I'm out of the USA for a little while and even though Chipotle is expanding to Canada I don't think we'll see them in Argentina any time soon.

Bombers in Albany

A few years ago I visited a friend in Albany and while they didn't have Chipotle on the East coast then we went to Bombers which is almost certainly not a Chipotle knock-off but which is mighty delicious all the same. As Chipotle has spread across the USA there's little reason for a look-alike to open.

California Burrito Company in Buenos Aires

When we arrived here a friend said "You've got to try California Burrito Company. It's so awesome."

If you look at these photos, it's pretty clear that they have based much of their style on Chipotle. Using pipe for seat posts, corrugated metal, plywood furniture, yeah, that's Chipotle's "Ikea/Maya Chic". Frankly, can you blame them?

In this country that is known for bland food I love every bit of it. Their food is quite different from standard Chipotle fare (at least as different as burritos/tacos can get) and their "Salsa de Fuego" burns enough to make this Yanqui quite happy when he has to go back to eating bland empanadas (or "suave" in the local parlance).

I've now tried all their meats and most of the salsas and they are really interesting flavors. The steak is quite tender which is no surprise given that grain-fed cows are more common in Argentina.

Expat Special - Tuesday nights at California Burrito Company

On any other night the place seems to be reasonably full, but somehow Tuesday nights they get packed in a way that can only be described in the way I overheard a Porteno saying it: "Yanqui-landia." When he introduced us to it our friend said "If I'm ever in trouble I won't bother going to the US Embassy -- they probably wouldn't even let me in -- instead I'll just go to the California Burrito Company!" Indeed.

The trick is that on Tuesdays they offer tacos for 2 pesos (so, 3 tacos is about US$2) as long as you buy an alcoholic beverage and, given that they serve Corona and Margaritas, why wouldn't you want a beverage?