In this blog, we are reviewing the following burrito places: Moe's in Parsippany; Tinga in Montclair; Chipotle in Bridgewater, Surf Taco in Belmar, and Senorita's in Bloomfield.
Moe's
Parsippany
A cool feature of this place is what you get when you walk in the door: a very enthusiastic and bellowing "Welcome to MOE'S!". The interior is bright, colorful and fun. The large menu on the wall allows you to see everything and make a decision before you even get on line: a must for places where you stand to make an order. They have a variety of your basic tex-mex foods: tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, and salads. Once you place your order, you get to choose what you want in it, another must for those folks with food "issues", whether it's allergies or some sort of gastrointestinal disorder.
They give you a nice helping of tortilla chips with every order, and they are quite possibly some of the best chips I've had. Not too salty and they've got lots of flavor. Now to the burrito: I've only ever gotten chicken in mine, which I'm not a fan of. It's not grilled, but instead prepared on a flat top griddle in front of you. It smells divine when they're cooking it, but it's a whole other story when you're eating it. I can't quite nail the flavor down, which I guess is an issue in and of itself, but all I can say is that it's tangy. The pico de gallo looks like it's about 3 weeks old...very lackluster and quite possibly the source of my gastro pain and discomfort within an hour of eating it. The rice is dry and not that full of flavor. The only good parts are the cheese, guac, sour cream, lettuce, and the wrap itself. Let's just put it this way: when I'm desperate for cheap eats, I'll swing by Moe's, especially when I have a coupon. They do have a salsa bar, of which they're okay, but again nothing special.
P.S. If you ARE a fan of Moe's, they offer a card where you buy 9 and get the 10th free.
Ratings:
Ambience: *****
Food: ***
Service: **** (No table service)
Overall: ***1/2
Chipotle
Parsippany
Very similar to Moe's, Chipotle is set up cafeteria style: you tell your cook what you want and you got it. Pay for it, and grab a table. It's really that simple. Oh, and you can even place your order online and cut in front of everyone and pick up your food within minutes. Now down to the chow.
I ordered the chicken burrito and was very impressed with the flavor and char of the chicken. I'm not a huge fan of rice, but they infuse theirs with lime juice and cilantro, and there's something with a kick to it in there but I'm not sure where it comes from. The rice is moist and actually adds to the overall flavor of the burrito. Each of their salsas tastes fresh, I usually order the one with medium heat made with corn...the combination of heat and sweetness from the corn are an excellent combination. The guac is awesome and worth the extra money, you really won't be disappointed. They have lots of options to choose from, from the meat to the salsas, all of it has excellent flavor. They don't have a salsa bar but you'll be so satisfied from the burrito that it won't even matter. This place has me coming back every time and each time I've never been disappointed! Highly recommended!
P.S. For those of you who don't know, there are two interesting tidbits of info about Chipotle: 1.) It's owned by McDonald's corporation, and 2.) This is Ozzy Osbourne's favorite burrito joint.
Ratings:
Ambience: ***
Food: *****
Service: **** (No table service)
Overall: ****1/2
Surf Taco
Belmar
This is a small southern New Jersey chain. I've been to the one in Brick and Belmar. The one in Brick is kind of dirty, and I remember seeing a cockroach in the bathroom. You know what they say about roaches...every restaurant has them but it's a whole other issue if you can actually SEE them. We're rating the one in Belmar here.
It's pretty awesome walking into a Surf Taco for the first time: it's got a real relaxed and easy feel to it and the artwork on the walls makes you want to stay. Plus, the music they've got playing at all times is another reason to make you want to chat with your friends long after your burrito has been finished. I'm just a real sucker for any establishment that plays reggae and/or the Clash.
The counter staff are usually beach bum high school girls who are usually busy checking out the younger crowd that always seems to wander in. A little annoying but not enough to ruin the food. I don't think they've ever gotten my order wrong, so I can overlook the rest of their attitude. Here's how it works: you place your order and take a number, and some other high school kid brings out your order within minutes. It doesn't take long to get your food, and it's always fresh. The salsa bar sits along the wall with several options, including a salsa verde made with tomatillos. Each salsa is refreshing, and worth trying to find your personal favorite.
Here's the problem with the burrito: BORING. The pico de gallo is pretty good, but the chicken is quite flavorless, as is the rice. I've had the surf taco here before, which is pretty good because of the sauce that accompanies it. I ordered my burrito "wet" which means they douse it in a red sauce and cover it with cheese and pico de gallo. I found myself dipping each part of the burrito in the red sauce for some flavor. I've seen others dipping the burrito in some salsa. In any case, it gains points for the freshness but overall lacks flavor.
Ratings:
Ambience: *****
Food: ***1/2
Service: ***1/2
Overall: ****
Senorita's
Bloomfield
Senorita's is HUGE. They've got two floors and plenty of space for private parties. The overall decor is decidedly Mexican and tastefully done. There's plenty of options to choose from on their menu, but let's talk burrito shall we?
I must preface this by saying that I was with a large group of people, so the service left much to be desired. The drink orders were super slow, and my coconut mojito didn't taste much like coconut. I don't think I finished it and stuck to water after that. Their burritos aren't fully wrapped, more like rolled with red sauce and cheese all over it. Think enchilada but a burrito.
The chicken was shredded, which is always nice, and the sauce had great flavor. Their guac didn't disappoint either...I really did want to finish the whole thing but was so full from chowing down on the tortilla chips that I could only get through half of the dinner. And that's because it took awhile to get served. Everyone else around the table was very satisfied with their food. Plus, they offer tableside guacamole, which was absolutely delicious! This wasn't a unique experience for burritos by any stretch of the imagination, but with the welcoming feel and fun vibe of the place, I could've stayed longer.
Ratings:
Ambience: *****
Food: ****
Service: ***
Overall: ****
Tinga
Montclair
Out of all the burrito places we've reviewed, I have to say that Tinga fares the worst. The small, cramped space fills up rather quickly, and I don't believe the food is worth waiting for. The staff is usually filled with high school kids who screw up your order just as quickly. The burrito also disappointed: the chicken was shredded and had decent flavor, but one of those where you have to eat it with a knife and fork. I'm not a fan of any of the accompaniments: the beans gave my blogging partner the worst belly ache. I've actually had their catered fajitas at a private party once, which was much better than the burritos I've had there. The to-go catered food was so much better than the in-house burrito, though it was from the Westfield location.
The restaurant itself has unique decor, but needs to be much bigger to accomodate its patrons. I hate having to fend for a table, only to have people give you dirty looks when you get one. Like I said before, not worth it, especially when there's such great food in the rest of Montclair. I'd rather get a slice of pizza, which ain't sayin' much.
Ratings:
Ambience: ***1/2
Food: ***
Service: ***
Overall: ***
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