El Norte

Friends,

Today, the first day of Burrito Appreciation Month 2009, I sampled the fare at El Norte in Chicago. El Norte on the corner of Broadway and Bryn Mawr in the Edgewater neighborhood which is known for its proximity to other neighborhoods. A quick reminder: this blog is dedicated to burritos, not how good the service is at the place I eat burritos. So as long as the burrito is hot, I won't comment on the disposition of the person that gave it to me. Unless that person is a good looking woman that I might be interested in taking to my tastefully decorated condo. If that does happen this month, I'm hopeful she won't tie me up and rob me like the last three. Anyway, I digress...

I ordered a steak burrito (also known as carne asada which is Mexican for "dead meat". I think Carnie Wilson was named after a carne asada burrito. She is famous for being the ugly member of the musical trio Wilson Phillips). The burrito was filled with steak, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and refried beans. It was pretty good. I prefer a burrito that is lightly grilled once all elements are contained in the tortilla but this one was grilled a little too long. I must admit that the steak was kind of bland. Maybe I order steak burritos too often. I think I should order an al pastor burrito next time to see what that's all about (I believe Al Pastor was a Chicago alderman in the 1940's). The burrito had ample amounts of cheese which is a good thing. Some burrito places skimp on cheese because they are evil. El Norte is not evil - they just make an average burrito. Tomorrow I will go to Uptown Taqueria which is right across the street from El Norte. I wonder if they ever send spies or sabateurs to each other's restaurants? That'd be interesting to know.

Until next time...