台TAINOMS
Juanita Burritos & Tacaos
Story:
Before starting on the project, we decided to scope out what is available for readers who are in need of a quick burrito fix. While we were developing a recipe for an imitation Chipotle burrito, someone suggested trying Juanita Burritos and Tacos near Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Station.
Atmosphere:
The place is almost an exact copy of Chipotle’s. You walk into the assembly line to order your food, pay, and sit down; heck, even the signs are almost similar (big and red). As for the crowd that comes here, this is literally a place full of expats and foreigners. I highly doubt a lot of Taiwanese people have even tried Mexican food or even know what a burrito is unless they have gone to the states or Mexico.
Address: No. 51-1, Lane 160, Dūnhuà South Rd. Section 1, Da'ān District, Taipei
地址: 台北市大安區敦化南路一段160巷51-1號
Let’s see what they have…
Like Chipotles, Juanita has burritos, burrito bowls, salad, and tacos. The meat selection is also indentical by offering free range chicken, steak, carnitas, barbacoa, and vegetarian options. You have the option of choosing cilantro-lime rice, fajita onions and peppers, black or pinto beans, mild and hot salsa, corn, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole (+50 NT).
Food Impressions Summary:
Since the place almost looks like Chipotle, the food must be big, juicy, delicious, and full of WAPOW that you would expect in a giant burrito. Well it comes sort of close, but still far off. It comes close to getting all the items right, but the flavors are still lacking. Overall, the technique for making food needs improvement. It is understandable that it is difficult to get tortillas and basmati rice, but for other items, such as meat, rice flavor, and salsa, Juanita did not properly deliver.
The Actual Food:
I ordered a barbacoa burrito with everything you can possibly have in a burrito. It seemed that they skimped out the meat, which was very dry. My friend ordered chicken that was also dry. In addition, the rice texture was too sticky and lacking in the lime-cilantro. I didn’t really taste the hot salsa, and the mild salsa was a wet sloppy mess that dripped through the burrito skin. On the plus side, the fajita onions and peppers had a unique pleasant flavor, while the beans, tortilla, sour cream, and cheese melded together nicely. The corn salsa was just alright. Unfortunately, it was nothing too special. The burrito bowl was quite small, but hey, a burrito bowl in Taiwan is a burrito bowl. Can’t really find it anywhere else.
Rating:
Will go again because nowhere else sells a chipotle style burrito, but don’t expect much.