Burritophile.com

Score: 6 / 10    Reviewed by: jimothy3000

Mexicana Mama is an tiny, upscale little restaurant in the West Village on Hudson St. And the burritos are exactly what you'd expect in this neighborhood-- an example of "Mexican fusion" or "Mexican-inspired" restaurants in NYC taking the Mexico out of Mexican food.

I ordered the barbacoa beef burrito, which was pricey at $11.50 albeit about the least expensive entree on the whole menu. And this is the lunch menu. By now, I've accepted the fact that most burritos around here don't come wrapped in foil and that rice and beans are usually served on the side. Whatever. But, to my horror, at Mexicana Mama they serve burritos cut up into fourths and arranged like hors d'oeurves on the plate with Mexican-style rice and a pool of roasted tomato/habanero sauce in the middle. Upon inspection of the burrito portions, I noticed they were missing beans, guacamole and salsa. Not only was the salsa missing, but it wasn't even an OPTION. I mean there was no salsa on the table, at the counter-- not even some bottles of Cholula or Tabasco sauce lying around. I thought this was somewhat arrogant. This represents an attitude like, "we've already seasoned this perfectly, and you would only fuck it up if left to your own devices".

On the plus side the barbacoa beef was tender and tasted great-- at the same time smokey and a little sweet, perhaps owing to the sweet potatoes they stuffed in there. The tortilla was nicely toasted all around and the cheese well-melted. The tomato/habanero sauce-- probably the best ingredient here-- provided a spicy kick that I've found lacking in nearly every other burrito I've had in NYC. And I found it pretty satisfying despite its smallish proportions. My buddy ordered a chicken burrito that included a mole sauce which really hit the spot.

Here's the thing though-- afterwards I had a five minute conversation with a friend from California about whether my lunch was a burrito or a wrap. I thought it was probably a burrito and we agreed to disagree, but if we're even having this conversation, isn't that a problem? The way they served the burritos, combined with the lack of certain ingredients and the cheesy Getz/Gilberto-type lounge music on the stereo represented a kind of disdain for the burrito experience. To sum up-- the food here tastes pretty good, but burrito traditionalists should beware.

posted by jimothy3000 on 1/18/2006 7:02 PM #