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Though neither of them is Mexican and both are far from adolescent, Ian Angus and Joe Vassallo are the Burrito Boyz (120 Peter, at Richmond, 416-593-9191).
When NOW first encountered the enterprising duo, their Clubland hole-in-the-wall had been open all of two weeks. But once word spread about their burritos with a twist – 10-inch grilled tortilla wraps stuffed with smooth refried beans, crunchy stir-fried veggies, melted cheese and submarine-style salad as well as sour cream and optional wicked house-made scotch-bonnet hot sauce for $5.50 – the joint exploded.
“Lunches are insane,” laughs the affable Angus. “There are lineups out the door every day.”
Over the winter, the pair plan to launch at least another two much larger outlets, including one on College near U of T and another in the Beach. They must be doing something right.
So must La Hacienda (640 Queen West, at Palmerston, 416-703-3377), the low-rent Tex-Mex luncheonette that’s been dishing out budget burritos stuffed with the likes of butterflied shrimp ($8.95) in liquified cheese and a side order of froideur since 1985.
East-side Coyote Willie (689 Queen East, at Broadview, 416-778-4578) takes a simpler approach, loading its modestly dubbed El Grande Burrito ($6.25) with chicken, beef or veggies mixed with kidney beans and pinto stew laced with carrot julienne.
Cheapskates should check out the Annex’s Hey Good Cooking (238 Dupont, at Spadina, 416-929-9140), where six styles of yeast-free burritos (all $2.25) – whole wheat mini-rotis, really – range from the hellfire Caribbean with potato, spinach, corn and onion to the less infernal Green Lentil Spinach version with additional carrot, cabbage, bulgar, coriander and tamari. Better yet, buy six frozen wraps for only $9.90, just the thing for midnight munchies.
