Bean & Cheese #5

It's my 5th trip out for a B&C and it takes me to El Sauz Tacos in Glendale on San Fernando and Chevy Chase. I went there on Saturday, May 18th but haven't been able to post until now as I've been super busy. I pull into the parking lot and as I get out of my car and walk up to the window I can smell the wonderful smell of carne asada. It's lingering in the air and the smell is wonderful! After a few minutes they take my order. The place is pretty busy so it takes about 8 minutes. With tax it comes to $3.31, the cheapest so far. I did cave in and got a carne asada soft taco and all together it came to $4.87, so even cheaper than most. 

Anyway, I take it home and open it up. It's a generous size, wrapped up in foil. It was very floppy and completely comprised of whole beans and some cheese. Tortilla was a bit flakey, like it either sat on the grill top or out too long. 

The good thing is they gave me an amazing green salsa and grilled jalapeños, lemon and radishes. Beans were a little bland.

Bean & Cheese #4

My fourth B&C try brought me to Casita Taco in Burbank on the corner of Magnolia and Victory. I have been here many times as an ex and I used to go and pick up soft tacos and their steak quesadillas. The steak quesadillas were really tasty when we would go with a bit of guacamole on the inside. 

I decided to go here and try one of their B&C. Right after I ordered a woman standing next to me piped up and told me they have great B&C burritos and recommend I get the green salsa to accompany the burrito. 

With tax the B&C came to $4.79. It comes with some chips and the salsa bar is pretty decent but no lime wedge so I chose the green salsa, the salsa roja which is said to be hot, cilantro and also onions. 

Upon opening my burrito, which is wrapped in paper and then foil, I found it extremely hot to hold which indicated that I would not find bits of unmelted cheese. I decided to carry on and take my first bite. It was really hot and almost had to spit the bite back out but that even grosses me out so I had to play bean and cheese hot potato with my tongue until it cooled down. Definitely a good flavor to the beans, like they were cooked by mom and they are more of a whole bean consistency.

A few drawbacks is the tortilla is a bit orange in color and I'm not sure why as it didn't really taste different. It was very floppy because the beans are a bit soupy so it can't stand up on its own. There is a fair amount of cheese but no unmelty bits and towards the last third of the burrito the burrito could not withstand the downward pressure of my bites and split open which always makes me sad. It got really messy and I ended up using one of the salsa lids as a scoop. Red salsa was definitely spicy but the green was as well and I did prefer the green with the B&C.

Beans were seasoned well and did not need salt.

Bean & Cheese #3

Bean and Cheese #3 took me back to my old stomping ground and where I grew up. Eagle Rock, California. I find just a sense of happy nostalgia when I'm back in Eagle Rock. The area has changed quite a bit and now music/art/food loving families and hipsters have moved to the area and quite a few tasty restaurants have opened up.
The place that I went to also happened on Cinco de Mayo and I have been there before. It's called Taco Spot and it's located on Colorado Blvd a few blocks west of Eagle Rock Blvd and almost directly across the street from The Oinkster. On the occasions that I have been before all the other food looks so good but I have opted for the B&C because it has the one thing that I really love about a B&C, when I am able to find it, a good amount of cheese with the beans and bits of the cheese is unmelted. Yum!
So, later in the day after our band performance, running some errands and a bit of shopping I decided to stop for the second time to pick up a B&C and give a proper review on said B&C burrito.
I placed my order and with tax it came to $6, which I find pretty steep for a B&C.
I chose my order to go and stopped to get some salsa from the salsa bar. They have a really good selection so I chose limes, onions & cilantro, and the good roasted red sauce. They also have peppers at least 2 non hot salsas, a really decent green salsa and various bottles of hot sauce, namely the Chipotle hot sauce, so there is something for everyone.
My order was ready within minutes and came wrapped up in foil and paper with a good amount of chips in a styrofoam container. I take my order away and upon first bite, I bite into a corner with some beans and unmelted cheese. I squeeze some lime onto the next bite and don't know why that combo is so good but it is. I continue on that way and sometimes add a dollop of red sauce and onion-cilantro combo until I'm done. Chips are good and crispy and perfectly salted. The B&C stands up, isn't floppy, good temperature and has a the wonderful bits of unmelted cheese. Only drawback so far? It's 6 bucks, so my quest continues. Would like to try and find one for under $5.
I think my next stop will be tonight before rehearsal.

Bean & Cheese #2

My second place of choice was El Tapatio in Burbank/Glendale and it's walking distance from my house. I had not been there before just based on the fact it's located on a busy corner, parking is hard to find in that area and I'm usually only walking by to go somewhere else. Regardless it has been there since at least 1995, when I first moved to the area so obviously they are doing something right. I decided to stop there early on Sunday, May 5th before a performance as it was Cinco de Mayo and I was able to find a parking place right behind the stand.
The employees seemed a bit busy in preparation for the day. A few minutes passed and I ordered a B&C. With tax it came to $4.22.
After leaving I opened up my bag and there was a bag of chips and a small container of salsa/hot sauce. The burrito was a hefty size and luckily wasn't too hot to hold. It was a bit floppy but the flour tortilla had a wonderful chewy texture and there was a fair amount of white cheese. The beans could have used a bit more salt but the hot sauce salsa had a really good taste with a small amount of kick. The burrito could have used a bit more cheese.

Bean & Cheese - First Try

My first try on my quest for the perfect (or close to) bean and cheese burrito was Fiesta Taco on Hollywood Way in Burbank on Thursday, May 2nd because recently I have stopped to get a B&C before rehearsal and our instructor and I have been talking about B&C burritos and what goes in to making a good one. I thought it was perfect to start on Thursday before rehearsal.
I stopped at Fiesta Taco because it's on my way and and I had been there once before (for another type of burrito).
It's in a pretty small location and the kitchen/cooking area can barely fit 2 people, hard at work, serving up Mexican fare, but the staff that work there seem to be funny and sweet family guys, if you can understand that.
I ordered a B&C and with tax it came to $4.63 so it was under $5.00. There was a fair amount of choices for the salsa toppings. It was a decent size but a bit floppy and the tortilla a bit thin. When he handed the burrito to me it was so hot that he had to put his hand in cold water. It was fires of hell hot and it took quite a bit of time to cool down before I could take a bite.
There could have been more cheese but the hot red salsa had a wonderful flavor
Out of a scale of 1 to 10 I would give it a 5. It didn't need salt and had some chunks of whole beans inside.

Best Bean and Cheese in LA - My Quest

One of my favorite things in life is a bean and cheese burrito. For as long as I can remember a B & C has been a quick and easy go to food. Whether I was having dinner, soaking up alcohol at 2:30 a.m. or flinging too many beans out the bus window in high school the bean and cheese burrito has been my constant. I remember a place in Eagle Rock, called Arturo's, and it was doors down from my mom's beauty shop. I was too young to be at home alone after school so I would be bored senseless and continually asked by the older ladies if I was going to grow up and be a beautician like my mom. After awhile of spinning around on the chairs I would start to hound my mom for money to get a bean and cheese burrito from Arturo's. Arturo's was my favorite bean and cheese burrito at that time. There was wonderfully cooked pinto beans and a large amount of cheese to the bean ratio. So much that you would get bites of unmelted cheese. I've always liked that. For me that is a jewel of a B&C. I've never liked black beans in my B&C. In my opinion it's not the classic "style" and they aren't as soft. They remind me of little black pebbles and I just won't get them. I once had a co-worker pick up Baja Fresh for the office. I ordered a B&C and specified pinto beans. When she got it back to the office I could tell right away without even biting into the burrito that they were black beans (the outside color of the burrito was darker) and my heart just sank. I couldn't eat it and ended up just munching on chips and salsa. Sometimes I like it with a little bit of sour cream but I like to dip the burrito into the sour cream container or spoon a little bit onto each bite. I have never been a fan of having on the inside of the burrito, also, I don't like the salsa on the inside, I like to put on each bite. I also like to squeeze some lime sometimes on my burrito bites. Yes, I'm a little particular and peculiar but I love my bean and cheese!!