Saturday 27 April 2013

Burritos - London & Oxford

Various

I seem to have caught the burrito trend slightly late. Of course, I've long been a fan of burritos - having the excellent Mission in Oxford yards from the office helps - but aside from a Chipotle in New York, I hadn't sampled much else, so this month I set out to change that.

A couple of short waits in Kings Cross gave me the chance to try a Benito's Hat; a trip to Oxford Street,  Wahaca; and a late arrival in Paddington, Barburrito.

Being no expert I naively assumed that the burrito would be a fairly uniform dish - oh no, how wrong was I. Benito's Hat is a dry affair, with the ingredients not quite mixed enough for my liking - a line of meat along one-side flanked by a line of sauces and toppings on the other. Don't get me wrong, this is a good burrito, it just needs more work in it's preparation.

Wahaca was the antithesis. A much more sit-down-and-dine kind of place, the burrito was served swimming in juice, with the meat itself already sticky and dripping red before any further sauce was added. I consider myself quite the accomplished burrito eater, but this required a technique of continuous rolling to avoid sleeve dribble and saturated no fewer than four napkins.

Barburrito in Paddington was slightly lacking in flavour, but did achieve the correct size and shape of a burrito. No footballs here, even with all of the toppings included. Perfect for perching on a stool, eating with one hand, holding a beer in the other.
The Mission though is still my first love. A great tasting burrito, expertly put together, and accompanied on each table with individual bottles of Tabasco and half-a-foot of napkins. They even offer to swap beans for peppers and onions - something which caused confusion when asked for elsewhere.

2 comments:

  1. My favourite burrito place is a van that used to park in Whitecross Street market, off Old Street. Fresh burritos. Delicious!!

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  2. Apparently it's still there https://twitter.com/Luardos will have to give it a go!

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