I'm pretty sure that through twenty-two of these East End Eats, this is the first time I've reviewed a burrito. Shocking!
Actually not really. Burritos are damn delicious, but I find I don't crave one as often as certain other items (gee I wonder what tops that list...). They're also much more of a meal than a snack I find, unless you order a small one but WHY WOULD ANYONE EVER DO THAT?
They're also tougher to review since... well, they're all sorta the same. What I mean is, unlike with a pizza where I can comment on texture, cheese, oiliness and such, a burrito is a more consistent product. A lesser one will still have the standard elements just at a lower quality. I guess what I'm getting at is it's probably much easier to make a bad pizza than a bad burrito: with a bad burrito I think you'd have to really try to make it bad on purpose or through astonishing negligence. The tortilla would have to be stale, the main filling dry, the sauces unpleasant and the rice crunchy. If you've experienced bad burritos please do let me know, I'm very curious what makes a bad one (and also so I can avoid the place he he ha ha hah).
Well here's Chino Locos! They were a place I consistently forgot existed: Greenwood is noticeably west of me and when I ride a bike I usually avoid Queen Street, which is exactly where Chino Locos is. Regardless, it is a well regarded establishment (it topped BlogTo's Best Burrito list in 2017, however you want to value that) and they've opened a second location on Broadview.
What sets them apart from other burrito joints is that they add a bit of Chinese fusion to the menu: instead of rice you can substitute chow mein noodles, which I didn't do because... I just wasn't in the mood for noodles. Maybe that means I didn't get the "unique" Chino Locos experience, but bah whatever I'm more interested in how a place executes the basics first, especially when it's my first time there.
I got the "Sweeet" can, I mean pork option... medium spice with everything but red onions. It's good! Very good. The pork is more tender than juicy, with a subtle sweetness that's good not to overwhelm the other fillings. There is a lot going on here, as a fully loaded burrito should, but what stands out most is the nice extra flavour of the scallion-ginger relish, which adds a different dimension to the ensemble of tastes, even if not featured in every bite. That's another aspect of trying to review a burrito: one bite could be just sour cream and guacamole then the next rice and beans. The individual elements mix up and finding distinction among them is who cares I'm hungry! That's why I ordered a burrito!
Fortunately, Chino Locos does stand out from being just a typical burrito spot. The relish is certainly different, the noodles option compelling, and their hot sauce is very on point. Between mild, medium and hot I went for the middle and this baby got me one or twice in some unsuspecting places (gee, that sounded different in my mind). This burrito was just really good, and I'd be curious to go again for the fish option in the future. Spoilerrrsssss....?????
One last quick thing: when I worked downtown at a certain music venue, oftentimes after shifts we would go for post work burritos at the Burrito Boyz on Adelaide. Those really did hit the spot, even a calamari one I tried which was cooked to just the right texture to be a presence in the wrap, but not too tough or chewy. Maybe once we're done working on the time machine here at West C Street I'll take a quick trip back to 2018, before this everything nightmare happened.
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