pedro and vinny's

hello and hails from philadelphia, pa! i haven't written in this for a while because i've been pretty busy with work, but i'm taking a few minutes to talk about a WONDERFUL burrito i experienced. i have always had what i like to call ECBSS (east coast burritos suck syndrome). i mean, i'm from california, and it doesn't get any better really. however on a business trip to washington, dc last week, a good pally boy of mine by the name of tim introduced me to a GOOD burrito.

the place: pedro and vinnys:
the place place: 15th and K, washington, DC

now i like sketchy burrito joints. in fact, the sketchier the better. nothing says sketchy to me like a dude making burritos for you out of a cart on the side of a street. now it had been raining that day, and we were a little worried that the cart wouldn't be there, but this guy was a TROOPER. burritos, rain or shine! we proceeded to wait in line, and part way through line, your order gets taken, for what type of tortilla you want, and cheese or no cheese. i chose a tomato and chili tortilla, which was pretty excellent, but you can get flour, or a few other types to boot. when you get up to the cart, you are asked what you want on your burrito, what size, etc... i ordered a medium, so that i'd get rice, refried beans, guacamole (THANK HEAVENS SOMEONE ON THE EAST COAST UNDERSTANDS!), sour cream and then i was asked about how hot i wanted this burrito to be. normally i'd of gone for a 10, but i didn't want to spoil my review of the burrito, so i went for 6 (on a scale of 1-10, sadly this one did not go to 11). i was asked if i wanted it to be fruity or not, and i felt daring so i went for fruity. enter the best part of the burrito. mango hot sauce.

upon eating this burrito later, within the company of my friends colin and tim, i decided i liked everything except for the beans. the beans were refried but sort of mama rosa rita style, straight out of the can. i'm into a full bean, so this was sort of lost on me. however, this burrito was the closest i have come to a good west coast burrito in quite some time on the east, and most notably, had a hot sauce to rival my current favorite, tapatio! it was miles apart from tapatio in taste, but most excellent in digestion! i'm going to have to give pedro and vinny's 7 beans up, they'd of gotten 2 more if the beans hadn't of been a bummer, but seriously, this was great! as a side note, image stolen from the washingtonian, and that's my buddy tim ordering in the window! thanks tim!

los primos

last night, me and the boys made a run out for burritos. now to preface this, it has become tradition for myself and a friend to make runs to a burrito joint down the street from "mi casa" called los primos cantina. we initially went there on the rumor that they had a vegetarian burrito that was made with two tortillas. based on this novelty alone, it made the joint worth a visit. upon eating a los primos however, we soon discovered that novelty aside, this fine establishment contained burritos of a high caliber. not too mention awesome banter between the mexican employees, and witnessing runs to the store by staff to obtain malt liquor. now to really get this started, los primos is on the corner of 17th and irvine in costa mesa, california. it is in the same strip mall or whatever as this establishment:


let me just tell you, they may have em, but mine was far from it after los primos.

now when i goto los primos, i do not purvey of the vegetarian burrito. it's not that it isn't good, it's just that i can't see myself eating a small child at any meal, but massive props to anyone who does eat either/or. below you can see the rice and bean burrito with slight modifications (BURRITO JUST KICKED IN YO!)


you can eat most of their burritos with your hands, but i choose to use fork and knife being i get mine with some sour cream and guacamole added to it.

ahh, what life is truly all about!

survey the damage! now with this finished, i might add another good point of why los primos rules.

mexican coke! in the bottle. to those not in the know, mexican coke is bottled with sugar, and none of that corn syrup junk. to most people i guess it wouldn't make a difference, but to me, a man whose heart is set on diabetes, of course it does! slightly sweeter, and the bottle definitely adds to the experience.

in burritos we trust,
fef.

del taco

last night, on my bike ride home from work, i made a stop and got some del taco. to those not in the know with del taco, it is more often than not open 24 hours a day, and pretty cheap. definitely not the best mexican food you'll ever have, and probably actually the worst, but there are several key factors that make del taco a good choice for those late night burrito needs:

- open 24 hours
- over 400 locations
- affordable
- vegan/veggie friendly

my typical order from del taco is the following:



- 3 small red bean and cheese burritos (.79 cents each)
- a veggie works burrito (1.99 each)

now the veggie works burrito is pretty good, but will not be discussed at length. when i goto del taco, i am most definitely after the small red bean and cheese burritos. at .79 cents each, they are a bargain, and are most definitely tasty. the red sauce is what makes these worthwhile, but you can get them with green sauce to, and that is pretty good as well. remove the cheese from this and you've got affordable vegan fodder, i know that statement is hard to believe, but it's true.


nothing quite like a dinner alone with some burritos.

i am going to list locations of burrito spots, and although del tacos are EVERYWHERE in so cal, the closest to me is on bristol, near the corner of bristol and baker.

in burritos we trust,
fef.

an explanation

hello and welcome to my humble corner of the tubes. while you are busy wondering why an internet you sent this morning has not gotten to your office yet, maybe you can purvey of my offerings. i started this "blog" with the intention of keeping track of something important to me. i live in southern california, specifically right now in costa mesa, which is smack dab in the heart of orange county. now living in southern california my entire life, i have lived a rich life full of hearty mexican food. most specifically, i have grown quite attached to the burrito. now i eat a good amount of burritos. there have been points in my life where my burrito intake was every meal in some format for weeks straight. realizing this, and realizing i wanted to know more about burrito offerings in southern california, i have decided to start a chronicle of these efforts, and help share my knowledge with you! whether you be a band on tour, some business professional out on work, or just a random nerd like me, hopefully this can help you discover some of the wonder that is the southern california burrito. i might add, at this point in my life, i am a vegetarian, so every burrito i post about, will more than likely be vegetarian, unless i have a carnivore accompanying me. i believe this will be helpful to the vegan/veggie crowd, that often struggles to find a good meal.

in burritos i trust,
fef.