Round 1

Chipotle vs. Burrito Loco

First let me preface this by saying that I try to learn a lesson from most things that happen to me in life. I didn't realize tasting burritos would be one of them, but low and behold, I am wrong. Now that I'm aware of this fact, there will be more lessons to be had in the future. Last week I learned that it's hard to pick a winner of a competition when you're comparing apples and oranges... Or in this case Chipotle and Burrito Loco. It's also difficult to make a final decision knowing that every one's palate is different and breaking a tie might play a factor along the way.

Here's a brief breakdown on our consumption....

We got two burritos from Chipotle. One Chicken and one pork. They both feature cilantro white rice, black beans, salsa fresca, fresh squeezed lime, red chile tomato salsa, lettuce, and cheese. The meat is all naturally raised and features grilled and garlicky flavors. The beans were slightly smokey and the lettuce added an enjoyable crunchy texture. Some of the down falls in my opinion, were that the cheese wasn't melty and ingredients weren't well assembled so one bite might be all lettuce and the next bite could be all chicken. While I thought this was an excellent burrito, and I think I'd partake in it again, it was a more Americanized burrito than the one we sampled from Burrito Loco.

We also ordered two burritos from Burrito Loco. One Chicken and one ground beef. Spanish rice, cheese, salsa fresca, pinto beans accompanied the protein choice. Now I've never seen anyone put lettuce in the burrito here, but I'm sure they might do it upon request if you said please. While the meat for the burritos wasn't highly seasoned, I enjoyed the freshness and simplicity of it with the flavorful salsa fresca and gooey cheese. The double press is what makes the cheese so wonderful at Burrito Loco. All burritos start out as a flour tortilla that is quickly steamed before being filled with all the goodies. Once wrapped, Burrito Loco gives it a second steam which melts the cheese and keeps the burrito together so well.

Size matters!
Burrito loco has multiple different sizes for whatever appetite you have... Medium, Regular or Gordo. A quick side note, if you finish the Gordo, you get your picture on the wall! As far as price is concerned, the regular Burrito Loco burrito and the Chipotle burrito are about the same give or take a few cents and that being around $6.50. But if you like a deal you'll want to try the School Special at Burrito Loco. For $5.95, plus tax, you can get a medium burrito, chips & salsa, and a drink. The bonus is that you don't have to be in school to be eligible to order this combo.

Nice things about both places is that there are choices. You can substitute or get whatever you want in your burrito. If you're not a burrito fan, try a salad or tacos instead. Both places have guacamole, salsa, sour cream and hot sauces. Customization is a beautiful thing.

And the winner is...
By a vote of 2 to 1, Burrito Loco was declared the better burrito!

Till next time, HAPPY EATING!

Point of Departure

My name is Theresa. I'm a 20 something living in Chester County, PA. I consider myself average. I have no special talents or astonishing beauty. I work in corporate America and often find the monotony of my cubical job to be mind numbing and energy draining. Everyone says, "Get a new job. Find something you like to do and do it. Etc, etc, etc." Apparently, these people don't have bills to pay or obligations that need tending to, otherwise they wouldn't be so lackadaisical about ditching a perfectly good job with great benefits.

I never thought I would be the type of person who would settle. I always pictured something more exciting for my life, but the excitement never came. I wanted to travel and see the world. I wanted to try some daredevil extreme sports. I wanted to fall in love over and over again. I wanted to explore all the world has to offer in art, music, culture, language and food.

Food... now there's one thing I really enjoy. If I were stranded on a dessert island, what 3 things would I bring? Mexican, Japanese and Italian! I've been in the restaurant business for 10 years now. I've worked at all kinds of restaurants and I currently moonlight as a server on the weekends. I love this aspect of my life. Let's be clear about this though. I love the people that I work with. Never have I met such a diverse group of people in my life and they all work under the same roof. I love the customers... even the bad ones. Each of my customers brings a unique dining experience to the table, no pun intended. My fellow cubicle workers enjoy hearing about my weekend escapades and every server, kitchen staff member, host, owner, etc. all gather for a drink at the end of the shift and dish on which customers they loved and hated. I revel in the thrill of a busy Saturday night. I'm overwhelmed with a feeling of accomplishment if I can manage to keep myself out of the weeds, or at minimum, keep from drowning in them.

With so many good reasons to make a living in this business, why am I sitting in an uncomfortable industrial office chair and staring at Excel spreadsheets?

• Well, there's not such thing as paid vacation/time off in most restaurants.




• Benefits? Forget about 'em!




• Holidays and weekends? Yeah right!




• Cheap bastards that think 15% is a good tip.

I could go on, but pick up any Anthony Bourdaine book or Confessions of a Waitress, and you'll get the skinny on the restaurant biz.

I've decided that food and eating are my passions. So why not write about it? With the help of some of my foodie friend entourage, I plan to set out on a weekly journey to try new things and compare them to some of my most beloved meals. Tune in for some fun shenanigans!