25 September 2013

Tortilla Street Food


Tortilla Street Food is a new food truck that brings the Chipotle approach to Mexican street food. They whip up the usual tacos, burritos, quesadillas and bowls, and all of the ingredients are pictured on the side of the truck, allowing diners to customize their meal.

All of the ingredients from Tortilla with the exception of meats are vegetarian. Toppings include white rice, Mexican rice, black beans, refried beans, fajita veggies, cold veggies like peppers and onions, queso dip, cheeses, a variety of sauces and sour cream.

Overall, the fare at Tortilla is closest in character to California Mexican. It is a good stand in for Chipotle.

Dishes are prepared in the assembly line fashion of fast-casual eateries. The burrito is large enough to be a very hungry person's lunch.

Side dishes include chips and dips such as salsa and guacamole. Tortilla also offers churros with strawberry filling, dusted with cinnamon sugar with chocolate and caramel dipping sauces as dessert.



Tortilla on Urbanspoon

13 September 2013

Bibibop


Bibibop in Grandview Heights brings the fast-casual approach to Korean food. Much in the model of Chipotle, diners pick a format (bowl, salad or rolled sandwich) and have the staff behind the counter fill it up with their choice of fresh produce, sauces and toppings.

Charley Shin, the founder of Bibibop, is also involved with other restaurants like Charley's. There is little similarity between the sandwich chain and Bibibop.

The decor at Bibibop is fun. There is seating for about 50 inside the restaurant, and like other fast-casual eateries, service is efficient. 

The veggies behind the counter were of exceptional quality. Ingredients include white or purple rice, noodles, lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, corn and jalepeño, daikon and a delicious mildly spiced organic tofu. There are three different sauces, all of which are vegetarian. The bowl is a sort of Westernized take on classic bibimbop.

The edamame were fairly ordinary. The soybeans lacked salt. Other than this minor shortcoming, the overall experience was great. 



Bibibop on Urbanspoon