Thursday, May 29, 2014

Head For The Mountains

Head For The Mountains...


The Burrito: Shredded Chicken
The Burrito Builder: Los Montes
Where Is It: Moline, IL. Lat / Long: 41'29''30 N : 90'30"47 W. 725' Alt 
The Link: none 


The BurritoBlog has taken a 2nd seat to other life activities; but that doesn't mean the feast has stopped!  Far from it.  I received a bit of a tale about a restaurant in Moline, Illinois that needed to be told... and sampled.  Los Montes Mexican Restaurant has its humble beginnings for sure.  Walking up to it, the graffiti style sign painted on the side of the building tells me one of two things; either its a modest operation, or it doesn't need a flashy sign.  I ruminated on the back story I had been given as I walked around.  What I was looking at was the fledgling start up of a transplanted traditional Mexican cantina.  Not the kind you see in the touristy hot beds along the coasts or off the busy 2nd Street and Avenida Revolucion in Tijuana.  This is the kind of place you find in a hold over town about 50 miles form anywhere else.  Its quiet.  Its well kept.  Its modest in everything presented, because this is the way people live their lives in this part of the country.  In a growing metro area like the Quad Cities [home to about 1/3rd of a million people], this is the place that doesn't really fit in.

Heading for "the mountains"
In all fairness, the area boasts a few chain places [of about three to eight locations each], that most of the population believes to be true Mexican cuisine.  If you're familiar with the area, people think Rudy's [Americanized Tex-Mex], Adolph's [slightly Mexicanized Tex-Mex], or the Azteca's [Americanized Mexican] constitute what is and will be.  Not really.  Sprinkle in about ten other offerings that dabble in different menus, and you have the working locale.  To each his own.  But the find the best burrito, you sometimes need to look in the unfamiliar places.

Looking in all the "familiar places"
But as I rounded the corner, the hand painted "Burrittos" on the glass made me know I was in the right place.   Its a kind of welcoming mat to be unfurled before a visiting dignitary.  Someone who is probably not me.  The open counter area immediately inside the door has the familiar scent, meat.  Cooking, frying, sizzling, goodness in chunk form.  Its open area calls to me of the walk up counters you find in Southern California; it suits the walk up crowds busy on lunch time, and the beach goer's of anytime.  Here its slightly out of place.  There is no big menu overhead, no one standing watch over the process and no line of hustling bodies around me.  Its a quiet space to take it all in, in midst of an aging light commercial / residential neighborhood. 

The seating area beckons me with a short walk and a menu, I'm armed in my surroundings.  Lots of things have been on the move here recently; with new interior designs and a new menu, there are many things to take in.   The one thing on my mind was the dazzling selection of meats available.  Off the top of my head, Los Montes has 6 solid meat offerings available for pretty much every dish, and available for sale by the pound as well.  I chose to go during the off peak hours; that meant my choices were a bit limited.  I stuck with tried and true shredded chicken.

As I waited for the order to come up, I thought about the back story I had been told.  Los Montes was born out of a garage. True and through, they have continued to work with home recipes and found themselves in a transition state as a business; in order to grow more, its time to invest.  Most of those changes I saw around me are the direct result of that.  Its fit and finish, but does that make a burrito?  I've eaten in airports, off of donkey drawn wooden cars, 5-star restaurants by WhoWasThat famous guy, and most things in between, and I'm still not sure if any of it ever translates directly to the quality of the food.

We Three Kings
About 25 minutes later my order arrived, accompanied with three bottles of sauce.  I wasn't sure where to begin.  I started sampling the sauce on chips to get a feel for what I could "paint" with, before I envisioned the scene to paint.  The first was a typical red sauce slightly more aged in a chipotle style.  Not bad.  Great for chips.  The second was a typical verde.  Not honestly hot enough and a bit thin for my liking; but not out of the realm of reasonableness.  Last, but not least, you'll see by the emptied bottle above; was a barbeque variety.  I'd not had this particular flavor this far from the border before.  I'd last had something like it south of Nuevo Laredo, in a cramped, dingy wooden board[ed up?] makeshift eatery.  I'd swear the meat of choice was either killed upon order or had sat for weeks... no in between, and it was this type of sauce everything was doused in that made it palatable.  Here in the now, this sauce gave a very smokey distinctive barbecue tang and was filled with spice.  Armed with my sauce, I dig in. 

The spread; Al pastor taco and melty shredded chicken burrito
The shredded chicken burrito had a few things going for it I had not anticipated.  Its constructed on a 12" flour shell, that was either pressed or flat ironed after it was rolled.  The gang-buster included about 1 1/4 cup of shredded chicken, a half cup of pasted refried beans, 1 cup of rice mix [including carrots and peas], then garnished with lettuce, onion and tomatoes, then about 1/4 cup melted cheese mixed in.  Considering the size and girth of the burrito, priced at $5.95, its a steal.  The same price point is getting you the similar item from a Taco John / Taco Bell, with better ingredients and better surroundings.  As I ate, I consider the chicken is prepped in a stewed or simmered fashion, and as such it tends to get a bit soggy.  Easy fix!  I'd pull it, then flat iron it for about 40 seconds, spritz it with the sauce of choice, then let it steam for another 30 seconds under a dish.  I think the added flavor and crunch of the meat would make it stand out.  Same goes for prep work, I'd do all of that first, add the cold veggies last from a freezer immediately before plating... it goes a long ways to give it that fresh bite or snap.  All things that could be done differently, but don't ultimately detract from whats on the plate.   Sampled with different sauces, I gravitated to the smokey bbq and bottomed the bottle... it lends itself quite well to the chicken and melty cheese!


Closer inspection was.... delicious!
All in all its alot of positives for Los Montes.  Not a lot of places make the BurritoBlog, and when they do its for good reason.  I do understand many of the changes are taking place are going to be positive to attract more sit down diners.  Thats good.  Looking back at the type of food and its price, plus the available space; this is the type of place that should make a killing at lunch times with that walk up counter experience.  Throw the same burrito out there with a coke for $6.75 and I'd show up 3 days a week for lunch.  Flash that same product, give it some glossy advertising for the short order walk up orders, then offer it to me in 3 forms of sauce, 3 types of meat, and you should be selling what any of the businesses are in the area at that time slot.  Its a solid product, a great price, and it just needs to be eaten!

S.

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