Dining Out: Cafe Burrito

Back in January 2012 I went to a blogger dinner at Stone Hearth in Allston. It was during that meal that I first met Dan Whalen, the culinary mad scientist behind the blog The Food In My Beard. Though Dan is quiet and mild mannered in person, when it comes to cooking, he is outrageous and bold. Through his blog Dan has chronicled kitchen creations such as: fried pickled jalapeño burgers, Cool Ranch mac and cheese (yes, as in Doritos), red velvet ravioli, peanut butter and jelly funnel cakes and rum floats with bacon straws.

When I read that Dan was planning to leave his old job to take the helm at a new place in Belmont called Cafe Burrito, I was intrigued. Of course I wanted to support Dan and visit his new baby, but selfishly I was kind of psyched because Cafe Burrito is less than two miles from my new house in Watertown.

Over the holiday break I finally got to check out Cafe Burrito with a friend. We met for lunch on a very rainy afternoon.

Cafe Burrito is located right on Trapelo Road, directly next to the Belmont movie theater. The theater is  tiny, charming and only has one screen. Ahhhh, the suburbs.

You can spot Cafe Burrito by it's cartoon sign and matching window graffiti.

Right when you walk in you feel the Mexican flair from the decor.

The far wall has a display of coffees, teas and other gift items.

The wall also sported a sombrero wearing pony. Sure, why not?

My favorite part of the restaurant's decor was the fan shaped like palm tree leaves! You felt like you'd been transported to a tropical resort.

Cafe Burrito has three menus: coffee and tea, smoothies and of course, the Mexican classics. They are written in brightly colored chalk and hang above the counter.

I saw Dan right when I walked in and he didn't skip a beat before offering us a basket full of yellow corn chips with fresh guacamole and Cafe Burrito's salsa of the month. The salsa was orange and pomegranate. I'd actually had pomegranate in my guacamole at the Rosa Mexicano Fall Harvest Dinner. You wouldn't think pomegranate goes well with avocado, but trust me, it does.

We were having a very tough time deciding whether to get burritos or queso a la plancha, a Mexican version of grilled cheese. I think the vacation vibe took us over because we decided to just go for it and share both.

When you order a burrito at Cafe Burrito you stand along a glass window and peer down onto all of your choices. You simply shout out what you'd like rolled into your tortilla.

Here is Dan packing my burrito with veggie goodness:

For my burrito I chose rice, refried beans, corn salsa, shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole and lettuce. The finished product:

How good does that look?

The burrito was hot and fresh. You could taste each and every ingredient. All together they formed a sensational lunch time feast.

As I mentioned, we also wanted to try the queso a la plancha. Cafe Burrito has six varieties, but we went with the tomato and basil option.

The sandwich came out in six triangle shaped pieces. The bread was crispy but somehow made the sandwich feel lighter than it would have with traditional white bread. It was super tasty.

To go with our meal my friend ordered a strawberry banana smoothie. She was kind enough to let me take a sip and it was delicious! The smoothie tasted cold and refreshing, but also light because it didn't have any milk, cream or yogurt. For a split second it made me think I could survive a juice cleanse.

I think in the summer time these smoothies would be the perfect after-dinner delight.

In addition to their fun decor and awesome food, Cafe Burrito is ingeniously located directly next door to the movie theater which means you can take chips and guac, a burrito or a smoothie right into the movie with you. In fact, we saw many people do that before the 2:00pm showing of "Lincoln."

If you become a Cafe Burrito addict (which you will) you can snag a frequent flyer card. Order nine items and get the 10th one free. What's not to love about that?

Visit Dan and his crew at Cafe Burrito, located at 374 Trapelo Road in Belmont, MA.

 

Molly Galler

Welcome to Pop.Bop.Shop. My name is Molly. I’m a foodie, fashionista, pop culture addict and serious travel junkie. I’m a lifelong Bostonian obsessed with frozen confections, outdoor patios, Mindy Kaling, reality television, awards shows, tropical vacations, snail mail and my birthday.

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Address:
Cafe Burrito
374 Trapelo Road
02478 Belmont , MA
United States
Massachusetts US