Tag Archives: Adobo

Burritos and social networking

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(this is a work in progress, I’m just tinkering with this and will be updating it into a proper article as I go along. Thank you for indulging me)

While it certainly doesn’t change my opinion of what a burrito tastes like I wondered recently if I am possibly more inclined to revisit a burrito place if they seem like they actively engage with customers via twitter and facebook.

Like I say, if a place is great then I will visit it regardless, but if there is a choice between two equally tasty burritos then I would probably chose the place that talks to its customers. Speaking from personal experience there is nothing like the buzz when your tweet gets a reply or you get a mention on facebook. I’m still all a-quiver from birthday greetings from Wahaca. More usefully (and slightly less shallowly) it’s heartening to see that certain restaurants take all feedback on board – the good, the bad and most importantly the ugly. We’ve all had bad customer service at some point or other in our lives but it’s how somewhere responds to negative feedback that determines whether or not you give them another chance.

I appreciate that many of these places are super busy and also how much effort it it takes to maintain an online presence, and also that not everybody really cares, but it makes such a difference to customers to be acknowledged.

Adobo Twitter Face book
I loved Adobo and their customer service was amongst the best I’ve encountered. They don’t seem to be into Twitter that much though.
Benito’s Hat Twitter Face Book
Loved Benito’s Hat, loved the cocktails and REALLY REALLY love how they interact with customers on Twitter.
Burrito Bros Twitter Face Book
Boring burritos, they seem to post a lot on facebook but they don’t seem to interact with the burrito massive as well as Benito’s Hat and Chilango.
Chilango Twitter Face Book
The place that is to blame for my addiction. They’re fantastic at acknowledging people on Twitter and keeping an eye out on who is blogging about them. Top notch.
Chipotle Twitter
I know I’m being lazy, but as this is an American company it’s not terribly interesting to a Londoner. They probably do have a UK twitter account though, and if they don’t then they should
Daddy Donkey Twitter
Flying Burritos Twitter Face Book
Aweseome food and lovely customer service and a retweet! That’s what we like to see.
Mas Burrito Twitter Face Book
Mas burritos make a lovely burrito (although second time around was less succesful, maybe because it was busier) and absolutely ZERO presence on Twitter. They’ve never ever tweeted. (eta update, they have since tweeted back in June. Twice)
Picante Twitter Face Book
Awesome awesome Picante, I am so lucky to work nearby. They’re great at keeping you updated on facebook and twitter (eg if they’re going to open late) but don’t seem to interact with people online. Which is odd as the owner (I assume) is one of the most consistently enthusiastic and friendly people.
Poncho 8 Twitter Face Book
I quite like the way they tweet about things that are completely unburrito related (like when they got stuck in the lift). Not my favourite burrito by a long shot, but you kinda feel like you’re friends with them.
Tortilla Twitter Face Book
I have to admit that I barely follow them given how meh the food is. I do follow them in the interest of being thorough but I don’t really read what they say with much interest.
Wahaca Twitter Face Book
Brilliant food and brilliant at keeping in touch with customers online – really charming and witty tweets and posts. Oh and especially awesome for wishing me a happy birthday

Burritos: The Making Of(ish)

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Once upon a time there were two friends and colleagues, Dr Frost- Rathbone and Dr Marcus Chimpington. Together this crime busting duo fought to bring an end to evil. Well an end to evil burritos at any rate. We’ll leave the actual crime busting to our boys in blue. I mean the police by the way – rather than lovely* Coventry FC or stupid Chelsea FC.

For her birthday, Dr Rathbone received a burrito making kit from her friends
Dan and Pamela . They also gave her a massive bottle of gin, some malteaster bunnies and some frazzles – you can see why she’s friends with them. Anyway, this is her story – The Day She Made Burritos.

Burrito in a box

Inside the box were tortillas, salsa and a sachet of beany stuff to make a chilli with. You supply ground (yes I do mean mince but I’m trying to be poncey and cheffy) beef, tomatoes, cheese and lettuce. As you will find out later YOU WILL NEED TO ADD MORE THAN THIS.

out of the box

I didn’t get lettuce, because I forgot and, frankly you try finding things on Easter Sunday. But I did get avacados and coriander because that’s how I roll.
Dr Chimpington deftly chopped tomatoes and some coriander and also made a stonking guacamole – or rather he decided to take over when I started to make a stonking guacamole [/control freak]. He also chopped some green pepper to add to the beef to give it a bit more ooomph. I had the easy job – I grated the cheese and stirred the beef.

the stuff we did

There’s not much to say about the cooking – you fry up beef, chuck in some sauce and, erm, that’s it. I really would add some onions and peppers and some extra chilli if I were you and fling on some coriander leaves afterwards. The beany sauce is a combination of refried beans with extra kidney beans thrown in for good measure. It was ok, in an artificial kinda way, but it needed more kick.

The assemblage involved laying/chucking stuff on the tortilla. The tortillas were smaller than the ones you get in burrito places and that’s the excuse I am giving for not making a beautiful fat self contained burrito.

Blurry assemblage part II


burrito on plate

So here you go, very blurry. A Blurrito if you will. I would tell you the name of the featured nail varnish but this is a serious scientific article and NOT Cosmo. Oh go on then, it’s Nails Inc in Paris and I got it free with a bottle of diet coke some time last year.

blurrry burrito in hand

burrito in a hand

It was fun, it reminded me of being in my teens/early twenties making tacos or burgers for self assembly by large groups of inebriated friends. It was nice to ‘cook’ (I use the term loosely) with Dr Chimpington because he never lets anybody else into his lab (er, kitchen). But the fantastic thing about places like Picante, Benito’s Hat, Chilango , Adobo and Wahaca ** is the flavours It’s because you can taste so many things going on in each and every bite. The meat is usually slow cooked or char grilled with heaps of infused flavour, the salsa has been blended to perfection and, let’s not forget that the rice (a surprise to me on my first experience) makes a huge difference. Next time I’d just get the wraps and make the rest from scratch. I would certainly not use their bland salsa again – it was too fake and too sweet and too claggy. I made two burritos (in the name of science rather than sheer greed) and the salsa free one was by far superior.

They were fine and we had fun, they were never going to win a burrito oscar, but they certainly weren’t the accepted definition of a burrito. They were Tex-Mex wraps.

*Happy now Matt? Honestly, the things I do for family harmony!

** Disclaimer: There are other Burrito Temples available. They might not be that nice but they are out there.

Adobo

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New kids on the burrito block Adobo sprung up in Holborn at the end of last year, in that rather uninspiring stretch between Holborn station and Chancery Lane tube station.

I’d been past Adobo on the bus recently so was surprised when we actually went in and saw that they do actually have chairs and tables – it looks too small when you’re zooming past on a number 8.  This was good news, it’s too bloody cold to eat and walk.

Adobo seems to be marketing itself as a healthy option. This is something I’ve been thinking about lately, burritos really are full of jolly good stuff. Even if you choose cheese it’s not the end of the world for your new year’s resolution.  I’m not saying you can live solely on burrito (man can not survive on burrito alone) but they’re not exactly bad news and one burrito can keep you full for absolutely ages which you can’t say about other fast food which just makes you feel greasy,  guilty and hungry an hour later.

I opted for a pulled pork burrito and Dr Chimpington went for a beef fajita burrito. Yes, you read correctly, a fajita burrito. The difference between this and a normal one was that his had peppers instead of beans.  I had black beans and we both had guacamole and cheese. Of course.

As usual the mildest salsa looked to be the chunkiest and crunchiest so I ordered this.   I need to go on record by saying that I really really REALLY love chillies (honest, I have already chucked some into tonight’s pappa al pomodoro to ring the changes) but always seem to end up chosing a mild one as they look to have more crunch. However I really regretted it this time as Dr Chimpington’s salsa verde sent him into a veritable swoon.

Both burritos were tightly packed and brimming with lovely flavours. I was more aware of the rice than usual so wondered if the rice normally manages to combine with all the ingredients or if there was more than usual (or even if it was a bit more al dente than usual).  My pulled pork was good and I was suitably tempted by the bite I had from Dr Chimpington’s burrito.  The meat wasn’t quite as mouthwatering as Wahaca or Chilango but that might have been because we got there at the end of the day. However on the whole this was a really gorgeous burrito.  I really liked this burrito. I am really looking forward to a return visit.

We had a side of gorgeous guacamole – really really good stuff.    It can so often be disappointing (too smooth and creamy is my usual complaint) but this was good and chunky.

I have to mention the staff  –  both of them were utterly lovely and attentive.  It’s so rare these days to get such service these days, they actually looked like they were happy to be there (which I sincerely doubt they actually were given that it was a  freezing Friday evening).

I did have a quibble.  A single quibble, a humble quibble  that the foil they used wasn’t the magic foil you get at Chilango.  It was normal foil.   Bah.  Mind you, if that’s my main criticism it’s not really the worst thing in the world.

And if the yummy food and lovely staff is not enough to tempt you then the prices will.  Even the normal prices seem to be cheaper than Chipotle & co, but when we went they were offering all evening burritos for £4.  Yup, that’s four quid for a burrito*.   FOUR BLOODY QUID FOR A REALLY RATHER DELICIOUS BURRITO!!!!

* this was a special offer so don’t expect it every time, that said their burritos are good, in my opinion, value even before the special offer.