The Frugal Gourmand

Chili today and hot tamale

When I first got to Burrito Beach today, with the intention of getting a chicken quesadilla, I had the distinct feeling I was being ripped off - the Beach charges the same amount for a quesadilla as it does for a burrito, and a burrito seems like a lot more food. But actually, once you factor in the side of rice (or chips, but I got rice), about the only thing the quesadilla is lacking is beans. So it's not really that big a deal, though when I'm eating out twice I'd rather not be spending $4.99 plus tax on one of the trips. In the future I'll probably try to bring a peanut butter sandwich or something from home so I only have to go with one small meal out a day; I tried bringing full lunches from home for a while, but it took too much time to make turkey sandwiches in the morning and I just couldn't make them the night before. A simple peanut butter sandwich, especially if I eschew jelly, would keep much better overnight.

I'm rambling a bit. At any rate, the quesadilla was pretty good. I used to get quesadillas at Taco Bell in college, but there's not much comparison - the chicken is better and Taco Bell never had peppers and onions like the quesadilla I got, which add some nice flavor. I might have liked the cheddar to be a little sharper, but otherwise I have minimal complaint.

Burrito Beach Cheddar Chicken Quesadilla: 7/10

Because I liked it, and so I could get a review down, I went back to Ponte Fresco for the chili I'd had a few days back. I got a little cheddar cheese on it, and they actually put the cheese on and then topped it off, resulting in a nice cheddar payload at the center of the cup pretty much all the way down to the bottom. The chili itself was as good as I remembered - lots of beef and kidney beans, plus a tangy broth with the right thickness. It's really not spicy at all, but if you want that in your chili, you can request red pepper flakes on top, since all the toppings are no extra charge. At any rate, I like it quite a bit. It's still on the expensive side, but that's just the occupational hazard of eating at Ponte Fresco.

Ponte Fresco Chili: 8.5/10

posted by Flax @ 8:48 PM