The Great Burrito Quest
California Burrito shop – Zagreb, Croatia
One of the things we miss most while living in the Middle East are pine forests. The serenity of a nice hike and being immersed in nature is such a restorative event and it was the top item on Shani’s agenda for our whirlwind trip to California. And burritos!
Idyllwild
Not for Shani of course, but burritos are restorative for me. There was a time in my life when I reeked of burrito, or more accurately, hot sauce whenever I would break even the slightest sweat. I really did eat burritos all the time, sometimes there was a torta or 3 rolled tacos, mostly though it was carne asada burritos. This was in San Diego after all, home to some of the best Mexican food in California and it is the standard against which all burritos in my life have been measured since. To say I was looking forward to some good carne asada burritos during our brief visit would be understating my excitement. I might have a problem.
Of course I have cataloged and rated burritos anywhere I can find them in my adventures. I can recommend taco shops from Santa Barbara to San Diego, from L.A. to Palm Springs, from Redlands to Joshua Tree and beyond. If, for example, you find yourself in Zagreb, Croatia I would tell you to try
Texas Honky Tonk – Tallinn, Estonia
out California Burrito, though they were missing the salsa concept when I was there. Then again, you’re in Croatia with not a lot of Mexican food options! Or if you’re on a visit to Estonia I would say give the Texas Honky Tonk and Cantina in Tallinn a shot. Of course there are burritos here in Abu Dhabi and Dubai that are quite good but none of these foreign burritos are true California burritos.
Our trip had us landing at LAX on Thursday afternoon and we were supposed to stay in Pasadena until Monday morning when we would fly to Sacramento and then up to Tahoe. However, things didn’t go as planned. On the morning of our flight we found out we were not booked into the hotel in Pasadena for Thursday or Friday night which presented a bit of a problem. In the Abu Dhabi airport departures terminal Shani was able to find us a nice Embassy Suites in Glendale and we decided on going to Idyllwild for Friday night and booked a quaint little B&B. After our little side trip I would be left to my own devices as Shani had work meetings Saturday evening and all day Sunday. Burrito time for Todd!
I would have liked a burrito on Thursday after the flight but somehow thanks to the navagatrix we ended up driving through Crenshaw and I’m pretty sure there had just been a drive by at a corner market we passed so my desire to stop was pretty well non existent. We finally got on the freeway somewhere near the Forum and slowly made our way to the hotel. I do not miss rush hour traffic in Los Angeles!
Old Pasadena
One of the great things we do miss while living in the Middle East is Trader Joe’s and fortunately for us there was one just a few blocks from the hotel. Like kids in a candy shop we went up and down all the isles and we were able to (over)stock up on snacks for our Idyllwild trip. Friday morning was buffet style at the hotel which included a nice big bowl of fresh pico de gallo for my scrambled eggs, about time I had some Mexican flavors already!
Off to Idyllwild we went, had a very lovely hike, and after a stroll through town in the evening, settled on a mom and pop Mexican joint called Arribas advertising Happy Hour and affordable food.
CA Highway 243
There was a more upscale place recommended to us but with the jet lag and hiking and all we just wanted to eat. The service was good and my burrito was nice but the rice and beans were nothing to write home about. The carne asada was really well seasoned and more like a traditional old style Mexican family restaurant and the portions were massive! I would go back but would opt for the burrito a la carte. Burrito one out of the way, and really a bonus as Saturday and Sunday were the days I was really counting on. As a side note: Ian at the Strawberry Creek Inn B&B went out of the way to make sure breakfast was gluten free for Shani, including fresh bread!
By Saturday afternoon we were back in Pasadena at the Westin, conveniently located just a short walk from all of the action on Colorado Blvd and Old Pasadena. At this point I knew I would have some options and potentially some hard decisions to make. After a scouting mission with Shani before her event I had made a decision for the evening; it would be King Taco. This turned out to be a really good burrito, all meat, and ready almost before I could finish paying! The place is super popular and when I was weighing going back on Sunday night the line was almost out the door!
The next order of business was my Sunday morning breakfast. As luck would have it, one of the most raved about breakfast burritos in the area was just two blocks away! The Lucky Boy Drive In is not to be missed if breakfast (and probably any other) burrito is on your agenda. Some TripAdvisor reviewers call it the best on the planet and my chorizo and egg version was all I had hoped it would be. It was large enough for two meals and really just delicious! Chorizo is a roll of the dice sometimes but not at Lucky Boy. Nom nom. Here’s another side note: when you roll into an AM/PM at 7:30 on a Sunday morning and are buying a tall boy Tecate you will get looks from the soccer moms paying for their gas. It’s not my fault there aren’t any liquor stores near the Westin, I was just planning ahead and being smart with my time!
The best tacos of my life – Choza 96 Pasadena, CA. USA
As good as things had been going they were only getting better! As I wandered the streets of Old Pas I was met with quite a few options but nothing was really screaming out to me (as it turns out I missed one of the spots I really wanted to try and will have to keep that in mind for next time!). What finally caught my eye was a place advertising Happy Hour all day Sunday and $5 menu items. Intrigued, I went in, and was a little suspicious as there was only one table occupied. Whatever, I figured at the least I would have a cheap beer or two and do some people watching. What I did not know was that I was in a place called Choza 96, a Peruvian restaurant, and that I was about to have some of the best tacos of my life. $5 for two pulled pork tacos that were so good and unexpected I was tempted to order a couple more and just gorge myself! The salsa, the cilantro, the red onion, the pork – it all went together so well! I did practice some restraint and only had the two tacos as I was already planning on another burrito for dinner, though I wasn’t quite sure where.
As the dinner hour rolled around I took to the streets once again, on the lookout for the perfect burrito but not finding it I walked by King Taco again. Tempted but I decided to keep walking and just two doors down there was a shop called Tortuga. Again, there was no one in the place and King Taco had a line almost out the door. Generally a red flag. The menu was confusing and for a moment I thought it was a Cuban restaurant but in reality it was a Mexican place that only serves tortas. I like a torta now and again and figured I would give it a shot, not a burrito and a hard to understand menu but what the hell. I ordered the Pork Adobo torta and I have to say it was amazing! The pork just melted in my mouth, the roll was perfect, a good amount of avocado, the sauce just so delicious. The Tecate to wash it down was the icing on the cake. Two awesome surprise meals in one day! It really was superb.
During the rest of our trip I did manage to get in some decent pork enchiladas in Truckee and even some frozen Trader Joe’s rolled tacos but the perfect California carne asada burrito eluded me. Next time, burrito, next time!
My first burrito in Dubai
