity. Onward my friends.
Lorena's is a new place in town that has gone into a drive through location that has housed in the last 2 years another burrito barn, a BBQ Stand, A Soul Food drive thru, and now this. Location is right in the heart of the barrio at an intersection that gets tons of traffic daily. AFB traffic goes by as well as many others but the place has never been that appealing for some reason. Nothing that goes in there stays for long. I didn't see barbacoa on this menu either but I did get the Chorizo and Egg again for a taste test. Also grabbed a couple of Bacon and Egg burritos for my lovely wife. The first thing I noticed about these burritos is that they dripped a lot of grease and it was definitely not appetizing. A plus for these was that they were plenty hot and you got a lot of filling. The hot sauce was pretty good too. The Burritos weren't overwhelmingly flavorful but weren't the worst I've ever had either. 2 Stars for Lorena's.
Mendez Cafe is another place that has decided to break into the early morning burrito wars. This restaurant is now located in what has been another location with many tenants. Catfish Haven, Catfish Corner, Barney's Burgers, and most recently Little Gil's have been at this ever changing hole in the wall joint. Mendez doesn't have barbacoa either. Aw snap! Aw snap! They are concerned about you being out speedily so they have a small canopy with a roaster on a table connected to a long orange extension cord running inside the building right in the front of the cafe. They said they were burritos but these were definitely breakfast tacos the way that they were folded. Tortillas were OK but not home made and filling was somewhat bland. Chile was tasty but didn't have a lot of punch to it. They did have plenty of filling though. 2.5 stars for this one.
Julio's, Diego's, and Cornerstop are my all time favorites. Diego's is a stand by that I enjoy from time to time and both their Chorizo and barbacoa are excellent. Tortillas are great and the chile is good too. They do however rank behind Julio's and Cornerstop because they have my second favorite chorizo and egg and second favorite barbacoa burritos. Diego's does have one drive through location on Main St.. The other two locations are walk in only. They are solid on just about everything they make there so they get 4 stars!
Julio's Chorizo and Egg burrito with the homemade tortillas from next door can't be beat on flavor. They add some of the secret spice and the burrito filling is moist, hot and flavorful even before the salsa hits it. They have everything down to a science and you can drive through at all their locations except on South Chadbourne. 5 stars to Julio's for being my favorite Chorizo and Egg burrito spot.
As good as Julio's is at C&E, Cornerstop is unbeatable when they put their prize fighter barbacoa in the ring against the competition. Homemade tortillas are done on site. 2 different green and red salsas made on site. Barbacoa slow cooked on site. You get a tortilla stuffed with meat that's hot and juicy. The flavors are just phenomenal. To me this is the best barbacoa burrito in town bar none. The staff is quick and there is usually a line here. They have plenty of menu choices besides burritos too. They have two locations where you can get corn of flour tortillas too. The one on North Chadbourne has a drive thru but my preferred location is on Ben Ficklin. 5 stars for my favorite barbacoa burrito in San Angelo.
If you are passing by one of these places give them a try and let me know what your favorite burrito is. I'd love to hear about it.
*btw Julio's and Cornerstop also have menudo sometimes. Ask for it. Menudo will put hair on yer chest!
