Don't Cross the Road for This Chicken California Burrito

Sometimes, when navigating your way through the world of burritos, it's important to mix things up, to go off board, so to speak. That's exactly what I did last week when visited in unincorporated La Mesa.

I had been meaning to try their original California Burrito for awhile, but once I entered, I had an urge... let's make it with chicken, which is no doubt just as easy for the cook, but not "specifically" on the menu. Whenever you go off board, the results can be mixed. So, did Macho's satisfy my manly hunger?

As always, we break down the ingredients:

Tortilla
Traditionally - well, actually I don't know if it's tradition - the tortilla on a Macho's burrito has been superb, and one of the reasons I've enjoyed them so much. This was a less-than-stellar effort, however. The tortilla was dry and often flaky, especially around the edges. This was probably a mistake of an extra 30 seconds warming on the flat top, but it was a mistake nonetheless.

Chicken
Perhaps I expected more from the chicken in this burrito, but I wasn't thrilled with it as a whole. The flavor was OK, well-seasoned, but not extraordinary. It was tender, but at times a little dry. I even found a piece of gristle in one of my last few bites. Understanding that that can happen from time to time, it still has to be pointed out. And they were very sparing with the amount of chicken in this burrito, which seemed to be dominated by the fries.

Fries
They were crispy, which is a nice touch, and they were fries instead of fried potatoes, as some taco shops like to do. But these too were fairly dry, and given the dryness of the tortilla and chicken, nearly every bite was screaming out for a touch of salsa.

Cheese
The cheese, too, wasn't anything special, and there wasn't a whole lot of it, which is a real shame, and surprisingly, was the MOST disappointing thing about the burrito. A lot of ills can be cured with a generous heaping of gooey, melted cheese, but it wasn't to be here.

Sour Cream
The sour cream in a California Burrito is always a nice touch, as not all places offer it. In that aspect, well played. But sour cream alone wasn't enough to counterbalance the dryness of the other ingredients.

Overall
In poker, it's pointless to get angry about a hand that you rightfully fold, that turns out would have won had you stayed in. The same logic applies here in my grading of some ingredients that were not present. Judge by what is, not what could have been. But I'll do it anyway and say that guacamole or some fresh pico de gallo could have been a welcome addition, adding a little more moisture. For me, this burrito was just a little "eh." Not terrible, but not terribly satisfying, and really lacking some juiciness.

Rating: 3.1 out of 5