food finds: behemoth burrito

even though i've been working at the publishing company for about 18 months (take that, "five-week assignment"!), i haven't really done much exploring as far as lunch-hour eateries are concerned. partly because i hate fighting lunch crowds, partly because i don't want to drop $5 (or more) a day when i could bring lunch from home for about $1.28, and partly because -- on the days when i do need to buy food -- we've got a subsidized cafeteria and in-house tim horton's that fit the bill nicely* (*toenail soup notwithstanding).

but, yesterday, i decided to find somewhere to buy lunch. i'd been very good all week, and had brought sandwiches with cut-up vegetables on monday/tuesday/wednesday, so i didn't feel guilty about treating myself. the only problem was: WHERE?

i debated walking to whole foods (about a 20 min. walk in each direction), which would have been fine except that any "hot" food i might purchase would be decidedly un-hot by the time i got it back to my desk, and there wouldn't really be enough time to sit down at whole foods to eat there.

i thought about stopping at a little crêpe shop for my fave -- a nutella crêpe with sliced bananas -- but couldn't really justify forking over $7.50 for what would essentially be a glorified snack.

nearby food courts are depressing and smelly, so those were out. i didn't want a sub or sushi, which crossed more than a few nearby options right off the list. burgers? no. pancakes? no. a salad? come on.

so, a friend of mine and i decided to just go and wander. our initial plan was to head towards whole foods and then stop if we found something more enticing along the way. we weren't more than seven minutes from the office when i remembered one of our co-workers raving about a nondescript, super-small burrito place where he'd bought a giant, delicious burrito for $5.99.

suddenly, that's what i wanted.

we arrived at the nondescript, super-small burrito place and, honestly, it looked a little fly-by-night (even though it's been there for more than a year). "signage" was large vinyl tarps, the "kitchen" was an area at the rear of the retail space and the front counter was kind of just that -- a counter.

but, let me tell you... it was amazing. first, as my friend excitedly pointed out while my made-to-order burrito was being assembled, they were not stingy with the ingredients. they asked me if i wanted guacamole.

"is it extra?" i asked.

"not with the veggie burrito."

"then, YES!"

and, omg, you should have seen the heaping spoon of fresh-made guac that made its way onto my burrito! by the time they'd finished loading in the ingredients, the girl making the burrito could barely wrap it halfway closed. when they handed it to me, i swear it weighed at least three pounds. i handed it off to my friend while i looked in my knapsack for a plastic bag, and she said, "this is as big as a baby!"

when i got back to my desk and opened the foil wrap, the beautiful, behemoth burrito sat before me. i surveyed its girth and had no idea HOW i was ever going to finish it. i cut it in half, reasoning that (in the event of an emergency) i could always wrap part of it for later, and then dug in.

it was FANTASTIC.

so delicious.

so rich in flavour.

so filling.

and, somehow, i managed to eat the entire thing. all of it. when i was done, i threw my hands up in the air and wheeled my chair away from my desk, as though i'd just finished a competitive eating challenge. i was very proud.

and very full.