Eating in Madison A to Z: El Burrito Loco (cart)

In a word: We didn't realize loco meant "like fast food."

The specs: #0566
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; photo on City of Madison's Flickr; review at Taste Test Madison.

Latest El Burrito Loco news and reviews at del.icio.us

JM ate the beef burrito minus the beans, with a can of lemonade.
Nichole ate a chicken taco and a bean taco, both with hot sauce, and a side of guacamole.
The bill was $12, or $6/person, plus tip.
JM gave El Burrito Loco a B-; Nichole gave El Burrito Loco a C+ (see our grading rubric).

El Burrito Loco is a cart run by Señor Pepper out of Stoughton. It's middling to fine for fast food - JM would go so far as to say it's Taco Bell-icose if with more flavor (but now even the Bell has introduced "pork carnitas" street-food inspired tacos). The menu is the right size, with a choice of burrito, taco, or salad with beef, chicken, and/or beans, and based on our sample a chicken burrito minus beans might be the best thing they do. Some days sweet corn cake is there too, but not when we were.

JM's burrito was a warmed flour tortilla packed with ground beef, sour cream, and orange seasoned rice. (They were flexible and happy to leave off the beans.) This burrito is exactly what you'd expect it to be, if anything, even moreso.

The tacos were not made with Nichole's favorite stuff. Iceberg lettuce and bagged shredded orange cheese she can do without (unless black olives are there to complete the 80's Taco Bell nostalgia trifecta). The doubled-up corn tortillas held up well, but left her hands smelling vaguely floral. JM was wise beyond his preferences about beans, as these were runny and too salty. The chicken was the best part: a mix of light and dark meat, shredded fine and tender. The guacamole was merely passable, but the hot sauce was nice.

Two invocations of Taco Bell in 250 words might be much for one little cart, but it's pretty apt, for what that's worth.