As a warm-up before the Melvins show at the Double door last week, had dinner at El Presidente. Unless you are fluent in Spanish, you may not know this, but El Presidente is actually Spanish for ‘the president’. Upon further review, I am not so sure what was so presidential about this place. I did not see Obama there, though admittedly he is a south-sider and a very busy man these days. The former US presidents, still living, were not there either. No George W, but based on the fact that he is a f*ckin’ idiot, I am also assuming that he is anti-burrito. I did not see my political hero Bill Clinton either. Slick Willy enjoys himself a good burrito, but may not have been informed that burritos are not bad for you, even if you’ve had extensive by-pass work done. Jimmy Carter, well he better start explaining himself. Nobel Peace Prize Winners are supposed to be pro-burrito. Sadly too, none of the living Mexican premiers past (EcheverrÃa , de la Madrid , Salinas , Zedillo , Fox) or present (Calderón ) were there, but I am guessing that after reading my blog, they will flock to El Presidente so that the restaurant can live up to its name.At El Presidente, I had a Carne Asada Burrito. They do their burritos in a manner that I call plate style. You are provided a thin tortilla that wraps meat, and then all of the toppings are on the plate. It appeared to me that Carne Asada was their featured meat (since they charged $.50 more for it) so I got a thinly wrapped Carne Asada Burrito with a plate that included rice, beans, guac, sour cream, lettuce tomatoes, and onion. Bite by bite, I would eat my burrito, placing the toppings on a fork to spread on the end of the burrito I was about to eat. I think this plate was delicious and really enjoyed the experience. Furthermore, El Presidente is open 24-7-365, so when Calderon or his predecessors arrive, they can rest assured that it will be open and a burrito will be ready for them.
After running a half marathon in sweltering heat last weekend, I went to El Nuevo Leon for a late lunch. I do realize in many instances that eating a burrito after running a race may represent an in-balance of the inner Yin and Yang that would equate to all out internal warfare, but this is not the case if the burrito comes from El Nuevo Leon, because it’s that good. Those with a basic understanding of Spanglish would know that El Nuevo Leon is Spanish for ‘the new lion’, and since the lion is the king of the jungle, this is literally the new king. I sincerely hope the regicidal acts are against the law in Chicago, because this ‘new king’ needs to live to see a ripe old age.I feel bad even rating this place with burrito joints that are on this web site. El Nuevo Leon is clearly in a class of its own. Upon arriving, you are greeted with a delicious little appetizer, gratis. This time, it was a plate with a tortilla and some grilled meat and beans to make you own little taco. In the past it has been a soup with a chicken wing or some other creative little starter. Along with the starter, you are provided a basket of chips, two salsas, and a collection of peppers. It gets even better when the entre comes. A third (warmed salsa) comes to the table to accompany your meal. The burrito was out of this world. The choices are limited to chicken or Steak, so I went with steak. This stake burrito had chihuahua cheese, guac, lettuce tomatoes,refried beans, and sour cream. This was probably the best thing I have ever tasted. How much would you expect to pay for all of this? $100…wrong…$25….wrong…$10….wrong! Six dollars! Only six dollars!
With this I bid you adieu in 2011, and can’t wait to be back in 2012. See you all soon! Bueno ano tenemos!
PS – the essay contest was not a joke. Please submit essays to theivesiest@yahoo.com. Winner gets a burrito lunch on me, and maybe the Burritophile will even make an appearance!
Until Next Time…
