Vegetarian Burritos in Hackettstown?
Is there anyplace out of the numerous Mexican restaurants in town which sells Vegetarian burritos, or vegetarian food in general? It seems like all the ones I've visited are heavy on the meat.
I love Fresh Tortillas out in Alpha, but it's a bit of a hike.
NailbangerJesus Mendez, the owner of El Mejicano came on here and said very nice things. I looked at the menu and it says they do.
http://www.mejicanorestaurant.com/menu.html
Just Asking I highly recommend El Mejicano, not only was food, service and atmosphere excellent but any business owner that personally responds to open forum comments and addresses concerns deserves the business :)
you need to be careful when its comes to bean burritos in Mexican joints. Some may offer a veggie burrito, but often their beans contain animal lard.
El Mejicano was specifically giving out vegetarian samples at the Vets parade and discussing their veg options. El Mejicano is the only Mexican restaurant we have in town even if we have a couple that have Mexican items on the menu. Tu Tierra which is Costa Rican is the only other one with a separate Mexican menu and they do not offer a veg burrito.
GC I'm a 20 year vegetarian, and well aware of the pitfalls. Beans often contain lard and bacon, the rice is often made with chicken broth, etcetc. Thanks though, I appreciate you writing that.
So we took everyone's advice, and ordered from El Mejicano tonight. It wasn't bad at all. I asked a few questions, was very specific about what I wanted, and they told me "no problem, perfect."
Unfortunately, they messed up pretty much everything we talked about. The good news is that it sounds to me like their hearts are in the right place, and after another time or two I'm fairly sure I'll have a Mexican place I can order from around here, finally....we moved here from NYC about 3 years ago, and two things we've really missed are Mexican and Indian places in Hackettstown. If I can find somewhere around here where I can get a serviceable vegetarian burrito, I eat several a week for lunch/dinner in NYC where I work. I'd happily order them here and bring them from home in my workbag.
I plan to email him under different cover, but in case Jesus Mendez comes across this: Please, please, please....a burrito stuffed full of broccoli, carrots and cauliflower is not a good vegetarian burrito. I eat those vegetables multiple times a week, and frankly - they are really terrible when combined with avocado, cilantro, and all the other traditional stuff, and they're not good on multiple levels....the texture is wrong, the tastes really don't work, the vegetables generally are cooked from frozen. I don't know what the situation is in your case, but....not good.
You say on your site that you've been refining what you serve over the years and have settled on some classics, but the "vegetarian" stuff I tried tonight seemed like an afterthought, just thrown on there to keep happy the few of us pesky vegetarians around here who pipe up. I appreciate the effort, absolutely, but...surely you can prepare a few of those classics with all the right seasonings and just without meat, no? What I'm absolutely dying for is a well and appropriately seasoned burrito with rice, black or pinto beans, cheese (but not too much, seriously....), tomatoes, lettuce, maybe some corn and some peppers and hot sauce, with the rice and beans made without chicken broth or other animal by-products. Perhaps this isn't totally traditionally Mexican, but can it be successfully adapted for those of us who don't eat meat, and in a way that can still maintain your profit margin? In NYC this is called something like "super-vegetarian burrito," but I think in the Mission district in San Francisco would be just a basic "mission burrito." I know you're Tex-Mex, but you're talking to a serious burrito addict here.
Seitan? Tofu? TVP? Sure, that would be great, but I doubt the demand exists out here for that. My vegetarian household doesn't need it, but if you think you can make some money selling that kinda thing, have at it, and I'll order it very happily.
If you can guarantee me this, I can guarantee you my regular presence in your restaurant. It won't be much, but three or four $20 checks each week for a couple of burritos might be worth your time. You do it already? Awesome. Please tell me what to ask for when I order, and that's exactly what I'll say. Because tonight I named everything I wanted in the things, and got several things I didn't want and missed several things I requested. It's no big deal, we certainly didn't starve and it wasn't inedible, but it wasn't what I asked for, and you seem like someone who can listen to some good-hearted criticism. And this is absolute offered in the spirit of "please, fix these one or two things and you'll have several regular very happy customers."
All this being said, we ate everything and talked merrily about having something even "just almost" what we wanted within 10 minutes of the couch. As I said earlier, we've been driving 30ish minutes almost to Philipsburg for a decent burrito......Please keep it up! I've read your prior comment or two here, and you certainly seem an absolute asset to the community, and one we plan to continue to patronize in order to keep you here. I'm sure you'll see us many times both in-house and picking up take-out.
Thanks everyone for the input. Great recommendation, both in that the food was good and that they're a positive presence in town. We'll be back.
I also wanted to say that my little exposition above wasn't in any way a knock on the service at the restaurant...I was driving and using an ATT iphone when I ordered, so it's quite possible that some of what I said was lost as I was on the move. All in all, I was happy with El Mejicano, it's just that I could've been MORE happy, and Mr. Mendez was looking for "constructive criticism" in a prior comment
I don't want to get any of the help in the restaurant in trouble....the person I spoke with on the phone was very open and respectful, and patiently answered all of my surely annoying questions. I'm sure that some of what I asked for was lost into cellular space, whether because of my crappy hands-free set or ATT's service. Still and all....what is what I want called, if it's at all available?
I love mushroom, spinach and sweet potatoes mixed with the usual burrito elements.
blackcat Nailbanger - Since you don't want any animal products in it, that's the difference between vegetarian and vegan. It also sounds like the main ingredient you want is beans, not vegetables in general. So I would call what you want a "vegan bean burrito". I would think there would be room for both the current "vegetable" one (which I agree should skip the avocado and cilantro) plus a vegan one that might be made with white rice and boiled beans.
GC -- Nailbanger said he is a vegetarian - not vegan - and would like some cheese in his bean burrito.
He described how hidden ingredients can contaminate what appears to be vegetarian
food (lard, using chicken broth in preparation). I am also well aware of this issue. In fact last night at Benitos Trattoria I asked the waiter if the vegetable-stuffed mushroom appetizer was vegetarian, and he said "yes". I said -- how do they prepare the filling -- do they cook it with some chicken broth? He did not know, went to ask the chef, and indeed they were prepared with chicken broth. If we vegetarians don't ask questions all the time we would be eating ingredients that we don't want. [ By the way, the chef was nice enough to make us a special order of the mushrooms without using the chicken broth; however, the waiter qualified it by stating he couldn't quarantee the dish would be tasty. ]
So when restaurants say certain dishes are vegetarian, it might or might NOT be. This is also a big problem in Chinese restaurants. They prepare the Vegetable dishes with chicken broth and/or sauces that are not vegetarian.
So what it amounts to is that more often than not, vegetarians have to settle for mediocre dishes that are thrown together to accommodate our dietary needs, rather than a preparation that has been refined and part of a regular menu. We have to always settle for pasta, or a plate of the "sides" of vegetables that are just adornments for a non-vegetarian meal.
That said, alot of restaurants are much better than they were 25 years ago. Let's hope they continue to improve their offerings for vegetarians and vegans.
Nailbanger,
If you didn't want vegetables in your burrito, you should have asked for a bean burrito, or a burrito with no meat. I ate those for a while, but switched to asking for vegetable burritos when I got bored of beans, beans, beans. I have asked for vegetable enchiladas at El Mejicano and have enjoyed the veggie mix, although I agree that the texture is a little strange, and the veggies are obviously frozen.
Fresco de Noche in Flanders is always happy to make me vegetable enchiladas or a vegetable burrito, but they make it with grilled squash (which I love). Ask them for a burrito with no meat and extra beans and I think you'll find what you are looking for. Their quality of food is much better than El Mejicano, if you're willing to drive the extra fifteen minutes.
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