and there are people who will say that they knew me so well
I love burritos.
Please understand that when I say "burritos" I do not mean authentic Mexican cuisine (nor am I discussing anything sold at Taco Bell.) No, I'm talking about burritos as they were reinvented in the United States of America, and specifically Seattle: the ones that consist of rice, beans, meat and salsa (and probably cheese and hopefully veggies) all wrapped in a tortilla. Burritos are like the hamburger of my generation. They're portable and tasty, despite being the size of your head. They can be eaten quickly, again despite their size. And much like every restaurant hamburger you've ever eaten came with lettuce and a slice of tomato, they provide the illusion of good nutrition by containing all four of the pre-pyramid food groups in a single package. Of course, as dorkparade pointed out to me recently, they are in actuality terrible for you. The beans are fatty (not that I get beans on my burritos, but then I'm a freak), the rice is just so many carbohydrates, and the tortilla itself is laden with gluten.
But they're so damn tasty. And cheap! My love for burritos received a boost, no question, during college. Before then I was trepidatious about burritos as a food item, mostly because I don't especially like beans and it hadn't yet occurred to me to get one without any. When my friends would make trips to the local Chipotle I would stumble, abashed, to the McDonald's next door and get some chicken nuggets (after all, I reasoned, they have the same parent company.) But eventually I cracked and was initiated into the cult of Chipotle, and thereafter I ate a lot of burritos. Not, it should be pointed out, as many as my eventual roommate jrdameonhv, whose crazy but lovable mother at one point gave him a Chipotle gift card with something like $300 on it, with no question that he would go through it before the school year was over.
When I graduated and moved back East I lamented the loss of Chipotle, but I learned to adapt. Boston has its own unique varieties of burrito, and I studied at the feet of war_pug and sleetfall. I learned about the great rivalry between Boca Grande and Anna's Taqueria, which are according to Beantown myth and legend owned by a pair of Japanese siblings who hate one another. And I learned to love going down to the local Anna's with war_pug almost, but not quite, as much as I had loved going to Chipotle with jrdameonhv.
Of course Chipotle, as mentioned, is a national chain, whereas Anna's is merely local. And if history has taught us nothing its that you cannot stem the tide of the franchise (unless that franchise is Krispy Kreme, because we love our Dunkin Donuts here in Boston, and will totally break your knees if you even look at them funny.) Eventually a Chipotle came to Medford, but that's fairly out of the way for me, and by now I am become accustomed to Anna's and all the others, so my cravings are not that strong. I find myself instead missing things like Buffalo Joe's, a venerable chain that will certainly never make the journey of a thousand miles to the strange Commonwealth where I now reside. Recently a second burrito joint opened right here in Davis Square, a Boloco over on Elm Street. So if I really want variety in my local establishments, I at least have two options intead of one, right?
I tell you all of this so that you will understand the childish fist-pumping joy it gives me to announce that the rumors I have long chased of a Chipotle opening closer to home are apparently true. A Chipotle Mexican Grill is expected to open in July, where Buck-A-Book once stood, five minutes walk from my front door. Woo-ha.
Please understand that when I say "burritos" I do not mean authentic Mexican cuisine (nor am I discussing anything sold at Taco Bell.) No, I'm talking about burritos as they were reinvented in the United States of America, and specifically Seattle: the ones that consist of rice, beans, meat and salsa (and probably cheese and hopefully veggies) all wrapped in a tortilla. Burritos are like the hamburger of my generation. They're portable and tasty, despite being the size of your head. They can be eaten quickly, again despite their size. And much like every restaurant hamburger you've ever eaten came with lettuce and a slice of tomato, they provide the illusion of good nutrition by containing all four of the pre-pyramid food groups in a single package. Of course, as dorkparade pointed out to me recently, they are in actuality terrible for you. The beans are fatty (not that I get beans on my burritos, but then I'm a freak), the rice is just so many carbohydrates, and the tortilla itself is laden with gluten.
But they're so damn tasty. And cheap! My love for burritos received a boost, no question, during college. Before then I was trepidatious about burritos as a food item, mostly because I don't especially like beans and it hadn't yet occurred to me to get one without any. When my friends would make trips to the local Chipotle I would stumble, abashed, to the McDonald's next door and get some chicken nuggets (after all, I reasoned, they have the same parent company.) But eventually I cracked and was initiated into the cult of Chipotle, and thereafter I ate a lot of burritos. Not, it should be pointed out, as many as my eventual roommate jrdameonhv, whose crazy but lovable mother at one point gave him a Chipotle gift card with something like $300 on it, with no question that he would go through it before the school year was over.
When I graduated and moved back East I lamented the loss of Chipotle, but I learned to adapt. Boston has its own unique varieties of burrito, and I studied at the feet of war_pug and sleetfall. I learned about the great rivalry between Boca Grande and Anna's Taqueria, which are according to Beantown myth and legend owned by a pair of Japanese siblings who hate one another. And I learned to love going down to the local Anna's with war_pug almost, but not quite, as much as I had loved going to Chipotle with jrdameonhv.
Of course Chipotle, as mentioned, is a national chain, whereas Anna's is merely local. And if history has taught us nothing its that you cannot stem the tide of the franchise (unless that franchise is Krispy Kreme, because we love our Dunkin Donuts here in Boston, and will totally break your knees if you even look at them funny.) Eventually a Chipotle came to Medford, but that's fairly out of the way for me, and by now I am become accustomed to Anna's and all the others, so my cravings are not that strong. I find myself instead missing things like Buffalo Joe's, a venerable chain that will certainly never make the journey of a thousand miles to the strange Commonwealth where I now reside. Recently a second burrito joint opened right here in Davis Square, a Boloco over on Elm Street. So if I really want variety in my local establishments, I at least have two options intead of one, right?
I tell you all of this so that you will understand the childish fist-pumping joy it gives me to announce that the rumors I have long chased of a Chipotle opening closer to home are apparently true. A Chipotle Mexican Grill is expected to open in July, where Buck-A-Book once stood, five minutes walk from my front door. Woo-ha.